AUTOMATIC ADDITION AND SORTING OF HOSTS IN ZABBIX

Abstract

This article examines the problem of automating the process of adding new network nodes (hosts) to the Zabbix monitoring system and automatically sorting them into groups. Three main issues are identified when using Zabbix’s standard tools: limited host classification, difficulty filtering out unnecessary data, and high server load when scanning a large address space. An analysis of Zabbix’s existing capabilities (network auto-discovery and agent auto-registration) is conducted, and their limitations are shown. As a solution, an external script integrated with Zabbix via its API is proposed, which automatically adds devices to monitoring and assigns them to predefined groups. The proposed approach makes it possible to consider the device type and its location when adding it, as well as to fill in additional inventory data. The paper describes the Zabbix architecture and the protocols used (Zabbix Agent, SNMP, ICMP), details the algorithm of the proposed solution, and compares it with existing analogues. Experimental tests were carried out on a test bench; the results demonstrate successful addition and grouping of hosts without administrator intervention. Charts showing the distribution of hosts by groups, as well as screenshots of the script in operation and the Zabbix interface, are presented. The solution provides a more flexible and scalable way of adding hosts to monitoring compared to standard methods, which is confirmed by the experimental results.