[ZBX-21560] Zabbix Agent for Windows uses a different default configuration file Created: 2022 Sep 03  Updated: 2024 Apr 10  Resolved: 2024 Feb 23

Status: Closed
Project: ZABBIX BUGS AND ISSUES
Component/s: Agent (G), Documentation (D)
Affects Version/s: 6.2.1, 6.2.2
Fix Version/s: 7.0.0alpha5, 7.0 (plan)

Type: Problem report Priority: Trivial
Reporter: MArk Assignee: Mihails Prihodko
Resolution: Fixed Votes: 1
Labels: agent, agent2, archive, configuration, file, package, windows, zip
Remaining Estimate: Not Specified
Time Spent: Not Specified
Original Estimate: Not Specified
Environment:

Windows 10 and 11

Team: Team B
Sprint: Sprint 92 (Sep 2022), Sprint 93 (Oct 2022), Sprint 94 (Nov 2022), Sprint 95 (Dec 2022), Sprint 96 (Jan 2023), Sprint 97 (Feb 2023), Sprint 98 (Mar 2023), Sprint 99 (Apr 2023), Sprint 100 (May 2023), Sprint 101 (Jun 2023), Sprint 102 (Jul 2023), Sprint 103 (Aug 2023), Sprint 104 (Sep 2023), Sprint 105 (Oct 2023), Sprint 106 (Nov 2023), Sprint 107 (Dec 2023), Sprint candidates, S2401
Story Points: 1

 Description   

When trying to install a single instance of Zabbix Agent in Windows 10/11 using the provided Zip archive, I'm facing an odd behavior.

I've downloaded the Zip archive and followed the installation instructions.
The downloaded archive comes with the following structure.

zabbix_agent2-6.2.2-windows-amd64-openssl-static.zip:bin\zabbix_agent2.exe
zabbix_agent2-6.2.2-windows-amd64-openssl-static.zip:conf\zabbix_agent2.d\
zabbix_agent2-6.2.2-windows-amd64-openssl-static.zip:conf\zabbix_agent2.conf
zabbix_agent2-6.2.2-windows-amd64-openssl-static.zip:conf\zabbix_agent2.d\plugins.d\ceph.conf
zabbix_agent2-6.2.2-windows-amd64-openssl-static.zip:conf\zabbix_agent2.d\plugins.d\docker.conf
zabbix_agent2-6.2.2-windows-amd64-openssl-static.zip:conf\zabbix_agent2.d\plugins.d\memcached.conf
zabbix_agent2-6.2.2-windows-amd64-openssl-static.zip:conf\zabbix_agent2.d\plugins.d\modbus.conf
zabbix_agent2-6.2.2-windows-amd64-openssl-static.zip:conf\zabbix_agent2.d\plugins.d\mqtt.conf
zabbix_agent2-6.2.2-windows-amd64-openssl-static.zip:conf\zabbix_agent2.d\plugins.d\mysql.conf
zabbix_agent2-6.2.2-windows-amd64-openssl-static.zip:conf\zabbix_agent2.d\plugins.d\oracle.conf
zabbix_agent2-6.2.2-windows-amd64-openssl-static.zip:conf\zabbix_agent2.d\plugins.d\postgres.conf
zabbix_agent2-6.2.2-windows-amd64-openssl-static.zip:conf\zabbix_agent2.d\plugins.d\redis.conf
zabbix_agent2-6.2.2-windows-amd64-openssl-static.zip:conf\zabbix_agent2.d\plugins.d\smart.conf

From the documentation, "to install a single instance of Zabbix Agent with the default configuration file", I need to input the following command.

zabbix_agent2.exe --install

After trying this, I get the following error.

PS C:\zabbix\bin> .\zabbix_agent2.exe --install
zabbix_agent2 [8212]: ERROR: cannot open configuration file: open C:\zabbix\bin\zabbix_agent2.win.conf: O sistema não pode encontrar o arquivo especificado.

The same error happens if I try the "--start", "--stop" or "--uninstall" parameters.

I can only install or manipulate the Agent if I explicitly tell where the configuration file is (using "--config" parameter), or by copying the conf file to the same directory where the binary is and renaming it with the "win.conf" suffix.

In my example, Zabbix Agent 2 binary is looking for a "C:\zabbix\bin\zabbix_agent2.win.conf" configuration file that does not exist.
As seen from the Agent2 archive above, the default configuration file would be "C:\zabbix\conf\zabbix_agent2.conf".

First, the package does not provide a "win.conf" suffix for the configuration file name.
Second, the file is placed inside a "conf" directory, not the same as the binary itself.

As I understand it, the Agent's binary is looking for a configuration file in the same directory, but the original archive comes with a different structure.
Maybe it should look for a "..\conf\zabbix_agent2.conf" file instead.

Therefore, I believe that the provided archive file for the Zabbix Agent is packed with a different organization than what the Agent binary is expecting; or, the binary is pointing to a wrong configuration file by default.

 Comments   
Comment by MArk [ 2022 Sep 03 ]

Documentation quote: https://www.zabbix.com/documentation/current/en/manual/appendix/install/windows_agent 

 

Comment by dimir [ 2022 Sep 13 ]

markfree correct me if I'm wrong. Looks like there are 2 issues:

  1. Documentation. It says "An example configuration file is available in Zabbix source archive as conf/zabbix_agentd.win.conf" but it's actually without "win" in the archive.
  2. The archive. The binary from archive is expecting configuration file at: 
    zabbix_agent2.win.conf

    while it's actually at (note, different path and different file name):

    ..\conf\zabbix_agent2.conf
Comment by MArk [ 2022 Sep 21 ]

@dimir I think you put it in an easier way. That's it.

Comment by Mihails Prihodko [ 2023 Jun 07 ]

Mini spec v1.0

Both Zabbix agent 1 and 2 on Windows should behave consistently in the following aspects.

  • The default configuration file should be located in the same directory, where zabbix_agentd.exe or zabbix_agent2.exe is located.
  • Zabbix agent 1 and 2 expects the default configuration file to be named without the 'win' part in its name, the same way as it is named on other platforms. It means that 'zabbix_agent2.win.conf' is not a correct name anymore. The correct names should be 'zabbix_agentd.conf' and 'zabbix_agent2.conf'.

What's affected:

  • Zabbix agent 1
  • Zabbix agent 2
  • Documentation

Zabbix agent 1

The default configuration file zabbix_agentd.conf should be searched in the same directory where zabbix_agentd.exe is located instead of C:\zabbix_agentd.conf. The name of config file is already correct.

Zabbix agent 2

zabbix_agent2.conf should be default configuration file name instead of zabbix_agent2.win.conf. Zabbix agent 2 already searches the default configuration file in the correct directory.

Documentation

The page https://www.zabbix.com/documentation/current/en/manual/appendix/install/windows_agent should be fixed/updated to reflect the reality. It should clarify, how Zabbix agent 1 and 2 should be correctly installed from archive. See the subtask (1) [D] for details.

Fix versions

I propose to do this fix for release 7.0.

It is probably not a good idea to fix this in 6.0 LTS release, since the changes in ZA1 are breaking changes.

 Signoff:

MVekslers -1.0
Comment by Mihails Prihodko [ 2023 Aug 31 ]

Available in versions:

Comment by Martins Valkovskis [ 2023 Sep 04 ]

Updated documentation:

Comment by MArk [ 2024 Feb 23 ]

Thanks guys.

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