Table of Contents

5 Installation from containers

5 Installation from containers

Overview

This section describes how to deploy Zabbix with Docker or Docker Compose.

Zabbix officially provides:

Separate Docker images for each Zabbix component to run as portable and self-sufficient containers.
Compose files for defining and running multi-container Zabbix components in Docker.

Docker

Zabbix provides Docker images for each Zabbix component as portable and self-sufficient containers to speed up deployment and update procedure.

Zabbix components come with MySQL and PostgreSQL database support, Apache2 and Nginx web server support. These images are separated into different images.

Docker file sources

Everyone can follow Docker file changes using the Zabbix official repository on github.com. You can fork the project or make your own images based on official Docker files.

Usage

Environment variables

All Zabbix component images provide environment variables to control configuration. These environment variables are listed in each component repository. These environment variables are options from Zabbix configuration files, but with different naming method. For example, ZBX_LOGSLOWQUERIES is equal to LogSlowQueries from Zabbix server and Zabbix proxy configuration files.

Some of configuration options are not allowed to change. For example, PIDFile and LogType.

Some of components have specific environment variables, which do not exist in official Zabbix configuration files:

Variable	Components	Description
`DB_SERVER_HOST`	Server Proxy Web interface	This variable is IP or DNS name of MySQL or PostgreSQL server. By default, value is `mysql-server` or `postgres-server` for MySQL or PostgreSQL respectively
`DB_SERVER_PORT`	Server Proxy Web interface	This variable is port of MySQL or PostgreSQL server. By default, value is '3306' or '5432' respectively.
`MYSQL_USER`	Server Proxy Web-interface	MySQL database user. By default, value is 'zabbix'.
`MYSQL_PASSWORD`	Server Proxy Web interface	MySQL database password. By default, value is 'zabbix'.
`MYSQL_DATABASE`	Server Proxy Web interface	Zabbix database name. By default, value is 'zabbix' for Zabbix server and 'zabbix_proxy' for Zabbix proxy.
`POSTGRES_USER`	Server Web interface	PostgreSQL database user. By default, value is 'zabbix'.
`POSTGRES_PASSWORD`	Server Web interface	PostgreSQL database password. By default, value is 'zabbix'.
`POSTGRES_DB`	Server Web interface	Zabbix database name. By default, value is 'zabbix' for Zabbix server and 'zabbix_proxy' for Zabbix proxy.
`PHP_TZ`	Web-interface	Timezone in PHP format. Full list of supported timezones are available on php.net. By default, value is 'Europe/Riga'.
`ZBX_SERVER_NAME`	Web interface	Visible Zabbix installation name in right top corner of the web interface. By default, value is 'Zabbix Docker'
`ZBX_JAVAGATEWAY_ENABLE`	Server Proxy	Enables communication with Zabbix Java gateway to collect Java related checks. By default, value is "false"
`ZBX_ENABLE_SNMP_TRAPS`	Server Proxy	Enables SNMP trap feature. It requires zabbix-snmptraps instance and shared volume /var/lib/zabbix/snmptraps to Zabbix server or Zabbix proxy.

Volumes

The images allow to use some mount points. These mount points are different and depend on Zabbix component type:

Volume	Description
Zabbix agent
/etc/zabbix/zabbix_agentd.d	The volume allows to include *.conf files and extend Zabbix agent using the `UserParameter` feature
/var/lib/zabbix/modules	The volume allows to load additional modules and extend Zabbix agent using the LoadModule feature
/var/lib/zabbix/enc	The volume is used to store TLS-related files. These file names are specified using `ZBX_TLSCAFILE`, `ZBX_TLSCRLFILE`, `ZBX_TLSKEY_FILE` and `ZBX_TLSPSKFILE` environment variables
Zabbix server
/usr/lib/zabbix/alertscripts	The volume is used for custom alert scripts. It is the `AlertScriptsPath` parameter in zabbix_server.conf
/usr/lib/zabbix/externalscripts	The volume is used by external checks. It is the `ExternalScripts` parameter in zabbix_server.conf
/var/lib/zabbix/modules	The volume allows to load additional modules and extend Zabbix server using the LoadModule feature
/var/lib/zabbix/enc	The volume is used to store TLS related files. These file names are specified using `ZBX_TLSCAFILE`, `ZBX_TLSCRLFILE`, `ZBX_TLSKEY_FILE` and `ZBX_TLSPSKFILE` environment variables
/var/lib/zabbix/ssl/certs	The volume is used as location of SSL client certificate files for client authentication. It is the `SSLCertLocation` parameter in zabbix_server.conf
/var/lib/zabbix/ssl/keys	The volume is used as location of SSL private key files for client authentication. It is the `SSLKeyLocation` parameter in zabbix_server.conf
/var/lib/zabbix/ssl/ssl_ca	The volume is used as location of certificate authority (CA) files for SSL server certificate verification. It is the `SSLCALocation` parameter in zabbix_server.conf
/var/lib/zabbix/snmptraps	The volume is used as location of snmptraps.log file. It could be shared by zabbix-snmptraps container and inherited using the volumes_from Docker option while creating a new instance of Zabbix server. SNMP trap processing feature could be enabled by using shared volume and switching the `ZBX_ENABLE_SNMP_TRAPS` environment variable to 'true'
/var/lib/zabbix/mibs	The volume allows to add new MIB files. It does not support subdirectories, all MIBs must be placed in `/var/lib/zabbix/mibs`
Zabbix proxy
/usr/lib/zabbix/externalscripts	The volume is used by external checks. It is the `ExternalScripts` parameter in zabbix_proxy.conf
/var/lib/zabbix/modules	The volume allows to load additional modules and extend Zabbix server using the LoadModule feature
/var/lib/zabbix/enc	The volume is used to store TLS related files. These file names are specified using `ZBX_TLSCAFILE`, `ZBX_TLSCRLFILE`, `ZBX_TLSKEY_FILE` and `ZBX_TLSPSKFILE` environment variables
/var/lib/zabbix/ssl/certs	The volume is used as location of SSL client certificate files for client authentication. It is the `SSLCertLocation` parameter in zabbix_proxy.conf
/var/lib/zabbix/ssl/keys	The volume is used as location of SSL private key files for client authentication. It is the `SSLKeyLocation` parameter in zabbix_proxy.conf
/var/lib/zabbix/ssl/ssl_ca	The volume is used as location of certificate authority (CA) files for SSL server certificate verification. It is the `SSLCALocation` parameter in zabbix_proxy.conf
/var/lib/zabbix/snmptraps	The volume is used as location of snmptraps.log file. It could be shared by the zabbix-snmptraps container and inherited using the volumes_from Docker option while creating a new instance of Zabbix server. SNMP trap processing feature could be enabled by using shared volume and switching the `ZBX_ENABLE_SNMP_TRAPS` environment variable to 'true'
/var/lib/zabbix/mibs	The volume allows to add new MIB files. It does not support subdirectories, all MIBs must be placed in `/var/lib/zabbix/mibs`
Zabbix web interface based on Apache2 web server
/etc/ssl/apache2	The volume allows to enable HTTPS for Zabbix web interface. The volume must contain the two `ssl.crt` and `ssl.key` files prepared for Apache2 SSL connections
Zabbix web interface based on Nginx web server
/etc/ssl/nginx	The volume allows to enable HTTPS for Zabbix web interface. The volume must contain the two `ssl.crt`, `ssl.key` files and `dhparam.pem` prepared for Nginx SSL connections
Zabbix snmptraps
/var/lib/zabbix/snmptraps	The volume contains the `snmptraps.log` log file named with received SNMP traps
/var/lib/zabbix/mibs	The volume allows to add new MIB files. It does not support subdirectories, all MIBs must be placed in `/var/lib/zabbix/mibs`

For additional information use Zabbix official repositories in Docker Hub.

Usage examples

Example 1

The example demonstrates how to run Zabbix server with MySQL database support, Zabbix web interface based on the Nginx web server and Zabbix Java gateway.

1. Create network dedicated for Zabbix component containers:

# docker network create --subnet 172.20.0.0/16 --ip-range 172.20.240.0/20 zabbix-net

2. Start empty MySQL server instance

# docker run --name mysql-server -t \
             -e MYSQL_DATABASE="zabbix" \
             -e MYSQL_USER="zabbix" \
             -e MYSQL_PASSWORD="zabbix_pwd" \
             -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD="root_pwd" \
             --network=zabbix-net \
             -d mysql:8.0 \
             --restart unless-stopped \
             --character-set-server=utf8 --collation-server=utf8_bin \
             --default-authentication-plugin=mysql_native_password

3. Start Zabbix Java gateway instance

# docker run --name zabbix-java-gateway -t \
             --network=zabbix-net \
             --restart unless-stopped \
             -d zabbix/zabbix-java-gateway:alpine-5.4-latest

4. Start Zabbix server instance and link the instance with created MySQL server instance

# docker run --name zabbix-server-mysql -t \
             -e DB_SERVER_HOST="mysql-server" \
             -e MYSQL_DATABASE="zabbix" \
             -e MYSQL_USER="zabbix" \
             -e MYSQL_PASSWORD="zabbix_pwd" \
             -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD="root_pwd" \
             -e ZBX_JAVAGATEWAY="zabbix-java-gateway" \
             --network=zabbix-net \
             -p 10051:10051 \
             --restart unless-stopped \
             -d zabbix/zabbix-server-mysql:alpine-5.4-latest

Zabbix server instance exposes 10051/TCP port (Zabbix trapper) to host machine.

5. Start Zabbix web interface and link the instance with created MySQL server and Zabbix server instances

# docker run --name zabbix-web-nginx-mysql -t \
             -e ZBX_SERVER_HOST="zabbix-server-mysql" \
             -e DB_SERVER_HOST="mysql-server" \
             -e MYSQL_DATABASE="zabbix" \
             -e MYSQL_USER="zabbix" \
             -e MYSQL_PASSWORD="zabbix_pwd" \
             -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD="root_pwd" \
             --network=zabbix-net \
             -p 80:8080 \
             --restart unless-stopped \
             -d zabbix/zabbix-web-nginx-mysql:alpine-5.4-latest

Zabbix web interface instance exposes 80/TCP port (HTTP) to host machine.

Example 2

The example demonstrates how to run Zabbix server with PostgreSQL database support, Zabbix web interface based on the Nginx web server and SNMP trap feature.

1. Create network dedicated for Zabbix component containers:

# docker network create --subnet 172.20.0.0/16 --ip-range 172.20.240.0/20 zabbix-net

2. Start empty PostgreSQL server instance

# docker run --name postgres-server -t \
             -e POSTGRES_USER="zabbix" \
             -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD="zabbix_pwd" \
             -e POSTGRES_DB="zabbix" \
             --network=zabbix-net \
             --restart unless-stopped \
             -d postgres:latest

3. Start Zabbix snmptraps instance

# docker run --name zabbix-snmptraps -t \
             -v /zbx_instance/snmptraps:/var/lib/zabbix/snmptraps:rw \
             -v /var/lib/zabbix/mibs:/usr/share/snmp/mibs:ro \
             --network=zabbix-net \
             -p 162:1162/udp \
             --restart unless-stopped \
             -d zabbix/zabbix-snmptraps:alpine-5.4-latest

Zabbix snmptrap instance exposes the 162/UDP port (SNMP traps) to host machine.

4. Start Zabbix server instance and link the instance with created PostgreSQL server instance

# docker run --name zabbix-server-pgsql -t \
             -e DB_SERVER_HOST="postgres-server" \
             -e POSTGRES_USER="zabbix" \
             -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD="zabbix_pwd" \
             -e POSTGRES_DB="zabbix" \
             -e ZBX_ENABLE_SNMP_TRAPS="true" \
             --network=zabbix-net \
             -p 10051:10051 \
             --volumes-from zabbix-snmptraps \
             --restart unless-stopped \
             -d zabbix/zabbix-server-pgsql:alpine-5.4-latest

Zabbix server instance exposes the 10051/TCP port (Zabbix trapper) to host machine.

5. Start Zabbix web interface and link the instance with created PostgreSQL server and Zabbix server instances

# docker run --name zabbix-web-nginx-pgsql -t \
             -e ZBX_SERVER_HOST="zabbix-server-pgsql" \
             -e DB_SERVER_HOST="postgres-server" \
             -e POSTGRES_USER="zabbix" \
             -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD="zabbix_pwd" \
             -e POSTGRES_DB="zabbix" \
             --network=zabbix-net \
             -p 443:8443 \
             -p 80:8080 \
             -v /etc/ssl/nginx:/etc/ssl/nginx:ro \
             --restart unless-stopped \
             -d zabbix/zabbix-web-nginx-pgsql:alpine-5.4-latest

Zabbix web interface instance exposes the 443/TCP port (HTTPS) to host machine.
Directory /etc/ssl/nginx must contain certificate with required name.

Example 3

The example demonstrates how to run Zabbix server with MySQL database support, Zabbix web interface based on the Nginx web server and Zabbix Java gateway using podman on Red Hat 8.

1. Create new pod with name zabbix and exposed ports (web-interface, Zabbix server trapper):

podman pod create --name zabbix -p 80:8080 -p 10051:10051

2. (optional) Start Zabbix agent container in zabbix pod location:

podman run --name zabbix-agent \
           -eZBX_SERVER_HOST="127.0.0.1,localhost" \
           --restart=always \
           --pod=zabbix \
           -d registry.connect.redhat.com/zabbix/zabbix-agent-50:latest

3. Create ./mysql/ directory on host and start Oracle MySQL server 8.0:

podman run --name mysql-server -t \
             -e MYSQL_DATABASE="zabbix" \
             -e MYSQL_USER="zabbix" \
             -e MYSQL_PASSWORD="zabbix_pwd" \
             -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD="root_pwd" \
             -v ./mysql/:/var/lib/mysql/:Z \
             --restart=always \
             --pod=zabbix \
             -d mysql:8.0 \
             --character-set-server=utf8 --collation-server=utf8_bin \
             --default-authentication-plugin=mysql_native_password

3. Start Zabbix server container:

podman run --name zabbix-server-mysql -t \
                         -e DB_SERVER_HOST="127.0.0.1" \
                         -e MYSQL_DATABASE="zabbix" \
                         -e MYSQL_USER="zabbix" \
                         -e MYSQL_PASSWORD="zabbix_pwd" \
                         -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD="root_pwd" \
                         -e ZBX_JAVAGATEWAY="127.0.0.1" \
                         --restart=always \
                         --pod=zabbix \
                         -d registry.connect.redhat.com/zabbix/zabbix-server-mysql-50

4. Start Zabbix Java Gateway container:

podman run --name zabbix-java-gateway -t \
             --restart=always \
             --pod=zabbix \
             -d registry.connect.redhat.com/zabbix/zabbix-java-gateway-50

5. Start Zabbix web-interface container:

podman run --name zabbix-web-mysql -t \
                         -e ZBX_SERVER_HOST="127.0.0.1" \
                         -e DB_SERVER_HOST="127.0.0.1" \
                         -e MYSQL_DATABASE="zabbix" \
                         -e MYSQL_USER="zabbix" \
                         -e MYSQL_PASSWORD="zabbix_pwd" \
                         -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD="root_pwd" \
                         --restart=always \
                         --pod=zabbix \
                         -d registry.connect.redhat.com/zabbix/zabbix-web-mysql-50

Pod zabbix exposes 80/TCP port (HTTP) to host machine from 8080/TCP of zabbix-web-mysql container.

Docker Compose

Zabbix provides compose files also for defining and running multi-container Zabbix components in Docker. These compose files are available in Zabbix docker official repository on github.com: https://github.com/zabbix/zabbix-docker. These compose files are added as examples, they are overloaded. For example, they contain proxies with MySQL and SQLite3 support.

There are a few different versions of compose files:

File name	Description
`docker-compose_v3_alpine_mysql_latest.yaml`	The compose file runs the latest version of Zabbix 5.4 components on Alpine Linux with MySQL database support.
`docker-compose_v3_alpine_mysql_local.yaml`	The compose file locally builds the latest version of Zabbix 5.4 and runs Zabbix components on Alpine Linux with MySQL database support.
`docker-compose_v3_alpine_pgsql_latest.yaml`	The compose file runs the latest version of Zabbix 5.4 components on Alpine Linux with PostgreSQL database support.
`docker-compose_v3_alpine_pgsql_local.yaml`	The compose file locally builds the latest version of Zabbix 5.4 and runs Zabbix components on Alpine Linux with PostgreSQL database support.
`docker-compose_v3_centos_mysql_latest.yaml`	The compose file runs the latest version of Zabbix 5.4 components on CentOS 8 with MySQL database support.
`docker-compose_v3_centos_mysql_local.yaml`	The compose file locally builds the latest version of Zabbix 5.4 and runs Zabbix components on CentOS 8 with MySQL database support.
`docker-compose_v3_centos_pgsql_latest.yaml`	The compose file runs the latest version of Zabbix 5.4 components on CentOS 8 with PostgreSQL database support.
`docker-compose_v3_centos_pgsql_local.yaml`	The compose file locally builds the latest version of Zabbix 5.4 and runs Zabbix components on CentOS 8 with PostgreSQL database support.
`docker-compose_v3_ubuntu_mysql_latest.yaml`	The compose file runs the latest version of Zabbix 5.4 components on Ubuntu 20.04 with MySQL database support.
`docker-compose_v3_ubuntu_mysql_local.yaml`	The compose file locally builds the latest version of Zabbix 5.4 and runs Zabbix components on Ubuntu 20.04 with MySQL database support.
`docker-compose_v3_ubuntu_pgsql_latest.yaml`	The compose file runs the latest version of Zabbix 5.4 components on Ubuntu 20.04 with PostgreSQL database support.
`docker-compose_v3_ubuntu_pgsql_local.yaml`	The compose file locally builds the latest version of Zabbix 5.4 and runs Zabbix components on Ubuntu 20.04 with PostgreSQL database support.

Available Docker compose files support version 3 of Docker Compose.

Storage

Compose files are configured to support local storage on a host machine. Docker Compose will create a zbx_env directory in the folder with the compose file when you run Zabbix components using the compose file. The directory will contain the same structure as described above in the Volumes section and directory for database storage.

There are also volumes in read-only mode for /etc/localtime and /etc/timezone files.

Environment files

In the same directory with compose files on github.com you can find files with default environment variables for each component in compose file. These environment files are named like .env_<type of component>.

Examples