Zabbix - Getting Started Guide
Zabbix is an enterprise-grade open-source monitoring platform for servers, networks, applications and cloud services. This server comes with Zabbix Server, Zabbix Frontend, Apache, MySQL and PHP fully installed and configured. The admin password you provided during the order is set automatically - just open the web interface and start monitoring your infrastructure.
Step 1 - Verify Zabbix Works
Your server's IP address and root password are shown on the Server Details page in your client panel. Open http://your.server.ip/zabbix in a browser and log in:
- Username:
Admin(capital A - case-sensitive) - Password: the admin password you entered during the order
After logging in you will see the Zabbix dashboard - your server is already being monitored by the local Zabbix Agent. If the page loads and you can sign in, Zabbix is working correctly.
If you placed the server behind a VyOS router on a private network, either configure port forwarding (ports 22, 80 and 443) to access Zabbix from the internet, or connect over a VPN and reach it on the server's private IP. The Zabbix Agent port (10051) must also be reachable from any remote hosts you want to monitor.
Step 2 - Add Your First Host to Monitor
Your Zabbix server already monitors itself. To add a remote host:
- Go to Data collection → Hosts → Create host
- Enter a Host name (e.g.,
web-server-01) - Add a Host group (e.g.,
Linux servers) - Under Interfaces, click Add → Agent and enter the remote host IP address
- Go to the Templates tab and link a template (e.g.,
Linux by Zabbix agent) - Click Add
The remote host needs Zabbix Agent installed. On an Ubuntu/Debian remote host:
# On the remote host you want to monitor
apt update && apt install -y zabbix-agent2
# Edit the config to point to your Zabbix server
sed -i "s/Server=127.0.0.1/Server=your.zabbix.server.ip/" /etc/zabbix/zabbix_agent2.conf
sed -i "s/ServerActive=127.0.0.1/ServerActive=your.zabbix.server.ip/" /etc/zabbix/zabbix_agent2.conf
systemctl restart zabbix-agent2
systemctl enable zabbix-agent2Step 3 - Set Up Email Alerts
Configure email notifications so Zabbix alerts you when something goes wrong:
- Go to Alerts → Media types → Email
- Configure your SMTP server settings (server, port, sender email)
- Go to Users → Admin → Media tab → Add
- Select Email type and enter your email address
- Go to Alerts → Actions → Trigger actions and enable the default notification action
Post-Installation
Fail2Ban - Brute-Force Protection
Your server comes with Fail2Ban pre-configured to protect SSH from brute-force attacks.
| Rule | Max Attempts | Ban Duration |
|---|---|---|
| SSH | 5 failed logins | 10 minutes |
Useful commands:
# Check banned IPs
fail2ban-client status sshd
# Unban an IP
fail2ban-client set sshd unbanip 1.2.3.4If you accidentally lock yourself out, connect via VNC console in your client panel and unban your IP.
Service Management
# Check Zabbix server status
systemctl status zabbix-server
# Check Zabbix agent status
systemctl status zabbix-agent2
# View Zabbix server logs
tail -f /var/log/zabbix/zabbix_server.log
# View Zabbix agent logs
tail -f /var/log/zabbix/zabbix_agent2.log
# Restart all Zabbix services
systemctl restart zabbix-server zabbix-agent2 apache2Monitoring Templates
Zabbix comes with hundreds of built-in monitoring templates. Common templates:
| Template | Use Case |
|---|---|
| Linux by Zabbix agent | CPU, RAM, disk, network for Linux servers |
| Windows by Zabbix agent | CPU, RAM, disk, network for Windows servers |
| MySQL by Zabbix agent 2 | MySQL database monitoring |
| Nginx by Zabbix agent | Nginx web server monitoring |
| Docker by Zabbix agent 2 | Docker containers monitoring |
| ICMP Ping | Basic availability check (no agent required) |
Updates
To update Zabbix and system packages:
# Update Zabbix and all system packages
apt update && apt upgrade -y
# Restart Zabbix services after update
systemctl restart zabbix-server zabbix-agent2 apache2Note: Always check the Zabbix upgrade notes before major version upgrades.
Software Included
| Component | Version |
|---|---|
| Ubuntu | 24.04 LTS |
| Zabbix Server | 7.0 LTS |
| Zabbix Frontend | 7.0 LTS |
| Zabbix Agent | 7.0 LTS |
| Apache | 2.4 |
| MySQL | 8.0 |
| PHP | 8.3 |
| Fail2Ban | 1.0.2 |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| Cannot access web interface | Check Apache is running: systemctl status apache2. Make sure you use /zabbix path in the URL |
| Login fails with "Admin" user | Username is case-sensitive - use Admin with a capital "A", not admin |
| Zabbix server is not running | Check logs: tail -50 /var/log/zabbix/zabbix_server.log and restart: systemctl restart zabbix-server |
| Host shows as unavailable (red) | Verify the agent is running on the remote host and port 10050 is open. Check with: zabbix_get -s REMOTE_IP -k agent.ping |
| No data from monitored host | Ensure the Zabbix server IP is set in the agent config (Server= in zabbix_agent2.conf) and a template is linked to the host |
| Database connection error | Check MySQL is running: systemctl status mysql. Restart if needed: systemctl restart mysql |
| Blocked by Fail2Ban | Use VNC console in your client panel to unban your IP |
| Forgot root password | Use VNC console in your client panel to reset it |