Zabbix 6.0 LTS: Step by step deployment guide with MySQL/PostgreSQL/TimescaleDB

Summary

In this video, Artur Slontons demonstrates how to deploy Zabbix using different database backends, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, and PostgreSQL with the TimescaleDB extension. The tutorial covers installation on Oracle Linux, configuring MySQL and PostgreSQL databases, initial security steps, and fine-tuning configurations for optimal performance. Slontons also walks through setting up Zabbix’s front-end, managing database schemas, and enabling TimescaleDB for enhanced data storage efficiency. This guide is aimed at users looking to implement Zabbix across various environments with a focus on best practices and efficiency.

Takeaways

• 🖥️ The video is about deploying Zabbix on different database backends including MySQL, PostgreSQL, and PostgreSQL with the TimescaleDB extension.
• 📥 The first step involves downloading and installing Zabbix 6.0 on a MySQL database backend, using Oracle Linux 8 and Apache.
• 🔧 The MySQL setup includes installing MySQL Server 8, securing the installation, and performing initial configuration like password setting for the root user.
• 🗃️ Zabbix repository and components are installed next, and a MySQL database is created with the required permissions for the Zabbix user.
• ⚙️ After configuring the database and Zabbix server, the video covers starting the Zabbix components and checking for any errors in the log files.
• 🛠️ The process is repeated for a PostgreSQL backend, installing PostgreSQL 14 and performing necessary tuning using tools like PG Tune for optimal performance.
• 📊 The video explains how to create the Zabbix database, configure the database user, and import the necessary schema for Zabbix on PostgreSQL.
• 🚀 The video also demonstrates deploying Zabbix with the TimescaleDB extension, which involves installing the TimescaleDB repository and performing initial tuning.
• 🔍 TimescaleDB is configured to optimize database space by compressing history and trends records, and automated partitioning is enabled for performance improvement.
• 📑 The video concludes with a recap of the steps to deploy Zabbix on MySQL, PostgreSQL, and PostgreSQL with TimescaleDB, providing a practical guide for users switching between database backends.

Q & A

What are the main database backends discussed for deploying Zabbix?

The main database backends discussed for deploying Zabbix in the video are MySQL, PostgreSQL, and PostgreSQL with TimescaleDB extension.

What is the purpose of using MySQL secure installation during the setup?

The MySQL secure installation step helps improve security by allowing you to set a password for the root user, remove anonymous users, disallow root logins remotely, and remove the test database.

Why is it important to tune the MySQL configuration for Zabbix, especially in production environments?

Tuning the MySQL configuration is important for optimizing performance, especially in production environments where large amounts of data are being processed. Proper tuning can prevent issues with performance bottlenecks and resource limitations.

How does Zabbix handle SQL scripts in version 6.0 compared to previous versions?

In Zabbix version 6.0, the SQL scripts required for the initial setup or upgrades are now part of a separate package (zabbix-sql-scripts), whereas in previous versions, these scripts were included in the Zabbix server package.

What is the significance of setting the correct character set and collation when creating the Zabbix database?

Setting the correct character set and collation ensures that Zabbix supports multilingual environments and can properly handle case-sensitive data distinctions, which is required for Zabbix to function correctly.

What are the key steps involved in setting up PostgreSQL for Zabbix?

The key steps for setting up PostgreSQL for Zabbix include installing the PostgreSQL repository, disabling any older PostgreSQL modules, installing PostgreSQL 14, initializing the database, configuring necessary settings (like max connections), and creating the Zabbix database and user.

What tool does the video suggest for tuning PostgreSQL, and why is it helpful?

The video suggests using the PG Tune online tool, which helps generate recommended configuration parameters for PostgreSQL based on the hardware specifications and application type. It is helpful because it provides a more optimized configuration than the default settings.

What is the TimescaleDB extension used for in the context of Zabbix?

The TimescaleDB extension is used to enhance PostgreSQL's capabilities by enabling automated partitioning of historical data and providing compression for history and trends records, which improves database performance and reduces storage usage.

How is TimescaleDB configured for Zabbix, and what are its benefits?

TimescaleDB is configured by installing the TimescaleDB repository and package, running the timescaledb-tune command for initial tuning, and applying the TimescaleDB extension on the Zabbix database. Its benefits include automated partitioning and the ability to compress historical data, improving performance and reducing database size.

How can you check whether Zabbix has started successfully after installation?

To check if Zabbix has started successfully, you can review the Zabbix server logs located in `/var/log/zabbix/zabbix_server.log`. If there are no error messages and only warnings, it indicates that the server has started correctly.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Introduction to Zabbix Deployment and MySQL Setup

The speaker introduces a tutorial on deploying Zabbix using various database backends, starting with MySQL. The process involves downloading Zabbix, selecting the correct version (6.0), operating system (Oracle 8), and database (MySQL), followed by installing and configuring MySQL. The speaker provides detailed instructions on how to install MySQL, secure the installation, and perform essential configuration, including setting up a password for the root user, removing anonymous users, and disallowing remote root logins.

05:01

🔧 Installing Zabbix Components and Setting Up Apache

This section explains the steps to install Zabbix components using the MySQL backend. The speaker installs various Zabbix packages, including Zabbix server, frontend, and SQL scripts, followed by the configuration of Apache for web hosting. The SQL scripts package is highlighted as a separate new feature introduced in Zabbix 6.0, containing setup and upgrade scripts. The speaker provides guidance on how to create a Zabbix user and database, as well as grant necessary privileges, before importing the initial schema and data.

10:03

🖥️ Configuring Zabbix Frontend and Testing MySQL Setup

The speaker continues with configuring the Zabbix frontend by navigating through installation steps such as selecting the language, configuring database settings, and verifying prerequisites. Key steps include setting up the database connection using the user and password created earlier. The frontend configuration concludes with the user logging into Zabbix with default credentials, confirming that the installation on MySQL is complete and operational.

15:06

📦 Switching to PostgreSQL for Zabbix Installation

In this section, the tutorial shifts to installing Zabbix using PostgreSQL as the database backend. The speaker provides instructions for installing the PostgreSQL repository and initializing the database. Similar to the MySQL setup, the PostgreSQL installation involves creating a Zabbix user, setting up an empty database, and importing the Zabbix schema. Important steps such as tuning PostgreSQL settings for better performance, including max connections, are discussed.

20:06

⚙️ Enhancing PostgreSQL with TimescaleDB for Zabbix

The final segment of the tutorial focuses on adding the TimescaleDB extension to PostgreSQL to optimize Zabbix for time-series data. The speaker demonstrates how to install the TimescaleDB repository, run configuration tuning scripts, and apply the TimescaleDB extension to the Zabbix database. By enabling features like history and trends compression, the TimescaleDB integration significantly improves storage efficiency. The tutorial concludes with the successful deployment of Zabbix on a PostgreSQL backend with TimescaleDB, ensuring optimal performance for large-scale monitoring.

Keywords

💡Zabbix

Zabbix is an open-source monitoring software used for monitoring servers, networks, and applications. In the video, Zabbix is installed and configured on different database backends, showcasing how to deploy it on MySQL and PostgreSQL databases, and how to optimize it for performance with TimescaleDB.

💡MySQL

MySQL is a popular relational database management system. The video demonstrates the process of installing Zabbix with a MySQL database backend, including setting up the MySQL server, securing the root user, and configuring it for use with Zabbix.

💡PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL is another powerful relational database management system. In the video, the installation of Zabbix with a PostgreSQL backend is covered, including setting up the PostgreSQL server, creating the necessary databases and users, and applying Zabbix-specific configurations.

💡TimescaleDB

TimescaleDB is an extension for PostgreSQL that is optimized for time-series data. In the video, TimescaleDB is added to enhance Zabbix’s PostgreSQL setup, which helps with data partitioning and compression, especially for handling large amounts of time-series data generated by Zabbix.

💡Apache

Apache is an open-source web server software. The video includes the installation of Apache as part of the Zabbix setup, which is used to serve the Zabbix web frontend, allowing users to interact with Zabbix through a web interface.

💡Zabbix Web Frontend

The Zabbix web frontend is the graphical interface that allows users to interact with the Zabbix server. In the video, the frontend is installed on both MySQL and PostgreSQL setups, and users are guided through the configuration process, including setting up database connections and verifying the installation.

💡dnf

DNF (Dandified Yum) is a package manager used in Red Hat-based Linux distributions like Oracle Linux, which is used in the video. The script shows how to use the 'dnf' command to install necessary packages for Zabbix, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, TimescaleDB, and Zabbix components.

💡Systemctl

Systemctl is a command-line utility used to control system services. In the video, systemctl is used to start and enable services such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, and the Zabbix server and agent, ensuring that they run automatically on system startup.

💡Schema

A schema refers to the structure of a database, including tables, relationships, and constraints. The video discusses importing the Zabbix schema into the MySQL and PostgreSQL databases, which is a necessary step to set up the Zabbix monitoring system by initializing the database with the correct structure.

💡SELinux

SELinux (Security-Enhanced Linux) is a security module in Linux. In the video, SELinux policies for Zabbix are discussed, ensuring that the necessary permissions are in place for Zabbix to operate correctly within a secure Linux environment.

Highlights

Introduction to deploying Zabbix using different database backends: MySQL, PostgreSQL, and PostgreSQL with TimescaleDB.

Installing MySQL as a database backend for Zabbix using Oracle Linux 8.

Step-by-step process for configuring MySQL database, including security enhancements like setting root password and removing anonymous users.

Instructions on MySQL tuning for production environments, including initial configuration adjustments in `my.cnf`.

Deploying Zabbix 6.0 repository, server components, and web frontend using MySQL.

Creating a Zabbix database and user in MySQL, and initializing the schema for the Zabbix environment.

Starting and verifying Zabbix components and checking server logs to ensure successful setup with MySQL.

Transitioning from MySQL to PostgreSQL as the database backend for Zabbix, with detailed installation steps for PostgreSQL 14 on Oracle Linux 8.

Customizing PostgreSQL settings, such as increasing maximum connections, using `postgresql.conf` for tuning.

Introduction to PG Tune, an online tool for generating optimized configuration settings based on hardware specifications for PostgreSQL.

Installing Zabbix with PostgreSQL backend and running SQL scripts to set up the database schema.

Enabling TimescaleDB extension in PostgreSQL for Zabbix to optimize database performance for time-series data.

Running `timescaledb-tune` to automatically optimize PostgreSQL for TimescaleDB and adjust connection limits.

Verifying successful TimescaleDB setup in Zabbix logs and accessing new housekeeping features, such as automatic data compression for historical data.

Final review of deploying Zabbix on MySQL, PostgreSQL, and PostgreSQL with TimescaleDB, including recommendations for different database environments.

Transcripts

hello and welcome to zabik's series my

name is artur slontons and today we're

going to be talking about deploying

zybix from packages on different

database backends from mysql to postgres

to postgres with timescale db extension

so let's get started all right so i have

the zabic's download page open here and

we will start with installing xavix on a

mysql database backend on apache i will

select the xavix version 6.0 and then i

will select the os distribution which

will be oracle 8 in my case so oracle 8

my sql apache

then we'll have to install our my sql

database backend and then we can simply

follow these here instructions we'll

execute all of these steps in this video

and start using xavix so let's switch to

our terminal

all right so i have switched to my

terminal and now let's install the my

sql database backend so the command to

do that is simple dnf

dnf install my sql server yes this will

install my sql eight so we do need a

database backend where we store all of

our configuration all of our metrics

users and so on everything essentially

and for this use case the first one will

be using my sequel which is the probably

one of the more common ones most well

documented from the community side since

my sequel usage is very widespread out

there so let's give this a moment to

finish installing my sql server 8 and

then we can continue with the initial my

sql configuration

all right so everything has been

installed let's start our my sequel

instance so system

ctl enable my sequel d

dash now now means they will not just

enable it but it will also start it

all right let's give it a moment to

start up

and now what i recommend doing is

executing the mysql secure installation

binary i will copy and paste it here so

it's located under user bin my sql

secure installation this will give you

some initial configuration steps that

are very beneficial for example by

default the root user for my sql doesn't

have any password so this will help us

set up that

so first it will ask me if i wish to

have the validate password component

which accepts

only

relatively complex passwords i will skip

this for my test instance i will use a

simple password then i will provide a

password for root user here so new

password

there we go remove anonymous users yes

disallow root logins remotely in my case

yes but once again depends on your

requirement remove test database

yes and reload the privilege tables so

all of our changes are applied yes okay

that's done my sequel has been started

it's running we've done some minor

initial tuning security wise but also

one more thing that we can do

is we can open the

mysql config file located under etsy

my.cnf and we will see

that it includes files in etsy my cnf

directory and this is where we will be

able to tune our mysql further so let me

quit i will open etsy my cnf dot d

and then if i look at it we have my sql

server.cnf that's what we're looking for

mysql

server.cnf and here we can provide some

additional parameters for my sql tuning

this is very much recommended

for your instances especially if they're

not qa instances but production

instances so we do have blog posts and

videos on how to tune my sql for zabx

general tuning rules do apply here so if

you're familiar with my sql you might be

able to do this on your own but

definitely do some initial tuning since

i'm doing a small test instance here i

will leave it as is my sql use defaults

but you should definitely do some tuning

the same will apply for postgres another

database that we will look at today

all right and now we can continue with

the installation of zabx so

the zabic installation steps are quite

simple first we have to install zabic's

repository the command you can copy it

from the download page i will copy it

here so we're installing zabx 6.0 repo

quite quick i will also clean my dnf

cache in case if i have some old xavix

version repositories or components

cached in

cleaning the cache will sort of help you

avoiding

some potential issues when installing or

upgrading zabbix so i have cleaned it

next i will install the xavix components

once again dnf install i will copy the

command from the download page and then

zabik server for my sql so notice that

these packages have a suffix

so zabik server my sequel is a package

for my sequel zabik's web is the xavix

web package for my sequel and so on then

we'll be installing apache web backend

we will be downloading the zabik's sql

script and the selinux policy and the

agent so let's pass a yes to it and

let's install all of these components so

since we have quite a few components

here from server to front end to sql

script to see linux policies this might

take a while notice that the sql scripts

package is something that's relatively

new the package contains

the sort of initial setup sql scripts

that you will require for your fresh

environment

usually in previous versions they were

contained within the zabik's server

package now we have a separate package

for that so there are not only upgrade

scripts or initial setup scripts there

are a couple of other things in there

everything to do with changes to

zabic's database or implementing a new

database or upgrading

a database to for example use primary

keys which is something that 6.0

introduced so the scripts are in the

sql script package

so let's give this a moment to

finish installing zabi's components and

it's done so now what we have to do is

we have to create the initial database

so let's log into my sql my sql user

root and then password i will pass the

password that i provided for it i'm

logged in

and now i will create the initial

database the commands once again are

available in the download page

so the character set and collation are

used for zabics to not only support

multilingual essential environments but

also to

be able to make distinction between

lowercase and uppercase letters so

that's what the collation is for

and it's a requirement so if you're

following the download page commands you

will be good to go

next up we need to create azabex user

once again copy the command from the

download page create user zabic set

local host identified by and provide

your password i will provide an insecure

password for my qa environment since i'm

isolated from everything out there

but you provide something a bit more

secure so let's use sabix as a password

and then we will grant our xavix user

privileges on the xavix database grant

all privileges on zabic's to zabix at

localhost all right

privileges granted

now we can quit my sequel and now we

have an empty xavix database with the

user that has the necessary privileges

on it

our next step would be to deploy the

initial

database schema and data on this empty

database so once again copy the command

from the download page there it is we

will open up this

archive over here

server.sql and we will import it on our

xavix database by using the zabbix user

press enter and provide the password for

your xavix user and now we have to wait

for a moment so don't cancel anything

the schema and the data are currently

being imported so it may take a while

depending on your performance and some

other things so don't cancel this

okay we can see that the import has

finished i haven't touched anything it

will finish by itself

and now we have to open the zabic server

configuration file

located under etsy zabx zabxserver.conf

and i will search for db

password db password over here and i

will provide my database password db

password is zabx all right so there are

a couple of other database credentials

and other parameters that we can provide

for example database user database

socket database schema which is

something that can be used for postgres

database name over here if we have

created a database with a different name

and of course database host in my case

all of the components are running on the

same machine so i will be using the

default local host but your case could

be different let's save the changes

and now we can attempt and start

the zabic's components so i will do a

system ctl

enable for every component zabic servers

xavix agent web frontend and php

everything has been started and just to

be safe we can check zabik's logs so

open var log zabbix zavik server log

and we can see everything has been

started there are some warning messages

which is perfectly fine java polar isn't

running because we haven't enabled it in

the config file same for ipmi manager

same for vmware collector so perfectly

fine no database errors nothing

everything has been started

okay now we can open up our front end

all right and once we have opened the ip

address of our front end zabx

it will move us to the configuration of

the frontend so

the ip address here i'm running

everything on the same machine so that's

the ap address of my front-end server

and database also so first we have to

select the language

then we have to go through the

prerequisite checklist check if

everything is supported and okay

next we have to provide the user

and the password over here

for the front end to be able to connect

to the database that's the user that we

created previously

on the mysql database itself

then the database type host port and

name

since everything's running on the same

machine in my case i will use the

defaults

then go to the next step optionally

provide zabic server name this is

completely optional

default time zone default theme

and then pre-installation summary and we

should be good to go log in with the

default username admin and password zabx

all lowercase

and you're good to go

alright so we have managed to install

zabix on a mysql backend let's move to

postgres

all right for our second example we will

use zabik 6.0 oracle linux but this time

we will be installing xavix on a

postgres database backend so once again

the instructions are quite similar

except here we will see postgres

commands and of course as a prerequisite

we have to deploy a postgres database

backend so let's open our terminal and

let's do just that

all right so first things first we have

to install the postgres repository we'll

be installing the

postgres14 so let's install the

postgres14 repository

we will be using the latest repo and

we'll be using the one used for rhel8

since it's compatible with oracle linux

8 so let's install it

and after that we'll be done we will

have to do some additional steps

exclusive to postgres but let's wait for

the repository to be installed

all right the repository has been

installed so next let's do an optional

step and let's check

if we have some modules for older

postgres versions enabled and let's

disable them you can find the command

over here let's run it i don't think

that on this machine will necessarily

find any older modules but better to be

safe this very image depends on your

specific environment

so let's give this a moment it will

check for older postgres versions and

disable the corresponding modules

all right and now we can safely install

postgres 14 server so there it is dnf

install yes

postgres14 server let's install it

and this might take a moment once again

same as with the mysql database backend

so let's give this

some time all right that was actually

rather quick

now we have to initialize the postgres14

database

and there we go

we need to run the posers14 setup with

initialize database let's run it

the database has been initialized

successfully all right all's good now we

can try and start the postgres database

itself system control

enable postgres14 now we will enable and

start it

success

now we need to verify that everything is

working and connect to the postgres user

so we will use sudo su to connect to it

success we have connected to postgres

that's great now we can open the

postgres

command line over here there we go and

we have connected to the postgres

instance and it's up and running

everything looks good all right let's

quit

let's exit from the postgres user

and

now of course same as with my sql

ideally you would have to do some tuning

so let's open

var lib

pg sql

14

data and then postgresql postgresql.conf

and here we can find the postgres

configuration parameters that once again

we need to tune i will show you a good

tool to use for initial tuning in a

moment but what i wish to tune right now

right off the bat is maximum connections

so let's search for max connections

and it's 100

which depending on the size your zabex

instance might be maybe too small so

maybe you wish to tune it up to 150

let's save this and let's restart

postgres

so system control restart

postgresql

14

good and the changes have been applied

as for the other parameters i highly

recommend this here pg tune online tool

you can find it over here i will leave

the link in the description where you

can essentially provide

your hardware specifications and the

tool will generate

some

recommended parameters for your postgres

configuration so for example next type

of application let's say i have

eight gigs

for cpus 150 connections this is the

storage

and there we go it has provided me a

nice decent initial configuration which

is once again better than the default

one

so that's something that can be good if

you're maybe not feeling comfortable

configuring postgres from scratch

yourself

all right now let's move back to our

terminal

and let's install zabx

alright some of the next steps should

feel quite familiar to you so once again

we will install zabik 6.0 repository

there we go it has been installed we

will do a dnf clean all to clean the dnf

cache and we will install zaby's

component such as the server the front

end the agent so let's give them some

time to get installed

note that this time we are using the pg

sql packages as opposed to my sql

packages because for server and the web

components there are individual packages

for different types of database backends

so that's something that you don't want

to mix up pg sql for postgres

mysql for

mysql alright the components have been

installed

now what we have to do is we have to

create a zabx user for our postgres

database create user zabx and provide a

password for it

zabx like so and verify it

then we also have to create an empty

database

let's do this so create database

zabx let's go

and next up we have to import the

initial schema same as we did for my sql

so let's copy the command and as opposed

to my sql we can actually see

the tables and indexes and all of the

data

getting inserted into the database and

getting created so we just have to let

it finish

once we have finished importing the

initial schema and data once again we

have to open zabik's zabxserver.conf

look for the database password fields

and maybe any other fields that we need

to

tune and configure and provide the

password the hostname schema socket and

so on in my case i will be providing

only the password

and saving

the configuration now we can try and

start these avex components same as

before

system control enables avex server agent

frontend

with the now

flag and this will essentially not only

enable but also start everything

let's check the zabic server logs var

log zabik's zabx server log no error

messages everything seems to be good

and now same as before we can log into

our front end do the initial front-end

configuration and we should be good to

go

but that's not all

let's also deploy the time scale db

extension on this here postgres instance

to install the timescale db we will be

using the official timescale

documentation feel free to open it up

and follow my commands once again i'll

be installing on oracle linux 8 where

rhl8 instructions also work once we have

installed timescale then we will have to

deploy some prerequisite configuration

available in the xavix documentation

once again feel free to open up the

secure timescale db setup page

and follow what i'm doing

so let's get started and let's open up

our terminal and deploy timescale db

so over here i am using the same

instance as in the previous example we

have zabbix with postgres database

backend running and i will start by

stopping it system control stop zabbix

server

so there we go give it a moment

everything has been stopped and we will

first create a timescale db repository

file you can find the command in the

timescale db official documentation i

will simply copy and paste it

and hit enter and i have created a

timescale db repository file

then i will install

timescaledb

for

postgres14.

so over here dnf install timescale db2

postgres14 yes so let's give it a moment

it will grab the new repository and it

should be installed in a bit

all right we have installed timescale

now what we have to do

i will execute the timescale db tune

which will essentially provide some

initial tuning for timescale db

instances it's not perfect and we will

have to

fix it up most likely in a moment

but it does optimize your database for

time scale so we will have to provide

our pg config location which is user pg

sql 14 bin and mpg config time scale db

tune let's run it

now it's asking us about some of the

parameters that it wants to apply i will

agree to everything and then manually

change some things but in real life of

course go through each one of these and

decide if they work for you or should

they be tuned differently

all right

and

the timescale db tune has been executed

and it has updated our configuration we

can take a look at it

and i will change one parameter most

likely

so let's open our postgres config file

and what i'm going to change is the max

connections if i recall correctly yes it

has reset them to 25

which is not sufficient i will move it

back to 150 as it was before

save

and afterwards also restart postgres

let's do it

like so to apply the changes

now what we have to do is a couple of

simple steps first we need to apply the

time scale db extension on xavix

database you can find the command in our

documentation

so create extension timescale db on

zabics and we can see that the extension

has been applied

and then we have to do some initial

configuration for timescale by running a

timescale db.sql script

once again it's located in the zabic sql

scripts directory under user shared doc

postgres timescale db and we will use

our xavix user and apply it on our xavix

database

and it has been applied successfully

let's try and start our zabik server and

let's see if timescale is running

let's check our log files var

log zabik's zabx server log everything

has been started no error messages

another thing that we can do now

is we can open up our front end and take

a look if we have some new settings

under housekeeping

all right so let's navigate to

administration general housekeeping and

if we scroll all the way down we can see

that yes now with time scale db

we have the option to compress our

history and trends records which will

greatly free up the space on our

database back-end server and also under

the hood we have automated partitioning

running so that's also extremely great

no need to run

any custom scripts

so that's that i hope you enjoyed this

we have deployed zabics on mysql

postgres and postgres with timescale

database backends this should work as a

nice initial guide if you're starting

fresh with zabics or maybe you're

switching between database backhands and

you're new to postgres for example and

wondering how it can be quickly

configured thank you for your interest

guys i hope this was useful and i'll see

you next time