Defining Zabbix Observer jobs

Using the Zabbix Observer functionality, you can load monitored servers and their associated network resources, and then visualize this data as a topology view in the Agile Service Manager UI. It is installed as part of the core installation procedure.

Before you begin

The Zabbix Observer supports Zabbix Versions 4.0.3, 6.0.3 and 6.4.11.

Ensure you have the Zabbix server details to hand, such as the username, password and SSL TrustStore.

Remember: Swagger documentation for the observer is available at the following default location: https://<your host>/1.0/zabbix-observer/swagger

About this task

A Zabbix Observer job extracts server information and its associated network resources from Zabbix via REST RPC. The Observer loads and updates the resources and their relationships within the Netcool Agile Service Manager core topology service.

zabbix_observer_common.sh
The configuration file you use to customize Zabbix Observer settings.
The parameters defined here are then used by the zabbix_observer_load_start.sh script to trigger the Zabbix Observer jobs.
Tip: Alternatively, you can set the appropriate environment variables. If an environment variable is set, it takes precedence over the config file settings.
You define and start the following job. You must edit the parameters in the config file before running this job.
Full Topology Upload job
A transient (one-off) job that loads all requested topology data.
This job is started by the zabbix_observer_load_start.sh script.

Procedure

To edit the parameters in the config file

  1. Open the zabbix_observer_common.sh config file and edit (at least) the following parameters:
    hostname
    Zabbix hostname or ipaddreess
    username
    Zabbix user name
    password
    Zabbix user password.
    Must be supplied in encrypted format.
    For encryption: Run the encrypt_password.sh script in the ASM_HOME/bin directory: 
    ./bin/encrypt_password.sh
    Enter and then confirm the password. The encryption utility will return an encrypted version.
    certificate
    Optional certificate name. If provided, then a certificate file with the same name must exist in the $ASM/security directory.
    ssl_truststore_file
    Zabbix SSL trust store file for HTTPS authentication
    JKS is the supported format and the file is relative to $ASM_HOME/security
    truststore_password
    Password to decrypt and encrypt Zabbix SSL trust store file
    Must be encrypted.
    For encryption: Run the encrypt_password.sh script in the ASM_HOME/bin directory: 
    ./bin/encrypt_password.sh
    Enter and then confirm the password. The encryption utility will return an encrypted version.
    connect_read_timeout_ms
    Connection timeout in milliseconds (ms), for example '5000'.

To acquire Zabbix SSL certificate and build SSL truststore

  1. Use the following command to use OpenSSL to connect to Zabbix, and extract an SSL Certificate from Zabbix to a <certificate_file_name>.crt file. 
    echo -n | openssl s_client -connect {Zabbix IpAddress}:{SSL port | sed -ne '/-BEGIN CERTIFICATE-/,/-END CERTIFICATE-/p' > ./{certificate_file_name}.crt
  2. Use the following Java keytool command to import the Zabbix certificate file into a keystore and encrypt the keystore with a given password. 
    keytool -import -v -trustcacerts -alias {Zabbix Hostname} -file {certificate_file_name}.crt -keystore {keystore file name} -storepass {your plain text password to encrypt keystore}
    Tip: You will need the following encryption information when editing zabbix_observer_common.sh
    Table 1. Encryption parameters required for zabbix_observer_common.sh
    keystore parameter zabbix_observer_common.sh parameter
    keystore password truststore_password
    keystore file name ssl_truststore_file
  3. Copy the keystore file ({keystore file name}) to the $ASM_HOME/security directory to complete the SSL setup.

To start the Load job

  1. To start the Zabbix Observer Full Topology Upload job, use the following command: 
    $ASM_HOME/bin/zabbix_observer_load_start.sh
    This job loads all requested topology data. Run this job whenever you need Zabbix topology data refreshed.

What to do next

You can also use the following scripts:
zabbix_observer_query_stop.sh
Stops the Full Topology Upload job
zabbix_observer_job_list.sh
Lists the status of current jobs
zabbix_observer_log_level.sh
Sets the log level
Remember: As an alternative to being configured using the Observer Configuration UI, observer jobs have scripts to start and stop all available jobs, to list the status of a current job, and to set its logging levels. These scripts can be run with -h or --help to display help information, and with -v or --verbose to print out the details of the actions performed by the script, including the full cURL command. For the on-prem version of Agile Service Manager, observer scripts are configured for specific jobs by editing the script configuration files.