SNMP Trap and Zabbix Integration

Input and output integration overview

The SNMP Trap Telegraf plugin enables the receipt of SNMP notifications, facilitating comprehensive network monitoring by capturing important events from network devices.

This plugin sends metrics to Zabbix via traps, allowing for efficient monitoring of systems and applications. It supports automated configuration and data sending based on dynamic metrics collected by Telegraf.

Integration details

SNMP Trap

The SNMP Trap plugin serves as a receiving endpoint for SNMP notifications, known as traps and inform requests. Operating over UDP, it listens for incoming notifications, which can be configured to arrive on a specific port. This plugin is integral to network monitoring and management, allowing systems to collect and respond to SNMP traps sent from various devices across the network, including routers, switches, and servers. The plugin supports secure transmission options through SNMPv3, enabling authentication and encryption parameters to protect sensitive data. Additionally, it gives users the flexibility to configure multiple aspects of SNMP like MIB file locations, making it adaptable for various environments and use cases. Transitioning from the deprecated netsnmp backend to the more current gosmi backend is recommended to leverage its enhanced features and support. Users implementing this plugin can effectively monitor network events, automate responses to traps, and maintain a robust network monitoring infrastructure.

Zabbix

The Telegraf Zabbix plugin is designed to send metrics to Zabbix, an open-source monitoring solution, using the trap protocol. It supports various versions from 3.0 to 6.0, ensuring compatibility with recent updates. The plugin facilitates easy integration with the Zabbix ecosystem, allowing users to send collected metrics and monitor system performance seamlessly. Key functionalities include the ability to define the address and port of the Zabbix server, options for prefixing keys, determining the type of data sent (active vs. trapper), and features for low-level discovery (LLD) enabling dynamic item creation based on the metrics observed. Configuration options also allow for autoregistration and resending intervals for LLD data, ensuring that the metrics are up-to-date and relevant. Additionally, the trap format used for sending metrics is structured to facilitate efficient data transfer and processing in Zabbix.

Configuration

SNMP Trap

[[inputs.snmp_trap]]
  ## Transport, local address, and port to listen on.  Transport must
  ## be "udp://".  Omit local address to listen on all interfaces.
  ##   example: "udp://127.0.0.1:1234"
  ##
  ## Special permissions may be required to listen on a port less than
  ## 1024.  See README.md for details
  ##
  # service_address = "udp://:162"
  ##
  ## Path to mib files
  ## Used by the gosmi translator.
  ## To add paths when translating with netsnmp, use the MIBDIRS environment variable
  # path = ["/usr/share/snmp/mibs"]
  ##
  ## Deprecated in 1.20.0; no longer running snmptranslate
  ## Timeout running snmptranslate command
  # timeout = "5s"
  ## Snmp version; one of "1", "2c" or "3".
  # version = "2c"
  ## SNMPv3 authentication and encryption options.
  ##
  ## Security Name.
  # sec_name = "myuser"
  ## Authentication protocol; one of "MD5", "SHA", "SHA224", "SHA256", "SHA384", "SHA512" or "".
  # auth_protocol = "MD5"
  ## Authentication password.
  # auth_password = "pass"
  ## Security Level; one of "noAuthNoPriv", "authNoPriv", or "authPriv".
  # sec_level = "authNoPriv"
  ## Privacy protocol used for encrypted messages; one of "DES", "AES", "AES192", "AES192C", "AES256", "AES256C" or "".
  # priv_protocol = ""
  ## Privacy password used for encrypted messages.
  # priv_password = ""

Zabbix

[[outputs.zabbix]]
  ## Address and (optional) port of the Zabbix server
  address = "zabbix.example.com:10051"

  ## Send metrics as type "Zabbix agent (active)"
  # agent_active = false

  ## Add prefix to all keys sent to Zabbix.
  # key_prefix = "telegraf."

  ## Name of the tag that contains the host name. Used to set the host in Zabbix.
  ## If the tag is not found, use the hostname of the system running Telegraf.
  # host_tag = "host"

  ## Skip measurement prefix to all keys sent to Zabbix.
  # skip_measurement_prefix = false

  ## This field will be sent as HostMetadata to Zabbix Server to autoregister the host.
  ## To enable this feature, this option must be set to a value other than "".
  # autoregister = ""

  ## Interval to resend auto-registration data to Zabbix.
  ## Only applies if autoregister feature is enabled.
  ## This value is a lower limit, the actual resend should be triggered by the next flush interval.
  # autoregister_resend_interval = "30m"

  ## Interval to send LLD data to Zabbix.
  ## This value is a lower limit, the actual resend should be triggered by the next flush interval.
  # lld_send_interval = "10m"

  ## Interval to delete stored LLD known data and start capturing it again.
  ## This value is a lower limit, the actual resend should be triggered by the next flush interval.
  # lld_clear_interval = "1h"

Input and output integration examples

SNMP Trap

1. Centralized Network Monitoring: Integrate the SNMP Trap plugin into a centralized monitoring solution to receive alerts about network devices in real-time. By configuring the plugin to listen for traps from various routers and switches, network administrators can swiftly react to issues, such as device outages or critical thresholds being surpassed. This setup enables proactive management and quick resolutions to network problems, ensuring minimal downtime.

2. Automated Incident Response: Use the SNMP Trap plugin to trigger automated incident response workflows whenever specific traps are received. For instance, if a trap indicating a hardware failure is detected, an automated script could be initiated to gather diagnostics, notify support personnel, or even attempt a remediation action. This approach enhances the efficiency of IT operations by reducing manual interference and speeding up response times.

3. Network Performance Analytics: Deploy the SNMP Trap plugin to collect performance metrics along with traps for a comprehensive view of network health. By aggregating this data into analytics platforms, network teams can analyze trends, identify bottlenecks, and optimize performance based on historical data. This allows for informed decision-making and strategic planning around network upgrades or changes.

4. Integrating with Alerting Systems: Connect the SNMP Trap plugin to third-party alerting systems like PagerDuty or Slack. Upon receiving predefined traps, the plugin can send alerts to these systems, enabling teams to be instantly notified of important network events. This integration ensures that the right people are informed at the right time, helping maintain high service levels and quick issue resolution.

Zabbix

1. Dynamic Monitoring of Containerized Applications: Integration of the Zabbix plugin can be leveraged to monitor Docker containers dynamically. As containers are created and removed, the plugin can automatically update Zabbix with the appropriate metrics, ensuring that monitoring stays current without manual configuration. This enhances visibility into resource usage and performance metrics for microservices orchestrated with Kubernetes or Docker Swarm.

2. Real-Time Performance Monitoring with Auto-registration: By enabling the autoregister feature, the plugin can automatically register hosts in Zabbix based on the metrics received. This scenario provides a streamlined approach to add new hosts to monitoring without manual setup, which is particularly useful in environments where hosts may frequently spin up and down, such as serverless architectures or cloud-based deployments.

3. Leveraging Low-level Discovery for Flexible Metric Capture: Using low-level discovery, this plugin allows Zabbix to adaptively create items for metrics that are not predefined. In a scenario involving multiple network devices reporting different performance metrics, the plugin can dynamically inform Zabbix about new metrics as they appear, thus ensuring comprehensive monitoring capabilities that evolve with the monitored systems.

4. Centralized Monitoring of Distributed Systems: The Zabbix plugin can be utilized in a centralized monitoring setup for distributed systems where multiple Telegraf instances are running across different geographical locations. By sending all metrics to a central Zabbix server, organizations can achieve a holistic view of their infrastructure’s performance and make informed operational decisions.

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