Zabbix Proxy

Zabbix Proxy is a stand-alone Zabbix monitoring system component that transfers monitoring responsibilities to distant locations, hence expanding the capabilities of the Zabbix Server. Serving as a bridge between Zabbix Server and the devices under observation, it gathers data on the server's behalf and forwards it for processing and archiving. Zabbix Proxy divides up the monitoring effort and lowers network traffic, which improves scalability, reliability, and performance.

Why we need Zabbix Proxy ?

Assume you have several different geo-graphical locating devices.

Configuring network connectivity to the Zabbix server for all of the different location devices will need a significant amount of effort and time.

This is why Zabbix Proxy came into play.

• Remote Locations: Deploy proxies in remote or branch offices to monitor local devices and reduce WAN traffic.
• DMZ and Isolated Networks: Place proxies in DMZ or isolated network segments to monitor devices that are not directly accessible from the Zabbix Server.
• Highly Distributed Environments: Use proxies to distribute monitoring workload across multiple locations or data centers for improved scalability and performance.

What Zabbix Proxy do?

Zabbix proxy collects all device metrics and logs on behalf of Zabbix server and forwards them to Zabbix server. Endpoint devices must connect solely to the Zabbix proxy, not the Zabbix server.

Once the Zabbix proxy has been established, all that remains is to configure the Zabbix server for network connectivity.

Key Features and Benefits:

• Reduced Network Load: By caching and compressing monitoring data locally, Zabbix Proxy minimizes network traffic between monitored devices and the Zabbix Server, particularly in large-scale distributed environments.
• Improved Scalability: Zabbix Proxy allows for distributed monitoring deployments, enabling organizations to scale their monitoring infrastructure horizontally by deploying multiple proxies across geographically dispersed locations.
• Enhanced Security: Zabbix Proxy can be deployed in isolated network segments to monitor devices that are not directly accessible from the Zabbix Server, providing an additional layer of security.
• Offline Monitoring: In scenarios where network connectivity is intermittent or unreliable, Zabbix Proxy can buffer monitoring data locally and forward it to the server once connectivity is restored, ensuring continuous monitoring and data integrity.

Architecture of Zabbix and Zabbix Proxy

How to install Zabbix Proxy ?

[ Hope you are have set-up ready for zabbix server ]

Make sure you have at least 2GB Memory and 2v CPU (depends on load )

Download the packages ( Here we using Ubuntu 22, for other check here )

# 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        

# apt install zabbix-proxy-mysql zabbix-sql-scripts        

Configure the database for Zabbix proxy:

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

Load the proxy modules into DB:

# cat /usr/share/zabbix-sql-scripts/mysql/proxy.sql | mysql --default-character-set=utf8mb4 -uzabbix -p zabbix_proxy        

# mysql -uroot -p
password
mysql> set global log_bin_trust_function_creators = 0;
mysql> quit;        

Edit file /etc/zabbix/zabbix_proxy.conf

Change the Database password in the config file and restart

DBPassword=password

Start Proxy services:

# systemctl restart zabbix-proxy && systemctl enable zabbix-proxy