What this book covers

Chapter 1, Zabbix Configuration, covers the entire installation of Zabbix from scratch. This includes installation of the Zabbix server and agent. At the end of this chapter is the procedure to install Zabbix in a distributed way.

Chapter 2, Getting Around in Zabbix, helps you discover the frontend, explains the Zabbix definitions, and shows you how to acknowledge triggers. To give you a better understanding of what is possible with your Zabbix setup, this chapter goes a bit deeper into the Zabbix architecture.

Chapter 3, Groups, Users, and Permissions, explains how to create hosts in Zabbix and split them in groups. This chapter also covers how to create users and user groups. Then it explains the different ways to authenticate and administer Zabbix.

Chapter 4, Monitoring with Zabbix, takes you to the next logical step— explaining every item that can be created in Zabbix, by making use of easy-to-follow recipes.

Chapter 5, Testing with Triggers in Zabbix, shows you how to build triggers in an easy way with the trigger constructor. This chapter also covers how to build more advanced triggers and how to test them.

Chapter 6, Working with Templates, explains what templates are and how to create, link, and nest them in Zabbix. This chapter also teaches you how to make use of macros in your templates.

Chapter 7, Data Visualization and Reporting in Zabbix, explains the different ways to visualize data in Zabbix by making use of graphs, screens, slideshows, and maps. This chapter also covers how to create reports and SLA reports in Zabbix.

Chapter 8, Monitoring VMware and Proxies, shows you how to monitor your VMware infrastructure. Then this chapter explains the different kinds of proxies and how to use them for monitoring.

Chapter 9, Autodiscovery, demonstrates how to discover hosts on your network with Zabbix and perform automation after the discovery. This chapter also introduces automatic registration of active agents and low-level discovery of items.

Chapter 10, Zabbix Maintenance and API, explains how to place hosts in your Zabbix in maintenance mode. This chapter also covers internal items in Zabbix, what to back up, and some performance considerations. Last but not least, it covers the Zabbix API and shows you how to add hosts with the API using examples.

Appendix, Upgrading and Troubleshooting Zabbix, is an overview demonstrating how to upgrade your installation, how to troubleshoot Zabbix, and some best practices to follow. This chapter teaches you some guidelines and talks about the upcoming Zabbix version. It also shows you how to interact with the community, as this will probably be the first point of contact when there are Zabbix-related issues.