Unable to get data on Zabbix agent

[zabbixenthu]

Sorry for my rant below. I am helpless

Apologies for my Long post but honestly I am quite frustrated with Zabbix.
It does not perform well. Documentation is pure hopeless and hoping that if the Zabbix Product owner reads my post, he or she will be enlightened to make some necessary corrections

Here is my shell script to "install" Agent on Ubuntu 24.04. Their documentation just says download tgz, wtf after that???

root@zabbix-agent-1:~# cat /home/azureuser/install-agent.sh
#!/bin/bash

LOG_FILE="/var/log/zabbix_installation.log"
exec > >(tee -a "$LOG_FILE") 2>&1

echo "Starting Zabbix Agent Installation: $(date)"
# Update to correct time-zone
timedatectl set-timezone "Australia/Melbourne"

# Update and Upgrade the System
echo "Updating and upgrading the system..."
apt-get update && apt-get upgrade -y

# Add Zabbix user and group
echo "Creating Zabbix user and group..."
groupadd zabbix
useradd -r -M -g zabbix -d /usr/local/zabbix -s /usr/sbin/nologin zabbix

# Verify user creation
echo "Verifying Zabbix user..."
id zabbix

# Set permissions and create directories
echo "Setting permissions and creating necessary directories..."
chown -R zabbix:zabbix /usr/local/zabbix/
chmod -R 755 /usr/local/zabbix/
mkdir -p /var/log/zabbix
touch /var/log/zabbix/zabbix_agentd.log
chown -R zabbix:zabbix /var/log/zabbix
chmod -R 755 /var/log/zabbix

# Download and Extract Zabbix Agent binaries
echo "Downloading Zabbix Agent binaries..."
wget https://cdn.zabbix.com/zabbix/binaries/stable/7.2/7.2.3/zabbix_agent-7.2.3-linux-3.0-amd64-static.tar.gz

echo "Extracting Zabbix Agent binaries..."
tar -xzvf zabbix_agent-7.2.3-linux-*.tar.gz
mkdir -p /usr/local/zabbix
mv bin sbin conf /usr/local/zabbix/
chown -R zabbix:zabbix /usr/local/zabbix/
chmod -R 755 /usr/local/zabbix/

# Create Zabbix Agent SystemD File
echo "Creating Zabbix Agent SystemD service file..."
cat <<EOF > /etc/systemd/system/zabbix-agent.service
[Unit]
Description=Zabbix Agent
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
ExecStart=/usr/local/zabbix/sbin/zabbix_agentd -c /usr/local/zabbix/conf/zabbix_agentd.conf
Restart=on-failure
User=zabbix
Group=zabbix

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

# Create Zabbix Config File
echo "Creating Zabbix Agent configuration file..."
mkdir -p /usr/local/zabbix/conf
tee /usr/local/zabbix/conf/zabbix_agentd.conf > /dev/null <<EOF
LogFile=/var/log/zabbix/zabbix_agentd.log
Server=52.146.18.60
ServerActive=52.146.18.60
Hostname=zabbix-agent-1
### Set Debug Logging Level
DebugLevel=4

### Ensure log file is correctly set
LogFile=/var/log/zabbix/zabbix_agentd.log
EOF

# Reload systemd and enable Zabbix Agent
echo "Reloading systemd and enabling Zabbix Agent service..."
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable zabbix-agent

# Start Zabbix Agent
echo "Starting Zabbix Agent service..."
systemctl start zabbix-agent

# Check Zabbix Agent status
echo "Checking Zabbix Agent status..."
systemctl status zabbix-agent

echo "Zabbix Agent Installation Completed: $(date)"

My Zabbix configuration file is below

root@zabbix-agent-1:~# cat /usr/local/zabbix/conf/zabbix_agentd.conf
LogFile=/var/log/zabbix/zabbix_agentd.log
Server=52.146.18.60
ServerActive=52.146.18.60
Hostname=zabbix-agent-1
### Set Debug Logging Level
DebugLevel=4
### Ensure log file is correctly set
LogFile=/var/log/zabbix/zabbix_agentd.log

WHat is frustrating is zabbix agent never comes up. I fail to understand why agent has to come up only if the same host is defined in UI else it does not? Complete flaws in the design. It should come up and send data, UI should not need to be even used to add host. WHy it cannot be done via command or configuration file from server?

The Zabbix Server Config file is

root@zabbix-server:~# sudo cat /etc/zabbix/zabbix_server.conf | grep -v '^#'
LogFile=/var/log/zabbix/zabbix_server.log
LogFileSize=0
PidFile=/run/zabbix/zabbix_server.pid
SocketDir=/run/zabbix
DBName=zabbix
DBUser=zabbix
DBPassword=password
SNMPTrapperFile=/var/log/snmptrap/snmptrap.log
Timeout=4
LogSlowQueries=3000
Include=/etc/zabbix/zabbix_server.d/*.conf
StatsAllowedIP=0.0.0.0
EnableGlobalScripts=0

I get below information from Agent Logs

11148:20250202:213617.003 zbx_comms_exchange_with_redirect() sending: {"request":"active checks","host":"zabbix-agent-1","config_revision":0,"session":"1ffa3bc2e0798 2a7 911dcaf9af9cc278","version":"7.2.3","variant":1}
11148:20250202:213617.003 zbx_comms_exchange_with_redirect() received: {"response":"success","config_revision":1,"data ":[]}
11148:20250202:213617.003 End of zbx_comms_exchange_with_redirect():SUCCEED
11148:20250202:213617.004 In parse_list_of_checks()
11148:20250202:213617.004 End of parse_list_of_checks():SUCCEED
11148:20250202:213617.004 In parse_list_of_commands()
11148:20250202:213617.004 End of parse_list_of_commands():SUCCEED
11148:20250202:213617.004 End of refresh_active_checks():SUCCEED
11148:20250202:213617.004 zbx_setproctitle() title:'active checks #1 [processing active checks]'
11148:20250202:213617.004 In process_active_checks() server:'52.146.18.60' port:10051
11148:20250202:213617.004 End of process_active_checks()
11148:20250202:213617.004 In get_min_nextcheck()
11148:20250202:213617.004 End of get_min_nextcheck():-1
11148:20250202:213617.004 In send_buffer() host:'52.146.18.60' port:10051 entries:0/100
11148:20250202:213617.004 In format_metric_results()
11148:20250202:213617.004 format_metric_results() now:1738492577 lastsent:1738492576 now-lastsent:1 BufferSend:5; will not send now
11148:20250202:213617.004 End of format_metric_results():FAIL
11148:20250202:213617.004 End of send_buffer():SUCCEED
11148:20250202:213617.004 zbx_setproctitle() title:'active checks #1 [idle 1 sec]'
11136:20250202:213617.094 Got signal [signal:15(SIGTERM),sender_pid:1,sender_uid:0,reaso n:0]. Exiting ...
11136:20250202:213617.095 zbx_on_exit() called with ret:0
11148:20250202:213617.096 zbx_setproctitle() title:'active checks #1 [idle 1 sec]'
11136:20250202:213617.096 In zbx_dshm_destroy() shmid:-1
11136:20250202:213617.097 End of zbx_dshm_destroy():SUCCEED
11136:20250202:213617.097 In zbx_unload_modules()
11136:20250202:213617.097 End of zbx_unload_modules()
11136:20250202:213617.097 Zabbix Agent stopped. Zabbix 7.2.3 (revision ff99a1b26ba).

Any guidance would be much appreciated.

[cyber]

arr... why tgz? Packages are there.. https://www.zabbix.com/download?zabb...ysql&ws=apache (change DB and frontend to your liking)
apt install zabbix_agent ... (or zabbix_agent2)

[Blevar]

I dont get with what you have problems with. Installing agent on ubuntu is pretty straightforward. Everything is explaned at: https://www.zabbix.com/download?zabb...gent_2&db=&ws=




You dont need to configure zabbix_server.conf on the host you want to monitor. Well if you actually have a file on such host - that you did something wrong. You should edit the hostname in zabbix_agent2.conf and reset the Zabbix agent. Thats it.

[kyus]

Since the two posts above this one already clear most of your needs, I'll try to address this:

WHat is frustrating is zabbix agent never comes up. I fail to understand why agent has to come up only if the same host is defined in UI else it does not? Complete flaws in the design. It should come up and send data, UI should not need to be even used to add host. WHy it cannot be done via command or configuration file from server?

To get your agents to come up in the frontend without manual action, you can create an autoregistration action to add those hosts after the installation is completed.

https://www.zabbix.com/documentation/current/en/manual/discovery/auto_registration