Would you like to learn how to configure Zabbix to monitor a Switch using SNMP? In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to monitor a network switch via SNMP p a Zabbix server.

• Zabbix version: 4.4.0

Before we start, you need to configure SNMP on your network switch.

Here are some SNMP configuration examples:

SNMP Configuration on HP Switch
SNMP Configuration on Cisco Switch

Hardware List:

The following section presents the list of equipment used to create this Zabbix tutorial.

Every piece of hardware listed above can be found at Amazon website.

Zabbix Playlist:

On this page, we offer quick access to a list of videos related to Zabbix installation.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our youtube channel named FKIT.

Tutorial – Zabbix Monitor Switch via SNMP

Access the Zabbix server dashboard and add the Network Switch as a Host.

Open your browser and enter the IP address of your web server plus /zabbix.

In our example, the following URL was entered in the Browser:

• http://192.168.0.10/zabbix

On the login screen, use the default username and default password.

• Default Username: Admin
• Default Password: zabbix

zabbix login

After a successful login, you will be sent to the Zabbix Dashboard.

Zabbix 4.4 dashboard

On the dashboard screen, access the Configuration menu and select the Host option.

zabbix add host

On the top right of the screen, click on the Create host button.

Zabbix Create Host

On the Host configuration screen, you will have to enter the following information:

•  Host Name – Enter a Hostname to identify the Switch
• Visible Hostname – Repeat the hostname.
• New group – Enter a name to identify a group of similar devices.
• Agent Interface – Click on the Remove button.
• SNMP Interface – Click on the Add button and enter the IP address of the Network Switch.

Here is the original image, before our configuration.

zabbix add host

Here is the new image with our configuration.

zabbix monitor snmp switch

Next, we need to configure the SNMP community that Zabbix will use to connect on the Network Switch.

Access the Macros tab on the top of the screen.

Create a macro named: {$SNMP_COMMUNITY}

The {$SNMP_COMMUNITY} macro value should be the Network Switch SNMP community.

Zabbix SNMP Macro

In our example, the {$SNMP_COMMUNITY} value is GokuBlack

Next, we need to associate the host with a specific network monitor template.

By default, Zabbix comes with a large variety of monitoring templates.

Access the Templates tab on the top of the screen.

Locate and select the template named: Template Net Network Generic Device SNMPv2

zabbix snmp device template

Click on the Add button.

After a few minutes, you will be able to see the initial result on the Zabbix Dashboard.

The final result will take at least one hour.

By default, Zabbix will wait 1 hour to discover the number of interfaces available on the switch.

By default, Zabbix will wait 1 hour before collect information from the Network Switch interfaces.

Congratulations! You have configured the Zabbix server to monitor a Network Switch.