Zabbix Network
Monitoring
A comprehensive network monitoring implementation using Zabbix Appliance across a VMware virtualised environment — tracking network traffic, system uptime, and CPU utilisation across multiple guest operating systems.
🎯 Project Overview
This project involved setting up a comprehensive network monitoring system using VMware Workstation Player
and the Zabbix Appliance. The virtual network — assigned the IP range 192.168.244.0/24
— included multiple guest VMs running different operating systems, all monitored from a centralised Zabbix server.
The project demonstrates how enterprise-grade monitoring tools can be deployed in a virtualised lab to simulate real-world NOC (Network Operations Centre) environments.
🏗️ Environment Setup
- Hypervisor: VMware Workstation Player
- IP Range: 192.168.244.0/24
- Guest OS 1: Windows 10 Evaluation
- Guest OS 2: Linux Ubuntu
- Monitor: Zabbix Appliance (dedicated VM)
Zabbix agents were installed and configured on both Windows 10 and Ubuntu guests to enable active monitoring and data collection by the Zabbix server.
📊 Monitoring Objectives
| Metric | Method | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Network Traffic | Zabbix built-in templates | Track incoming/outgoing data packets per interface |
| System Uptime | Zabbix agent item | Ensure high availability and detect unexpected reboots |
| CPU Utilisation | Zabbix agent item | Analyse resource consumption and performance bottlenecks |
🛠️ Implementation Steps
- Deploy VMs — Configure Windows 10 and Ubuntu as guest OSes within VMware; assign IPs within the /24 subnet.
- Deploy Zabbix Appliance — Import the Zabbix Appliance into VMware on the same network segment.
- Install Zabbix Agents — Install and configure agents on Windows 10 and Ubuntu to communicate with the Zabbix server.
- Add Hosts in Zabbix — Register both guest machines as monitored hosts and apply appropriate templates.
- Monitor & Visualise — Review dashboards for real-time network traffic, CPU, and uptime graphs.