-
Change Request
-
Resolution: Unresolved
-
Trivial
-
None
-
7.0.8
-
None
We have a very extensive environment consisting of approximately 20,000 hosts managed by 9 Zabbix proxies (we are in the process of migrating to new proxies, and the final target will be over 30,000 hosts). The proxies are part of a single group. Working with such a large environment introduces the following problems:
1. Current Host Distribution:
proxy1 - 2523
proxy2 - 1715
proxy3 - 1803
proxy4 - 2827
proxy5 - 2099
proxy6 - 2277
proxy7 - 1898
proxy8 - 1288
proxy9 - 1624
I understand how rebalance works, particularly the "factor of 2" logic. I also understand that the above distribution of hosts is considered correct according to this mechanism. However, with such a large number of hosts, setting this value "hardcoded" is suboptimal (as evidenced by the above distribution). Will it be possible in the future to modify this parameter to a smaller value (e.g., 1.5 or 1.1)?
2. Splitting the "Factor of 2" Parameter:
Shouldn't the "factor of 2" parameter be split into "lower than" and "higher than" thresholds? Let me explain with an example:
Assume, for simplicity, we have 20,000 hosts and 10 proxies. The average for such a scenario is 2,000 hosts per proxy. If I understand correctly, automatic balancing will act if a proxy has:
a) less than or equal to 1001 hosts (threshold 1000), and b) more than 3999 hosts (threshold 4000).
This means the difference between the average and the "lower" threshold is 1,000, while the difference between the average and the "upper" threshold is 2,000.
Wouldn't it make more sense to separate this? For instance, a more reasonable approach could be to set the "lower than" threshold with a factor of 2 and the "higher than" threshold with a factor of 1.5. For the above scenario, this would create thresholds of "1000" and "3000," resulting in a consistent difference of ±1000 from the average. Of course, if point 1 were implemented, these parameters should change analogously to maintain a balanced ± difference.
3. Lack of a Simple Manual Rebalance Mechanism:
Currently, the best way to force a host rebalance (with minimal disruption) is to temporarily disconnect a proxy from the group. Almost immediately, hosts are redistributed among the remaining proxies in the group, and the proxy can then be reconnected. I think an optimal solution would be to add a command to the Zabbix server, such as:
zabbix_server -R "force_proxy_rebalance" "<group name | group ID>"
Alternatively, a dedicated button in the GUI could also address this issue.
4. Difficulty in Displaying Hosts per Proxy:
If a host is assigned to a group, in the "Data collection" -> "Hosts" tab, using the filter "Monitored by" -> "Proxy" does not display the hosts. Instead, the "Monitored by" -> "Proxy group" option must be selected. Of course, it is possible to view the list of hosts per proxy via "Administration" -> "Proxies," but with such a large environment, the list in this tab is incomplete and only shows the first X hosts (as defined in the GUI settings).
We are most interested in point 3.