Newbie question: Why won't zabbix "see" the .my.cnf file?

[James5mith]

So I'm working on my first zabbix installation.

One of the things I would like zabbix to monitor is it's own mysql database.


Reading through documentation it seems pretty straightforward.

I ensure that the HOME= parameters in the /etc/zabbix/zabbix_agentd.d/userparameter_mysql.conf match the location of my .my.cnf file. (For me I put it in /etc/zabbix, chmod 400, chown zabbix:zabbix).

I tested the file by using the following command:

mysql --defaults-file=/etc/zabbix/.my.cnf

Sure enough it connects to mysql as the zabbix user I have defined. Works great! So I restarted my zabbix agent, and I immediately see the following errors in the agent log:

mysqladmin: connect to server at 'localhost' failed
error: 'Access denied for user 'root'@'localhost' (using password: NO)'

So despite following (from what I can tell) the steps I need to get zabbix to connect to mysql for it's monitoring information, it's trying to login to the mysql database as root without entering a password. (Despite the zabbix agent running as the zabbix user)

Help?

[Pada]

I just specify the credentials inline, eg.

mysql -u<user> -p<password> -e "<mysql query>"

I've never specified a config file for my MySQL client before, so I cannot help you there...

[tchjts1]

Check this thread: https://www.zabbix.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41659

[James5mith]

Check this thread: https://www.zabbix.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41659

Thank you for the recommendation, but I have already read through that thread and others several times before I ever even joined the forums.

There are problems in each thread, and none of them ever come to an actual conclusion.

1st problem: They all are directly manipulating their /etc/my.cnf file rather than using a .my.cnf file as suggested in the zabbix documentation and even within the /etc/zabbix/zabbix_agentd.d/userparameter_mysql.conf itself! So either Zabbix's internal documentation is flawed, or they are doing it incorrectly.

2nd problem: Most of them end up using root access to the database. Which is incorrect from a security perspective. I do not want my zabbix system to have more access than needed to my other mysql servers.

3rd problem: I can easily grant access by using root user with no password. But that is not a long term solution. I want zabbix to access database(s) as the zabbix user I specify within the configuration file.


So I will ask again, how do I get the zabbix agent to honor/recognize the .my.cnf file placed within the HOME directory specified on the configuration (per the instructions within the config file)?

Has anyone ever actually gotten zabbix working with a .my.cnf file?

Have you been able to get it working tchjts1?

[teppo.kauppinen]

Bit old but...

set the HOME=/etc/zabbix

create new file /etc/zabbix/.my.cnf

[client]
user=your_database_username
password=your_database_password

it should work now.

[RexKang]

Maybe the rights of the my.cnf.

sudo setfacl -m user:zabbix:r-- /etc/my.cnf

[theWoosh]

I wonder if the poster ever got this working? I have never yet managed to get the mysql zabbix monitoring working (or any other mysql zabbix templates including the percona ones).

Nobody actually responded to the question in this thread...

I have a similar situation but I don't even get the error message...

I've spent bloody days on it! I love zabbix apart from the fact that out of the box it's virtually useless and i can never get mysql monitoring working.

Maybe somebody could write a comprehensive guide?

[FrankB]

.mylogin.cnf not found

Hi,

after upgrade to mysql 5.6 i had to deal with the same problem because the mysql warning about the "unsecure password on commandline" destroyed my sql-results.

so i created a .mylogin.cnf inside /home/zabbix with mysql_config_editor

and put HOME=/home/zabbix in front of the mysql command

e.g:
UserParameter=mysql.status[*],echo "show global status where Variable_name='$1';" | HOME=/home/zabbix mysql --login-path=mypath -A database

this works for me

Frank

[roberdaniel]

The problem is that user "zabbix" which runs the agent does not have defined the home directory.
cat /etc/passwd

So edit your passwd file like this

then go to the path /var/lib and check if this folder exist, ifnot create it
sudo mkdir /var/lib/zabbix
sudo nano /var/lib/zabbix/.my.cnf


[client]
user=your_database_username
password=your_database_password


These extra steps are not documented but in most of the systems hast to be configured.
I don't know why le zabbix installer did not create zabbix folder and setup correctly the home environment.
Maybe developers sometime improve it.

[darkfire]

@roberdaniel Thank you. I had the same problem.