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README.md

Zabbix Database Partitioning Guide (Python based)

This guide describes how to set up and manage database partitioning for Zabbix using the zabbix_partitioning.py script.

Overview

The script manages MySQL table partitions based on time (Range Partitioning on the clock column). It automatically:

  1. Creates future partitions to ensure new data can be written.
  2. Drops old partitions based on configured retention periods.

Benefits:

  • 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

  1. 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.

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

5. Initialization

This step converts existing standard tables into partitioned tables.

  1. Dry Run (Verify what will happen):

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

    Check the output for any errors.

  2. 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.

  1. Open crontab: 
    crontab -e
  2. 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.

  1. 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

  2. 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

  3. Enable and Start:

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

  4. 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.

9. Docker Usage

You can run the partitioning script as a stateless Docker container. This is ideal for Kubernetes CronJobs or environments where you don't want to manage Python dependencies on the host.

9.1 Build the Image

The image is not yet published to a public registry, so you must build it locally:

cd /opt/git/Zabbix/partitioning
docker build -t zabbix-partitioning -f docker/Dockerfile .

9.2 Operations

The container uses entrypoint.py to auto-generate the configuration file from Environment Variables at runtime.

Scenario A: Dry Run (Check Configuration)

Verify that your connection and retention settings are correct without making changes.

docker run --rm \
  -e DB_HOST=10.0.0.5 -e DB_USER=zabbix -e DB_PASSWORD=secret \
  -e RETENTION_HISTORY=7d \
  -e RETENTION_TRENDS=365d \
  -e RUN_MODE=dry-run \
  zabbix-partitioning

Scenario B: Initialization (First Run)

Convert your existing tables to partitioned tables.

Warning

Ensure backup exists and Zabbix Housekeeper is disabled!

docker run --rm \
  -e DB_HOST=10.0.0.5 -e DB_USER=zabbix -e DB_PASSWORD=secret \
  -e RETENTION_HISTORY=14d \
  -e RETENTION_TRENDS=365d \
  -e RUN_MODE=init \
  zabbix-partitioning

Scenario C: Daily Maintenance (Cron/Scheduler)

Run this daily (e.g., via K8s CronJob) to create future partitions and drop old ones.

docker run --rm \
  -e DB_HOST=10.0.0.5 -e DB_USER=zabbix -e DB_PASSWORD=secret \
  -e RETENTION_HISTORY=14d \
  -e RETENTION_TRENDS=365d \
  zabbix-partitioning

Scenario D: Custom Overrides

You can override the retention period for specific tables or change their partitioning interval. Example: Force history_log to be partitioned Weekly with 30-day retention.

docker run --rm \
  -e DB_HOST=10.0.0.5 \
  -e RETENTION_HISTORY=7d \
  -e PARTITION_WEEKLY_history_log=30d \
  zabbix-partitioning

Scenario E: SSL Connection

Mount your certificates and provide the paths.

docker run --rm \
  -e DB_HOST=zabbix-db \
  -e DB_SSL_CA=/certs/ca.pem \
  -e DB_SSL_CERT=/certs/client-cert.pem \
  -e DB_SSL_KEY=/certs/client-key.pem \
  -v /path/to/local/certs:/certs \
  zabbix-partitioning

9.3 Supported Environment Variables

Variable Default Description
DB_HOST localhost Database hostname
DB_PORT 3306 Database port
DB_USER zabbix Database user
DB_PASSWORD zabbix Database password
DB_NAME zabbix Database name
DB_SSL_CA - Path to CA Certificate
DB_SSL_CERT - Path to Client Certificate
DB_SSL_KEY - Path to Client Key
RETENTION_HISTORY 14d Retention for history* tables
RETENTION_TRENDS 365d Retention for trends* tables
RETENTION_AUDIT 365d Retention for auditlog (if enabled)
ENABLE_AUDITLOG_PARTITIONING false Set to true to partition auditlog
RUN_MODE maintenance init, maintenance, dry-run, discovery, check
CHECK_TARGET - Required if RUN_MODE=check. Table name to check (e.g. history).
PARTITION_DAILY_[TABLE] - Custom daily retention (e.g., PARTITION_DAILY_mytable=30d)
PARTITION_WEEKLY_[TABLE] - Custom weekly retention
PARTITION_MONTHLY_[TABLE] - Custom monthly retention

Scenario F: Monitoring (Discovery)

Output Zabbix LLD JSON for table discovery.

docker run --rm \
  -e DB_HOST=zabbix-db \
  -e RUN_MODE=discovery \
  zabbix-partitioning

Scenario G: Monitoring (Health Check)

Check days remaining for a specific table (e.g., history). Returns integer days.

docker run --rm \
  -e DB_HOST=zabbix-db \
  -e RUN_MODE=check \
  -e CHECK_TARGET=history \
  zabbix-partitioning

10. Monitoring

The script includes built-in features for monitoring the health of your partitions via Zabbix.

10.1 CLI Usage

  • Discovery (LLD): 
    ./zabbix_partitioning.py --discovery
# Output: [{"{#TABLE}": "history", "{#PERIOD}": "daily"}, ...]
  • Check Days: 
    ./zabbix_partitioning.py --check-days history
# Output: 30 (integer days remaining)
  • Version: 
    ./zabbix_partitioning.py --version
# Output: zabbix_partitioning.py 0.3.1-test

10.2 Zabbix Template

A Zabbix 7.0 template is provided: zabbix_partitioning_template.yaml.

Setup:

  1. Import the YAML template into Zabbix.
  2. Install the script on the Zabbix Server or Proxy.
  3. Add the UserParameter commands to your Zabbix Agent config (see Template description).
  4. Link the template to the host running the script.

Features:

  • Discovery: Automatically finds all partitioned tables.
  • Triggers: Alerts if a table has less than 3 days of future partitions pre-created.
  • Log Monitoring: Alerts on script execution failures.