Install and Configure Zabbix on RHEL 9

 

Introduction

Zabbix is a powerful open-source monitoring solution that provides extensive capabilities for monitoring servers, networks, and applications. It offers real-time monitoring, alerting, and performance metrics, making it a popular choice for IT infrastructure management. This guide will walk you through the steps to install and configure Zabbix on RHEL 9.

Prerequisites

Before you start, ensure you have the following:

• A fresh installation of RHEL 9.
• Root or sudo access to the server.
• Basic knowledge of command-line operations.

Here’s our system configuration (used for this demonstration):

Hostname	node1.naijalabs.net
IP address	192.168.1.219
RAM	8 GB
Cores	4
Operating System	Red Hat Enterprise Linux release 9.4 (Plow)
Zabbix Release Version	7.0-2

Install and Configure Zabbix on RHEL 9: Step-by-Step Instructions

First, ensure your system is up-to-date:

$ sudo dnf update -y

Install Zabbix Repository

To install Zabbix, you need to add the Zabbix repository to your system. Download and install the repository package using the following command:

sudo rpm -Uvh https://repo.zabbix.com/zabbix/7.0/rhel/9/x86_64/zabbix-release-latest.el9.noarch.rpm

Retrieving https://repo.zabbix.com/zabbix/7.0/rhel/9/x86_64/zabbix-release-latest.el9.noarch.rpm
warning: /var/tmp/rpm-tmp.w31pic: Header V4 RSA/SHA512 Signature, key ID b5333005: NOKEY
Verifying...                          ################################# [100%]
Preparing...                          ################################# [100%]
Updating / installing...
   1:zabbix-release-7.0-2.el9         ################################# [100%]

Run this command to update your system’s repository:

sudo dnf clean all

Install Zabbix Server, Frontend, and Agent

Now, install the Zabbix server, web frontend, and Zabbix agent:

sudo dnf install zabbix-server-mysql zabbix-sql-scripts zabbix-web-mysql zabbix-apache-conf zabbix-agent -y

NOTE: Make sure EPEL is not enabled on your machine. Installing Zabbix with EPEL enabled can cause multiple package conflicts.

Install and Configure MySQL Database

Zabbix requires a database to store its data. Install MySQL (or MariaDB) and set it up:

sudo dnf -y install mysql-server

sudo systemctl enable --now mysqld

Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/mysqld.service → /usr/lib/systemd/system/mysqld.service.

Secure the MySQL installation: MySQL comes with a script that helps secure your installation. Run it and follow the on-screen instructions.

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Securing the MySQL server deployment.

Connecting to MySQL using a blank password.

VALIDATE PASSWORD COMPONENT can be used to test passwords
and improve security. It checks the strength of password
and allows the users to set only those passwords which are
secure enough. Would you like to setup VALIDATE PASSWORD component?

Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No: [Press Enter]
Please set the password for root here.

New password:

Re-enter new password:
By default, a MySQL installation has an anonymous user,
allowing anyone to log into MySQL without having to have
a user account created for them. This is intended only for
testing, and to make the installation go a bit smoother.
You should remove them before moving into a production
environment.

Remove anonymous users? (Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No) : Y
Success.


Normally, root should only be allowed to connect from
'localhost'. This ensures that someone cannot guess at
the root password from the network.

Disallow root login remotely? (Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No) : Y
Success.

By default, MySQL comes with a database named 'test' that
anyone can access. This is also intended only for testing,
and should be removed before moving into a production
environment.


Remove test database and access to it? (Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No) : Y
 - Dropping test database...
Success.

 - Removing privileges on test database...
Success.

Reloading the privilege tables will ensure that all changes
made so far will take effect immediately.

Reload privilege tables now? (Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No) : Y
Success.

All done!

Create a database and user for Zabbix: Run the following command to log into MySQL.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Welcome to the MySQL monitor.  Commands end with ; or \g.
Your MySQL connection id is 10
Server version: 8.0.36 Source distribution

Copyright (c) 2000, 2024, Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its
affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective
owners.

Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the current input statement.

mysql>

Inside the MySQL shell, run the following commands:

CREATE DATABASE zabbix CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_bin;

Replace 'your_actual_password' with your preferred password for the zabbix user.

CREATE USER 'zabbix'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_actual_password';

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON zabbix.* TO 'zabbix'@'localhost';

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Temporarily set the log_bin_trust_function_creators variable to  1 for the current session:

SET GLOBAL log_bin_trust_function_creators = 1;
EXIT;

Import Initial Schema and Data

Import the initial schema and data for Zabbix server to the database (as the root user):

sudo -i

zcat /usr/share/zabbix-sql-scripts/mysql/server.sql.gz | mysql -u zabbix -p zabbix

Enter Password:

Enter your Zabbix user password and press the [Enter] key to continue. Allow a few minutes for the import process to complete.

Configure Zabbix Server

Using your preferred text editor, modify the Zabbix server configuration file to set the database connection details:

sudo vim /etc/zabbix/zabbix_server.conf

Update the following parameters:

DBHost=localhost
DBName=zabbix
DBUser=zabbix
DBPassword=your_actual_password
NodeAddress=localhost:10051

Configure PHP for Zabbix Frontend

Edit the Zabbix Apache configuration file to set the correct timezone:

sudo nano /etc/zabbix/zabbix.conf.php

Uncomment and set your timezone. Here’s an example:

php_value date.timezone America/New_York

Start and Enable Apache to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl enable --now httpd

Start Zabbix Server and Agent

Enable and start the Zabbix server and agent services:

sudo systemctl enable --now zabbix-server zabbix-agent

Configure Firewall

Ensure the firewall allows traffic on HTTP and Zabbix ports:

sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=10051/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Configure SELinux for the Zabbix Frontend

If SELinux is enabled (it should be btw), enter the following command to allow the Zabbix frontend to connect to the server:

sudo setsebool -P httpd_can_network_connect on

Access Zabbix Web Interface

Open a web browser and navigate to http://your_server_ip/zabbix. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation. You will need to enter the database details you configured earlier.

Database details example:

Parameter	Value
Database type	MySQL
Database host	localhost
Database name	zabbix
User	zabbix
Password	your_actual_password (or zabbix for this demonstration)

Zabbix Frontend Setup

Click the [Next Step] button to proceed.

Photo by admingeek from Infotechys.com

Verify preliminary checks and click the [Next Step] button to proceed.

Photo by admingeek from Infotechys.com

Enter your Zabbix user password and click the [Next Step] button to proceed.

Photo by admingeek from Infotechys.com

Enter your Zabbix server name. You may also modify the default timezone and theme to your preference. Then, click the [Next Step] button to proceed.

Photo by admingeek from Infotechys.com

Congratulations on completing the Zabbix frontend setup! You will now see a summary page. Click the [Next Step] button to finalize the installation. This will generate a configuration file located at /etc/zabbix/web/zabbix.conf.php, which you can modify as needed to suit your environment.

Photo by admingeek from Infotechys.com

Finally, log into the Zabbix frontend using the default credentials:

• Username: Admin
• Password: zabbix

Photo by admingeek from Infotechys.com

Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues during installation, check the Zabbix server and agent logs for detailed error messages:

• Zabbix server log: /var/log/zabbix/zabbix_server.log
• Zabbix agent log: /var/log/zabbix/zabbix_agentd.log

Make sure all services are running correctly:

sudo systemctl status zabbix-server zabbix-agent httpd mysqld

By following these steps, you ensure a robust setup for your monitoring needs. Zabbix is a versatile tool that, once configured correctly, can provide invaluable insights into your IT infrastructure. The Zabbix documentation is also a great resource to reference for troubleshooting.