Zabbix & Slack for Monitoring & Alerts

Zabbix is an open-source network monitoring and management software that provides a centralized platform for monitoring the performance and availability of network resources, servers, applications, and services. It offers a wide range of features including monitoring, alerting, visualization, performance and capacity planning, fault management, and distributed monitoring. With Zabbix, users can monitor various devices and systems, both agent-based and agentless, and receive notifications and alerts based on predefined triggers and thresholds. The software provides a web-based interface for visualizing monitoring data through customizable dashboards, graphs, and reports. This enables users to analyze trends, identify issues, and make informed decisions. Zabbix also assists in capacity planning by analyzing historical data and predicting future resource requirements. It helps administrators proactively detect and manage faults, minimizing downtime and ensuring the smooth operation of network resources. The software supports distributed monitoring setups, allowing multiple Zabbix servers to collect and process monitoring data from different locations.

In summary, Zabbix is a powerful tool used by IT departments and administrators to monitor and manage the performance, availability, and health of networks, servers, and applications. It helps in proactive monitoring, fault management, capacity planning, and provides valuable insights through visualization and reporting.

Zabbix Installation

To install Zabbix, one need to choose the integrations related to it. To start with, use the following link:

https://www.zabbix.com/download

The following page will appear:

There are three steps to install and use Zabbix:

Step-1

Choose your platform

On the same web page, you will be able to see the following options table:

Choose the desired platforms, and install the file using as per the description in Step-2. I downloaded it with the following platforms:

• Zabbix 6.4
• Ubuntu
• OS 22.04 Jammy
• Zabbix Server, Frontend & Agent
• MySQL
• Apache

Step-2

Install and configure Zabbix for your platform

a. Install Zabbix repository

wget https://repo.zabbix.com/zabbix/6.4/ubuntu/pool/main/z/zabbix-release/zabbix-release_6.4-1+ubuntu22.04_all.deb
dpkg -i zabbix-release_6.4-1+ubuntu22.04_all.deb
apt update

b. Install Zabbix server, frontend, agent

apt install zabbix-server-mysql zabbix-frontend-php zabbix-apache-conf zabbix-sql-scripts zabbix-agent

c. Create initial database

mysql -uroot -p
# password
create database zabbix character set utf8mb4 collate utf8mb4_bin;
create user zabbix@localhost identified by 'password';
grant all privileges on zabbix.* to zabbix@localhost;
set global log_bin_trust_function_creators = 1;
quit;

On Zabbix server host import initial schema and data. You will be prompted to enter your newly created password.

sudo zcat /usr/share/zabbix-sql-scripts/mysql/server.sql.gz | mysql --default-character-set=utf8mb4 -uzabbix -p zabbix

Disable log_bin_trust_function_creators option after importing database schema.

mysql -uroot -p
# passwordset 
global log_bin_trust_function_creators = 0;
quit;

d. Configure the database for Zabbix server

Edit file /etc/zabbix/zabbix_server.conf

DBPassword=password

e. Start Zabbix server and agent processes

Start Zabbix server and agent processes and make it start at system boot.

sudo systemctl restart zabbix-server zabbix-agent apache2
sudo systemctl enable zabbix-server zabbix-agent apache2

f. Open Zabbix UI web page

The default URL for Zabbix UI when using Apache web server is http://host/zabbix/

Following dashboard will appear upon login:

Since my Zabbix Server is monitoring different machines, it is showing their respective statuses and triggers. As we installed Zabix-Agent in our linux machine hosting the Zabbix-Server, it's monitoring is done by default, which you can see in your Monitoring > Hosts tab.

Monitoring Windows Machine

Zabbix agent is the process responsible for gathering data. You need to install it on the Windows machine that you want to monitor. Follow Zabbix agent installation instructions for Windows.

Open the following link in your favorite browser:

https://www.zabbix.com/download_agents#tab:44

the following web page will appear:

Select the desired options and select DOWNLOAD button provided below.

Install the downloaded file, and open it. The following page will appear:

Follow the visual guidelines and details to continue installation:

Provide the IP of Zabbix-Server (Linux) in the Zabbix server IP/DNS option and in the Server or Proxy active checks.

Uncheck enable PSK!

Now open Windows Defender Firewall and chose "Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall"

Now move to your webpage of Zabbix, go to Monitoring> Hosts > Create Host. Following page will appear:

• Add a Hostname as desired
• Add templates, click templates group's select option, select "Templates/Operating systems" and "Windoes by Zabbix agent"
• Select Host Group "windows servers"
• Add interface, select agent, add windows machine's IP address

Go to Monitoring > Hosts and see the added windows server. It's availability will be indicated by green icon of ZBX.