Table of Contents
11 External checks
Overview
External check is a check executed by Zabbix server by running a shell script or a binary. However, when hosts are monitored by a Zabbix proxy, the external checks are executed by the proxy.
External checks do not require any agent running on a host being monitored.
The syntax of the item key is:
Where:
| ARGUMENT | DEFINITION |
|---|---|
| script | Name of a shell script or a binary. |
| parameter(s) | Optional command line parameters. |
If you don't want to pass any parameters to the script you may use:
Zabbix server or proxy will search the directory specified for external scripts and execute the command (see ExternalScripts parameter in Zabbix server/proxy configuration file). The command will be executed under the same user as Zabbix server/proxy, so any access permissions or environment variables should be handled in a wrapper script, if necessary. Permissions on the command should also allow that user to execute it. Only commands in the specified directory are available for execution.
Do not overuse external checks, as each script requires starting a fork process by Zabbix server/proxy, and running many scripts can significantly decrease Zabbix performance.
Usage example
Executing the script check_oracle.sh with the first parameters '-h'. The second parameter will be replaced by IP address or DNS name, depending on the selection in the host properties.
Assuming host is configured to use IP address, Zabbix server/proxy will execute:
External check result
The return value of the check is standard output together with standard error (the full output with trimmed trailing whitespace is returned since Zabbix 2.0).
A text (character, log or text type of information) item will not become unsupported in case of standard error output.
In case the requested script is not found or Zabbix server/proxy has no permissions to execute it, the item will become unsupported and corresponding error message will be set. In case of a timeout, the item will be marked as unsupported as well, an according error message will be displayed and the forked process for the script will be killed.