Overview

    Also, using a proxy is the easiest way of implementing centralized and distributed monitoring, when all agents and proxies report to one Zabbix server and all data is collected centrally.

    A Zabbix proxy can be used to:

    • Monitor remote locations

    • Offload the Zabbix server when monitoring thousands of devices

    • Simplify the maintenance of distributed monitoring

    The proxy requires only one TCP connection to the Zabbix server. This way it is easier to get around a firewall as you only need to configure one firewall rule.

    Zabbix proxy must use a separate database. Pointing it to the Zabbix server database will break the configuration.

    All data collected by the proxy is stored locally before transmitting it over to the server. This way no data is lost due to any temporary communication problems with the server. The ProxyLocalBuffer and ProxyOfflineBuffer parameters in the proxy configuration file control for how long the data are kept locally.

    It may happen that a proxy, which receives the latest configuration changes directly from Zabbix server database, has a more up-to-date configuration than Zabbix server whose configuration may not be updated as fast due to the value of . As a result, proxy may start gathering data and send them to Zabbix server that ignores these data.

    Zabbix proxy is a data collector. It does not calculate triggers, process events or send alerts. For an overview of what proxy functionality is, review the following table:

    [1] To make sure that an agent asks the proxy (and not the server) for active checks, the proxy must be listed in the ServerActive parameter in the agent configuration file.

    Configuration

    Adding proxies

    To configure a proxy in Zabbix frontend:

    • Click on Create proxy

    The Encryption tab allows you to require encrypted connections with the proxy.

    Host configuration

    You can specify that an individual host should be monitored by a proxy in the host configuration form, using the Monitored by proxy field.

    Host is another way of specifying that hosts should be monitored by a proxy.