[Packt Publishing] Zabbix Network Monitoring Essentials [2013, ENG]

Section 1: Quick start

This section provides a bird's eye view on Zabbix, including a quick start so that the viewer can get a good impression of what Zabbix is good for, what requirements there are, and also get a first visual impression of its web interface.
- Installing the Zabbix Software Appliance
- Brief Tour through the Web Interface
- Exploring the Dashboard

Section 2: Zabbix server installation

This section deals with the various components of a Zabbix system. At first, a diagram should help. The installation procedure is shown from the available binary packages on a Debian server. And finally the setup wizard is shown to help set up the configuration file of a Zabbix server.
- Software Components
- Zabbix Server Installation
- Web Interface Preparation

Section 3: Getting your first notification

The focus of this section is actually getting a parameter monitored. It shows you how to check for the availability of a certain file and get an e-mail if the file is missing. It is a straightforward introduction, dealing with hosts, items, triggers, media, and action settings but uses as little of the terminology as possible to avoid confusing the viewer.
- Installing the Zabbix Agent on the Server
- Adding an Item
- Adding a Trigger
- Adding an Action to Send an E-mail

Section 4: Hosts and templates

In this section, the viewer learns how to organize hosts in host groups, use templates to avoid repetitive tasks, and how host macros can help customize templated items for specific hosts. All this is shown by example in the web interface. And finally the viewer will learn about maintenance periods and how to configure them properly.
- Hosts
- Automatic Host Discovery
- Templates
- Maintenance Periods

Section 5: Items

This section deals with the core concept of Zabbix items. The reader learns what an item is, how item data can be gathered, and how historical data can be graphed or viewed in plain text. It shows the power of ad hoc graphs and how to zoom in and out of graphs. It also helps the viewer add their own special items and to debug an item collection. At first, the viewer will see how to create different types of items in the web interface. The zabbix_get and zabbix_sender commands are then explained in detail for practical use in a shell window. And the automatic discovery feature is explained, which helps with larger IT infrastructures to gather hosts automatically and also add items without performing repetitive steps in the item configuration.
- Item Parameters Explained
- Filtering Items
- Item History and Ad hoc Graphs
- Adding Items Using UserParameters
- Automatic Item Discovery
- User Macros

Section 6: Triggers, actions, and media

This section deals with how to alert the system administrator in case of items becoming of unwanted value. A trigger is set up by example in the web interface using the assistant. Also, the upstream documentation is shown so the user can find the proper trigger functions in the reference guide. Trigger dependencies are explained, which help keep the amount of alert messages low by defining which services depend on each other. The concept and structure of an action is explained by creating an action that sends alert e-mails. Next, an alert is triggered so that the user can see that a trigger fired and the action ran properly. As an add-on, the power of acknowledgments and escalations are shown, which gives detailed control for what happens to an action if nobody acknowledges a situation. And finally the media types are explained and the default script template from the Zabbix documentation is taken as an example for own custom communication methods.
- Triggers
- Trigger Dependencies
- Actions
- Remote Commands
- Escalations and Acknowledgments
- Media Types

Section 7: Users, screens, and maps

This section deals with two major topics. In the first two videos, it will explain how to manage users and permissions. We will take a look at users and groups and how we can limit what these users can see or do. The next two videos will deal with visualizing data using screens and maps. We will add a screen and show the available widgets. And we will create a map to get a better overview of our network and use host macros to show the latest values directly on the map.
- User Management
- User Access Permissions
- Screens
- Maps
- Displaying Data in Maps