Zabbix Monitoring Platform Appliance 3.4
(PRODUCTION & testing USE)
This installation will be based on a WMware ESXi 6.7 platform based on the following server template configuration listed below, thus meeting Zabbix MPA requirements. We will be using the precompiled Zabbix Appliance (CD/DVD) ISO instead of the VMware VMDK option as this method will allow you to install both the (Server) and (Proxy) options.
01. First, download the Zabbix 3.4 Appliance CD/DVD ISO and then take some time to have a look at the Zabbix Ubuntu Command Line List which will help guide you through the installation.
- Zabbix Appliance Download & Command List
| Zabbix 3.4 Appliance ISO (CD/DVD) | Download |
| Zabbix Ubuntu Commands List | Command List |
VMWare ESXi Zabbix Server Specs Note:
It's always good to over-spec on your Zabbix Server as this will help assist you for any future overheads or growth, however as we are working with VMWare ESXi, resources can be upgraded as and when needed.
02. Create, setup and configure a VMware Server based on the following Zabbix requirements of your choice, ensure the time on your VMware ESXi server is correct then mount the Zabbix Appliance CD/DVD ISO image to start the process of installation.
- Zabbix VMware Server Requirements
| VMWare Guest Host OS | Ubuntu Linux (64-bit) |
| 2vCPU / 4vCPU | Faster Zabbix Database & Processing |
| 4GB / 8GB vRAM | Faster Zabbix Database & Processing |
| 50GB / 100GB vHDD | Zabbix Database / Data Files / Host History |
Zabbix Official Requirements Documentation: Click Here
03. Once the VMware server has been setup, boot the VM and you will then be prompted with the following screen below, Select the highlighted version below to begin the installation process.
|
Zabbix Appliance Installer Boot Menu
Press ENTER To Boot Or TAB To Edit A Menu Entry |
04. Once the installation has completed, the appliance will then go through a boot up process and you will then be prompted with the Zabbix Terminal, like below.
Microsoft Hyper-V (Blank Screen) If you are seeing a blank screen and no terminal session upon boot-up, then use (CTRL+ATL+F2) to load a session terminal. If this method does not work, then use PuTTY to connect to the Zabbix MPA.
Zabbix Terminal
| Zabbix Server Appliance (mysql) zabbix tty1 Zabbix Login: appliance |
05. Once you are at the Zabbix Terminal, then log into the terminal with the following default appliance credentials below.
- Appliance Login Details
| Appliance | Sudo / Root |
Zabbix Portal | |
| Username | appliance | Admin | |
| Password | zabbix | zabbix | zabbix |
06. Once you have logged in we would best recommend checking to see if you have obtained an Automatic IP Address. You can use the command (ifconfig). Once you have obtained an Automatic IP Address, then carry on to the next protocol by installing the a text editor (GNU Nano). You will install this onto the base appliance which will allow you to edit the necessary server configuration files to get Zabbix fully setup.
READ-ME:
You will have to run the below command using (sudo) in front as you will need to install this using elevated privileges known as sudo (SuperUser Do). The password for sudo is listed above in the appliance login details box.
| appliance@zabbix:~$ sudo apt-get install nano [sudo] password for appliance: zabbix |
Once you have installed the (GNU Nano) editor, then continue on to the next change which will be assigning a (STATIC) IP Address for the Zabbix Appliance instead of keeping the default automatic (DHCP) assignment one.
Zabbix Interfaces
07. Using the following command below we will now use the (GNU Nano) editor command to edit the (INTERFACES) configuration file, and assign a Static IP Address.
| appliance@zabbix:~$ sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces [sudo] password for appliance: zabbix |
08. Once you have entered the command and entered the sudo password, you will then be presented with the (GNU Nano) editor with the following text below.
| # The Primary Network Interface auto ens192 iface ens192 inet dhcp |
We will now amend this DHCP information with STATIC information like below, however please ensure you enter your own IP ranges and take note.
It is also important to not use your default gateway for DNS-Nameservers and to use public facing DNS providers for both Primary and Secondary to ensure that hostnames in Zabbix are being resolved.
| # The Primary Network Interface auto ens192 iface ens192 inet static address 192.168.253.50 netmask 255.255.255.0 network 192.168.253.1 broadcast 192.168.253.255 gateway 192.168.253.1 dns-nameservers 8.8.8.8 8.8.4.4 |
Once you have entered the correct information, then press (CTRL+O) to Write-Out (Save), Then press the (Enter) button on your keyboard and then (CTRL+X) to Exit the GNU Nano editor and return to the Zabbix Terminal.
appliance@zabbix:~$ clear
Clear Current Zabbix Terminal Information.
09. Now reboot the Zabbix Monitoring Platform Appliance using the following command line for the changes to take affect.
| appliance@zabbix:~$ sudo reboot |
10. Once rebooted, go to another workstation or server on the network and ping the new (STATIC) IP Address that you assigned to ensure successful connectivity and confirm that the new IP Address assignment worked.
Zabbix Password
11. Once connectivity checks have been confirm and are successful, you can now change the default (Zabbix Monitoring Platform Appliance) password from the default (zabbix) to one of your choice, using the following command line below.
| appliance@zabbix:~$ passwd Changing password for appliance. (current) UNIX password: zabbix Enter new UNIX password: Retype new UNIX password: passwd: password updated successfully appliance@zabbix:~$ |
Zabbix Hostname
12. We will now continue on to change the (Zabbix Monitoring Platform Appliance’s) default hostname from (zabbix) to one of our own choice (ZBRM01). Log back into the Zabbix Terminal and run the following command line below.
| appliance@zabbix:~$ sudo hostname ZBRM01 [sudo] password for appliance: appliance@zabbix:~$ |
Zabbix Host-Name File
13. We will now edit the hostname file with the following command line below and replace (zabbix) with the name of our own choice (ZBRM01).
| appliance@zabbix:~$ sudo nano /etc/hostname |
| ZBRM01 |
Once the changes have been made then press (CTRL+O) to Write-Out (Save), Then press the (Enter) button on your keyboard and then (CTRL+X) to Exit the GNU Nano editor and return to the Zabbix Terminal.
appliance@zabbix:~$ clear
Clears Current Zabbix Terminal Information.
Zabbix Hosts File
14. We will now edit the hosts file with the following command line below and update the Zabbix Hosts file.
| appliance@zabbix:~$ sudo nano /etc/hosts [sudo] password for appliance: |
Once the hosts file opens, you should see the following below. you will need to remove the line [127.0.1.1 / zabbix.zabbix.lan / zabbix] and add both your (IP Address) and (Hostname) like below.
| 127.0.0.1 localhost 127.0.1.1 zabbix.zabbix.lan zabbix (Remove This Line) 192.168.253.50 ZBRM01 |
Once done then press (CTRL+O) to Write-Out (Save), Then press the (Enter) button on your keyboard and then (CTRL+X) to Exit the GNU Nano editor and return to the Zabbix Terminal. Then carry out the following two command below.
appliance@zabbix:~$ clear
Clear Current Zabbix Terminal Information.
appliance@zabbix:~$ sudo reboot
Reboot The Zabbix Appliance.
Zabbix Region System Time Zone Configuration
15. Now log back into the Zabbix Terminal and use the following commands below to adjust the region time zone and time to your country. This is to ensure both time stamp monitoring and data are correct in the Zabbix Appliance.
| appliance@ZBRM01:~$ sudo cp /usr/share/zoneinfo/Europe/London /etc/localtime |
The above command line will copy the correct region zone from the share to the localtime location, if yours is different, please use the link below to find your region zone and replace the orange highlighted with your region zone.
Ubuntu Region System Time Zone List: Link
Once you have done the above, we will now use the (GNU Nano) editor to replace the region time zone information text from the default (Europe/Riga) to (Europe/London).
| appliance@ZBRM01:~$ sudo nano /etc/apache2/conf-available/zabbix.conf [sudo] password for appliance: |
Once the configuration file opens, change the orange highlighted values to your region zone, in our case it will be (Europe/London)
| <IfModule mod_php5.c> ” “ php_value date.timezone Europe/London <IfModule mod_php7.c> ” “ php_value date.timezone Europe/London |
Once you made the changes then press (CTRL+O) to Write-Out (Save), Then press the (Enter) button on your keyboard and then (CTRL+X) to Exit the GNU Nano editor and return to the Zabbix Terminal. Then carry out the following command below.
appliance@zabbix:~$ sudo reboot
Reboot The Zabbix Appliance.
Zabbix Date & Time Correction
16. Once rebooted, log back into the Zabbix Terminal and then carry out the following commands below to correct the date and time. Ensure your machine or virtual machine has the correct date and time set also.
| appliance@ZBRM01:~$ date Wed Mar 7 11:59:59 BST 2018 on tty1 appliance@ZBRM01:~$ sudo hwclock [sudo] password for appliance: Wed Mar 7 10:59:59 AM BST .00000 seconds appliance@ZBRM01:~$ sudo hwclock –systohc appliance@ZBRM01:~$ sudo hwclock -s appliance@ZBRM01:~$ sudo reboot |
Once rebooted, log back into the Zabbix Terminal and check the date using the (date) command line and also the (sudo hwclock) command line. The time stamps should be the same, if you find the (hwclock) one hour behind then this is fine.
Ubuntu Hardware Time Clock: Link
There are more additional command lines for setting and adjusting the date and time, please refer to Ubuntu Hardware Time Clock.
Zabbix Monitoring Platform Appliance Portal
17. Well done, you can now log into the… Zabbix Portal via http://ipaddress/zabbix, use the login default details below, please note that the username is case sensitive.
| Username | Admin |
| Password | zabbix |
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