Performance: Faster cleanup of old data (dropping a partition is instantaneous compared to Zabbix internal housekeeping).
Recommended: For database bigger than 100GB.
Must have!: For database bigger than 500G.

Warning

Support for MySQL/MariaDB only. Always BACKUP your database before initializing partitioning!

1. Prerequisites

Python 3.6+

Python Libraries: pymysql, pyyaml

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install python3-pymysql python3-yaml
# RHEL/AlmaLinux/Rocky
sudo dnf install python3-pymysql python3-pyyaml
# Or via pip
pip3 install pymysql pyyaml

Database Permissions: The user configured in the script needs:
- SELECT, INSERT, CREATE, DROP, ALTER on the Zabbix database.
- SUPER or SESSION_VARIABLES_ADMIN privilege (required to disable binary logging via SET SESSION sql_log_bin=0 if replicate_sql: False).

2. Installation

Copy the script and config to a precise location (e.g., /usr/local/bin or specialized directory).

mkdir -p /opt/zabbix_partitioning
cp zabbix_partitioning.py /opt/zabbix_partitioning/
cp zabbix_partitioning.conf /etc/zabbix/
chmod +x /opt/zabbix_partitioning/zabbix_partitioning.py

3. Configuration

Edit /etc/zabbix/zabbix_partitioning.conf:

database:
    host: localhost
    user: zbx_part
    passwd: YOUR_PASSWORD
    db: zabbix
    # port: 3306  # Optional, default is 3306

partitions:
    daily:
        - history: 14d
        - history_uint: 14d
        - trends: 365d
        # ... add other options as needed. Please check the config file for more options.

Configuration Parameters

partitions: Defines your retention policy globally.
- Syntax: period: [ {table: retention_period}, ... ]
- daily: Partitions are created for each day.
- weekly: Partitions are created for each week.
- monthly: Partitions are created for each month.
- yearly: Partitions are created for each year.
- Retention Format: 14d (days), 12w (weeks), 12m (months), 1y (years).
initial_partitioning_start: Controls how the very FIRST partition is determined during initialization (--init mode).
- db_min: (Default) Queries the table for the oldest record (MIN(clock)). Accurate but slow on large tables.
- retention: (Recommended for large DBs) Skips the query. Calculates the start date as Now - Retention Period. Creates a single p_archive partition for all data older than that date.
premake: Number of future partitions to create in advance.
- Default: 10. Ensures you have a buffer if the script fails to run for a few days.
replicate_sql: Controls MySQL Binary Logging for partitioning commands.
- False: (Default) Disables binary logging (SET SESSION sql_log_bin = 0). Partition creation/dropping is NOT replicated to slaves. Useful if you want to manage partitions independently on each node or avoid replication lag storms.
- True: Commands are replicated. Use this if you want absolute schema consistency across your cluster automatically.
auditlog:
- In Zabbix 7.0+, the auditlog table does not have the clock column in its Primary Key by default. Do not add it to the config unless you have manually altered the table schema.

4. Zabbix Preparation (CRITICAL)

Before partitioning, you must disable Zabbix's internal housekeeping for the tables you intend to partition. If you don't, Zabbix will try to delete individual rows while the script tries to drop partitions, causing conflicts.

Log in to Zabbix Web Interface.
Go to Administration -> General -> Housekeeping.
Uncheck the following (depending on what you partition):
- Enable internal housekeeping for History
- Enable internal housekeeping for Trends
Click Update.

5. Initialization

This step converts existing standard tables into partitioned tables.

Dry Run (Verify what will happen):

/opt/zabbix_partitioning/zabbix_partitioning.py --init --dry-run

Check the output for any errors.

Execute Initialization:
```
/opt/zabbix_partitioning/zabbix_partitioning.py --init
```
This may take time depending on table size.

6. Automation (Cron Job)

Set up a daily cron job to create new partitions and remove old ones.

Open crontab:
```
crontab -e
```

Add the line (run daily at 00:30):

30 0 * * * /usr/bin/python3 /opt/zabbix_partitioning/zabbix_partitioning.py -c /etc/zabbix/zabbix_partitioning.conf >> /var/log/zabbix_partitioning.log 2>&1

7. Automation (Systemd Timer) — Recommended

Alternatively, use systemd timers for more robust scheduling and logging.

Create Service Unit (/etc/systemd/system/zabbix-partitioning.service):

[Unit]
Description=Zabbix Database Partitioning Service
After=network.target mysql.service

[Service]
Type=oneshot
User=root
ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 /opt/zabbix_partitioning/zabbix_partitioning.py -c /etc/zabbix/zabbix_partitioning.conf

Create Timer Unit (/etc/systemd/system/zabbix-partitioning.timer):

[Unit]
Description=Run Zabbix Partitioning Daily

[Timer]
OnCalendar=*-*-* 00:30:00
Persistent=true

[Install]
WantedBy=timers.target

Enable and Start:

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable --now zabbix-partitioning.timer

View Logs:

journalctl -u zabbix-partitioning.service

8. Troubleshooting

Connection Refused: Check host, port in config. Ensure MySQL is running.
Access Denied (1227): The DB user needs SUPER privileges to disable binary logging (replicate_sql: False). Either grant the privilege or set replicate_sql: True (if replication load is acceptable).
Primary Key Error: "Primary Key does not include 'clock'". The table cannot be partitioned by range on clock without schema changes. Remove it from config.