Databbix

User Manual

Real-time data collector for Zabbix

Software version 2.5 · September 2026

Contents

  1. Fundamentals
  2. 1 Introduction
    1. 1.1 What Databbix is
    2. 1.2 How this manual is organised
  3. 2 Architecture and operation
    1. 2.1 One process, one thread per monitor
    2. 2.2 Configuration files
    3. 2.3 Monitor life cycle
  4. 3 Concepts
    1. 3.1 Host, item and key
    2. 3.2 Monitor
    3. 3.3 Query engine
    4. 3.4 Query collection
    5. 3.5 Query
    6. 3.6 Query item
    7. 3.7 Parameter
    8. 3.8 Module
    9. 3.9 Discovery
    10. 3.10 Context
    11. 3.11 Environment variable
    12. 3.12 Runtime data
    13. 3.13 Scripts and transformations
    14. 3.14 Caching and scheduling
    15. 3.15 Web service authentication
  5. Common configuration
  6. 4 Installation and files
    1. 4.1 File locations
    2. 4.2 Bundled query files
    3. 4.3 Environment variables
  7. 5 Daemon configuration
    1. 5.1 Command line
    2. 5.2 The databbix.conf file
    3. 5.3 systemd service
    4. 5.4 Signals
  8. 6 Monitor configuration: common part
    1. 6.1 File structure
    2. 6.2 [General] section
    3. 6.3 [Zabbix] section
    4. 6.4 [Data] section
    5. 6.5 [Log] section
    6. 6.6 Special characters
  9. 7 XML query files: common part
    1. 7.1 What is common and what depends on the engine
    2. 7.2 General rules
    3. 7.3 The <Queries> element
    4. 7.4 Environment variables: <environment>
    5. 7.5 Scripts: <script>
    6. 7.6 The query: <query>
    7. 7.7 The <item> element
    8. 7.8 The <parameter> element
    9. 7.9 Discovery queries
    10. 7.10 Constant queries
  10. 8 Zabbix configuration
    1. 8.1 Item keys
    2. 8.2 Internal items
  11. Engines
  12. 9 Database engine
    1. 9.1 Configuration: the [Database] section
    2. 9.2 Drivers
    3. 9.3 SQL queries: engine-specific elements
    4. 9.4 Query types
    5. 9.5 Contexts
    6. 9.6 Alternative SQL depending on the database
    7. 9.7 Configuration examples
  13. 10 Webservice engine
    1. 10.1 REST and SOAP
    2. 10.2 Configuration: the [Webservice] section
    3. 10.3 REST queries
    4. 10.4 SOAP queries
    5. 10.5 Runtime data
    6. 10.6 Authentication
  14. 11 MQTT engine
    1. 11.1 Configuration: the [MQTT] section
    2. 11.2 Query files
    3. 11.3 Reading values
    4. 11.4 Topic discovery
    5. 11.5 Runtime data
  15. Tools and usage
  16. 12 Script programming
    1. 12.1 Available languages
    2. 12.2 Where scripts are written
    3. 12.3 Execution environment
    4. 12.4 Transforming values in SQL queries
    5. 12.5 Transforming discoveries
    6. 12.6 Transforming web service responses
    7. 12.7 Programming web service authentication methods
  17. 13 The queryexplorer utility
    1. 13.1 Invocation
    2. 13.2 Interactive mode
    3. 13.3 Non-interactive mode
    4. 13.4 Commands
    5. 13.5 Use cases
  18. 14 Practical guide: creating a new query
    1. 14.1 Step 1: write and test the SQL
    2. 14.2 Step 2: choose the query type
    3. 14.3 Step 3: write the XML
    4. 14.4 Step 4: add the file to the monitor
    5. 14.5 Step 5: test with queryexplorer
    6. 14.6 Step 6: create the items in Zabbix
  19. 15 Troubleshooting
    1. 15.1 Log levels
    2. 15.2 Common problems
  20. Appendices
  21. A XML quick reference
    1. A.1 <Queries> level (all engines)
    2. A.2 Constant query (all engines)
    3. A.3 Database engine
    4. A.4 Webservice engine
    5. A.5 MQTT engine
  22. B Default values