Initial configuration

After compilation or installation from the package, we have to configure some basic parameters for the server and agent. Default configuration files are provided with Zabbix. The location of these files will depend on the installation method you chose:

• Source installation: /usr/local/etc
• RHEL/CentOS/Debian/Ubuntu package installation: /etc

On other distributions, the files might be located in a different directory. In this book, we will reference binaries and configuration files using relative names, except in situations where the absolute path is recommended or required.

To configure the Zabbix agent, we don't have to do anything. The default configuration will do just fine for now. That was easy, right?

For the server, we will need to make some changes. Open the zabbix_server.conf file in your favorite editor (you will need to edit it as the root user) and find the following entries in the file:

• DBName
• DBUser
• DBPassword

DBName should be zabbix by default; we can leave it as is. DBUser is set to root, and we don't like that, so let's change it to zabbix. For DBPassword, choose any password. You won't have to remember it, so be creative.

In UNIX-like solutions, a hash character or # at the beginning of a line usually means that the line is commented out. Make sure not to start lines you want to have an effect with a hash.