Install Zabbix Server on Proxmox

This guide covers how to deploy a Zabbix monitoring server as a Proxmox LXC container using the community helper scripts, and complete the initial web setup wizard.

This guide implements the concept introduced in Chapter 2 — Monitoring.

What You'll Learn

• How to deploy a Zabbix server container on Proxmox using the community helper scripts
• How to complete the Zabbix web setup wizard
• How to retrieve and use the auto-generated database credentials
• How to configure the server name and timezone during initial setup

Prerequisites

• A running Proxmox VE instance (see Install Proxmox VE)
• SSH or console access to the Proxmox host
• Internet access on the Proxmox host (the script downloads packages during installation)

Used Versions

Step-by-Step Implementation

1. Run the Proxmox helper script

1. Open an SSH session to your Proxmox host or use the web shell (Datacenter → your node → Shell):

   ssh root@<proxmox-ip>
   

2. Run the Zabbix community helper script:

   bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/main/ct/zabbix.sh)"
   

3. Accept the default installation options when prompted. The script creates an LXC container with Zabbix Server, the web frontend, and a PostgreSQL database.

   Default container resources

   The helper script provisions the container with 2 CPU cores, 4 GB of RAM, and 6 GB of disk space. These defaults are adequate for small to medium community networks. You can adjust them later from the Proxmox web interface.

4. Wait for the script to finish. It will display the container's IP address at the end.

2. Open the Zabbix web setup

1. On a computer connected to the same network, open a browser and navigate to:

   http://<zabbix-ip>/zabbix/setup.php
   

   Replace <zabbix-ip> with the IP address shown at the end of the installation script.

2. The Zabbix welcome page appears, confirming the web frontend is running.

   

3. Click Next step to proceed.

3. Configure the database connection

1. Go to the Proxmox web interface and open the console of the Zabbix container (Datacenter → your node → the Zabbix CT → Console).

2. Retrieve the auto-generated database credentials:

   cat ~/zabbix.creds
   

   

3. Back in the browser, on the Configure DB connection page, fill in the fields using the credentials from the previous sub-step:

   • Database host: the value shown in the credentials file (typically localhost)
   • Database port: 0 (means use the default port)
   • Database name: the database name from the credentials file
   • User: the database user from the credentials file
   • Password: the database password from the credentials file

   

4. Click Next step to continue.

4. Complete the setup wizard

1. On the Settings page, configure:

   • Zabbix server name: enter a descriptive name for your server (e.g., Community Network Zabbix)
   • Default time zone: select your local timezone

   

2. Click Next step to review the configuration summary.

3. Verify all settings are correct and click Finish.

References

• Proxmox VE Helper Scripts — Zabbix — https://community-scripts.github.io/ProxmoxVE/scripts?id=zabbix
• YouTube: "Use Proxmox to monitor network devices with Zabbix" — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFtqJx5vpgc

Revision History