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What is Zabbix?

Zabbix is an enterprise-class open source distributed monitoring solution.

Zabbix is software that monitors numerous parameters of a network and the health and integrity of servers. Zabbix uses a flexible notification mechanism that allows users to configure e-mail based alerts for virtually any event. This allows a fast reaction to server problems. Zabbix offers excellent reporting and data visualisation features based on the stored data. This makes Zabbix ideal for capacity planning.

For more information and related downloads for Zabbix components, please visit https://hub.docker.com/u/zabbix/ and https://zabbix.com

What is Zabbix proxy?

Zabbix proxy is a process that may collect monitoring data from one or more monitored devices and send the information to the Zabbix server, essentially working on behalf of the server. All collected data is buffered locally and then transferred to the Zabbix server the proxy belongs to.

Zabbix proxy images

These are the only official Zabbix proxy Podman images. Images are updated when new releases are published. The image with latest tag is based on Alpine Linux.

The image uses MySQL database to store collected data before sending it to Zabbix server. It uses the next procedure to start:

How to use this image

Start zabbix-proxy-mysql

Start a Zabbix proxy container as follows:

podman run --name some-zabbix-proxy-mysql -e DB_SERVER_HOST="some-mysql-server" -e MYSQL_USER="some-user" -e MYSQL_PASSWORD="some-password" -e ZBX_HOSTNAME=some-hostname -e ZBX_SERVER_HOST=some-zabbix-server --init -d zabbix/zabbix-proxy-mysql:tag

Where some-zabbix-proxy-mysql is the name you want to assign to your container, some-mysql-server is IP or DNS name of MySQL server, some-user is user to connect to Zabbix database on MySQL server, some-password is the password to connect to MySQL server, some-hostname is the hostname, it is Hostname parameter in Zabbix proxy configuration file, some-zabbix-server is IP or DNS name of Zabbix server and tag is the tag specifying the version you want.

[!NOTE] Zabbix server has possibility to execute fping utility to perform ICMP checks. When containers are running in rootless mode or with specific restrictions environment, you may face errors related to fping: fping: Operation not permitted or lost all packets to all resources in this case add --cap-add=net_raw to docker run or podman run commands. Additionally fping executing in non-root environments can require sysctl modification: net.ipv4.ping_group_range=0 1995 where 1995 is zabbix GID.

Connects from Zabbix server (Passive proxy)

This image exposes the standard Zabbix proxy port (10051) and can operate as Passive proxy in case ZBX_PROXYMODE = 1. Start Zabbix server container like this in order to link it to the Zabbix proxy container:

$ podman run --name some-zabbix-server --link some-zabbix-proxy-mysql:zabbix-proxy-mysql --init -d zabbix/zabbix-server:latest

Connect to Zabbix server (Active proxy)

This image can operate as Active proxy (default mode). Start your application container like this in order to link Zabbix proxy to Zabbix server containters:

$ podman run --name some-zabbix-proxy-mysql --link some-zabbix-server:zabbix-server --init -d zabbix/zabbix-proxy-mysql:latest

Container shell access and viewing Zabbix proxy logs

The podman exec command allows you to run commands inside a Podman container. The following command line will give you a bash shell inside your zabbix-proxy-mysql container:

$ podman exec -ti some-zabbix-proxy-mysql /bin/bash

The Zabbix proxy log is available through Podman's container log:

$ podman logs some-zabbix-proxy-mysql

Environment Variables

When you start the zabbix-proxy-mysql image, you can adjust the configuration of the Zabbix proxy by passing one or more environment variables on the podman run command line.

ZBX_PROXYMODE

The variable allows to switch Zabbix proxy mode. Bu default, value is 0 - active proxy. Allowed values are 0 - active proxy and 1 - passive proxy.

ZBX_HOSTNAME

This variable is unique, case sensitive hostname. By default, value is zabbix-proxy-mysql of the container. It is Hostname parameter in zabbix_proxy.conf.

ZBX_SERVER_HOST

This variable is IP or DNS name of Zabbix server or Zabbix proxy. By default, value is zabbix-server. It is Server parameter in zabbix_proxy.conf. It is allowed to specify Zabbix server or Zabbix proxy port number using ZBX_SERVER_PORT variable. It make sense in case of non-default port for active checks.

ZBX_SERVER_PORT

This variable is port Zabbix server listening on. By default, value is 10051.

Note: This parameter is no longer used in version 6.0 and above. Instead, add a colon : followed by the port number to the end of ZBX_SERVER_HOST.

DB_SERVER_HOST

This variable is IP or DNS name of MySQL server. By default, value is 'mysql-server'

DB_SERVER_PORT

This variable is port of MySQL server. By default, value is '3306'.

MYSQL_USER, MYSQL_PASSWORD, MYSQL_USER_FILE, MYSQL_PASSWORD_FILE

These variables are used by Zabbix proxy to connect to Zabbix database. With the _FILE variables you can instead provide the path to a file which contains the user / the password instead. Without Docker Swarm or Kubernetes you also have to map the files. Those are exclusive so you can just provide one type - either MYSQL_USER or MYSQL_USER_FILE!

podman run --name some-zabbix-proxy-mysql -e DB_SERVER_HOST="some-mysql-server" -v ./.MYSQL_USER:/run/secrets/MYSQL_USER -e MYSQL_USER_FILE=/run/secrets/MYSQL_USER -v ./.MYSQL_PASSWORD:/run/secrets/MYSQL_PASSWORD -e MYSQL_PASSWORD_FILE=/var/run/secrets/MYSQL_PASSWORD -e ZBX_HOSTNAME=some-hostname -e ZBX_SERVER_HOST=some-zabbix-server --init -d zabbix/zabbix-proxy-mysql:tag

With Docker Swarm or Kubernetes this works with secrets. That way it is replicated in your cluster!

printf "zabbix" | podman secret create MYSQL_USER -
printf "zabbix" | podman secret create MYSQL_PASSWORD -
podman run --name some-zabbix-proxy-mysql -e DB_SERVER_HOST="some-mysql-server" -e MYSQL_USER_FILE=/run/secrets/MYSQL_USER -e MYSQL_PASSWORD_FILE=/run/secrets/MYSQL_PASSWORD -e ZBX_SERVER_HOST="some-zabbix-server" -e ZBX_HOSTNAME=some-hostname -e ZBX_SERVER_HOST=some-zabbix-server --init -d zabbix/zabbix-proxy-mysql:tag

This method is also applicable for MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD with MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD_FILE.

By default, values for MYSQL_USER and MYSQL_PASSWORD are zabbix, zabbix.

MYSQL_DATABASE

The variable is Zabbix database name. By default, value is zabbix_proxy.

ZBX_LOADMODULE

The variable is list of comma separated loadable Zabbix modules. It works with volume /var/lib/zabbix/modules. The syntax of the variable is dummy1.so,dummy2.so.

ZBX_DEBUGLEVEL

The variable is used to specify debug level. By default, value is 3. It is DebugLevel parameter in zabbix_server.conf. Allowed values are listed below:

ZBX_TIMEOUT

The variable is used to specify timeout for processing checks. By default, value is 4.

ZBX_JAVAGATEWAY_ENABLE

The variable enable communication with Zabbix Java Gateway to collect Java related checks. By default, value is false.

Other variables

Additionally the image allows to specify many other environment variables listed below:

ZBX_ALLOWUNSUPPORTEDDBVERSIONS=0 # Available since 6.0.0
ZBX_DBTLSCONNECT= # Available since 5.0.0
ZBX_DBTLSCAFILE= # Available since 5.0.0
ZBX_DBTLSCERTFILE= # Available since 5.0.0
ZBX_DBTLSKEYFILE= # Available since 5.0.0
ZBX_DBTLSCIPHER= # Available since 5.0.0
ZBX_DBTLSCIPHER13= # Available since 5.0.0
ZBX_VAULTDBPATH= # Available since 5.2.0
ZBX_VAULTURL=https://127.0.0.1:8200 # Available since 5.2.0
VAULT_TOKEN= # Available since 5.2.0
ZBX_ENABLEREMOTECOMMANDS=0 # Available since 3.4.0
ZBX_LOGREMOTECOMMANDS=0 # Available since 3.4.0
ZBX_HOSTNAMEITEM=system.hostname
ZBX_SOURCEIP=
ZBX_PROXYLOCALBUFFER=0
ZBX_PROXYOFFLINEBUFFER=1
ZBX_PROXYHEARTBEATFREQUENCY=60 # Deprecated since 6.4.0
ZBX_CONFIGFREQUENCY=3600 # Deprecated since 6.4.0
ZBX_PROXYCONFIGFREQUENCY=10 # Available since 6.4.0
ZBX_DATASENDERFREQUENCY=1
ZBX_STARTPOLLERS=5
ZBX_STARTPREPROCESSORS=3 # Available since 4.2.0
ZBX_IPMIPOLLERS=0
ZBX_STARTPOLLERSUNREACHABLE=1
ZBX_STARTTRAPPERS=5
ZBX_STARTPINGERS=1
ZBX_STARTDISCOVERERS=1
ZBX_STARTHISTORYPOLLERS=1 # Available since 5.4.0 till 6.0.0
ZBX_STARTHTTPPOLLERS=1
ZBX_STARTODBCPOLLERS=1 # Available since 6.0.0
ZBX_JAVAGATEWAY=zabbix-java-gateway
ZBX_JAVAGATEWAYPORT=10052
ZBX_STARTJAVAPOLLERS=0
ZBX_STATSALLOWEDIP= # Available since 4.0.5
ZBX_STARTVMWARECOLLECTORS=0
ZBX_VMWAREFREQUENCY=60
ZBX_VMWAREPERFFREQUENCY=60
ZBX_VMWARECACHESIZE=8M
ZBX_VMWARETIMEOUT=10
ZBX_ENABLE_SNMP_TRAPS=false
ZBX_LISTENIP=
ZBX_LISTENPORT=10051
ZBX_LISTENBACKLOG=
ZBX_HOUSEKEEPINGFREQUENCY=1
ZBX_CACHESIZE=8M
ZBX_STARTDBSYNCERS=4
ZBX_HISTORYCACHESIZE=16M
ZBX_HISTORYINDEXCACHESIZE=4M
ZBX_TRAPPERTIMEOUT=300
ZBX_UNREACHABLEPERIOD=45
ZBX_UNAVAILABLEDELAY=60
ZBX_UNREACHABLEDELAY=15
ZBX_LOGSLOWQUERIES=3000
ZBX_TLSCONNECT=unencrypted
ZBX_TLSACCEPT=unencrypted
ZBX_TLSCAFILE=
ZBX_TLSCRLFILE=
ZBX_TLSSERVERCERTISSUER=
ZBX_TLSSERVERCERTSUBJECT=
ZBX_TLSCERTFILE=
ZBX_TLSKEYFILE=
ZBX_TLSPSKIDENTITY=
ZBX_TLSPSKFILE=
ZBX_TLSCIPHERALL= # Available since 4.4.7
ZBX_TLSCIPHERALL13= # Available since 4.4.7
ZBX_TLSCIPHERCERT= # Available since 4.4.7
ZBX_TLSCIPHERCERT13= # Available since 4.4.7
ZBX_TLSCIPHERPSK= # Available since 4.4.7
ZBX_TLSCIPHERPSK13= # Available since 4.4.7

Default values of these variables are specified after equal sign.

The allowed variables are identical of parameters in official zabbix_proxy.conf. For example, ZBX_LOGSLOWQUERIES = LogSlowQueries.

Please use official documentation for zabbix_proxy.conf to get more information about the variables.

Allowed volumes for the Zabbix proxy container

/usr/lib/zabbix/externalscripts

The volume is used by External checks (type of items). It is ExternalScripts parameter in zabbix_proxy.conf.

/var/lib/zabbix/modules

The volume allows load additional modules and extend Zabbix proxy using LoadModule feature.

/var/lib/zabbix/enc

The volume is used to store TLS related files. These file names are specified using ZBX_TLSCAFILE, ZBX_TLSCRLFILE, ZBX_TLSKEY_FILE and ZBX_TLSPSKFILE variables.

/var/lib/zabbix/ssh_keys

The volume is used as location of public and private keys for SSH checks and actions. It is SSHKeyLocation parameter in zabbix_proxy.conf.

/var/lib/zabbix/ssl/certs

The volume is used as location of of SSL client certificate files for client authentication. It is SSLCertLocation parameter in zabbix_proxy.conf.

/var/lib/zabbix/ssl/keys

The volume is used as location of SSL private key files for client authentication. It is SSLKeyLocation parameter in zabbix_proxy.conf.

/var/lib/zabbix/ssl/ssl_ca

The volume is used as location of certificate authority (CA) files for SSL server certificate verification. It is SSLCALocation parameter in zabbix_proxy.conf.

/var/lib/zabbix/snmptraps

The volume is used as location of snmptraps.log file. It could be shared by zabbix-snmptraps container and inherited using volumes_from Podman option while creating new instance of Zabbix proxy. SNMP traps processing feature could be enabled using shared volume and switched ZBX_ENABLE_SNMP_TRAPS environment variable to true.

/var/lib/zabbix/mibs

The volume allows to add new MIB files. It does not support subdirectories, all MIBs must be placed to /var/lib/zabbix/mibs.

User Feedback

Documentation

Documentation for this image is stored in the proxy-mysql/ directory of the zabbix/zabbix-docker GitHub repo. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the repository's README.md file before attempting a pull request.

Issues

If you have any problems with or questions about this image, please contact us through a GitHub issue.

Known issues

Contributing

You are invited to contribute new features, fixes, or updates, large or small; we are always thrilled to receive pull requests, and do our best to process them as fast as we can.

Before you start to code, we recommend discussing your plans through a GitHub issue, especially for more ambitious contributions. This gives other contributors a chance to point you in the right direction, give you feedback on your design, and help you find out if someone else is working on the same thing.