Zabbix 8.0 Beta 1 is Here: Top New Features, Templates, and What's Missing
Last week, on May 22nd, the highly anticipated first beta of Zabbix 8.0 was officially released. We have been waiting for this milestone, expecting to find a ton of juicy new features. Did it deliver? Let's dive into the release notes together and see exactly what Zabbix 8.0 Beta 1 brings to the table.
Top New Features in Zabbix 8.0 Beta 1
Before installing any new version, the first thing I always do is check the official release notes. It gives us a clear map of what to expect, especially since tracking changes from Alpha 2 can be overwhelming. Here is a synthesized breakdown of the most impactful changes I found:
Customizable Table Views (Latest Data & Problems)
This is a radical and highly welcome change to the Zabbix web interface. In views like Latest Data and Problems, you now have the ability to order, resize, and hide specific columns. Furthermore, Zabbix has implemented a "sticky" column block—meaning you can scroll down through your data while keeping the column headers and pagination locked in place.
However, note that they’ve moved some of the filtering options (like "Show details" and tag view modes) into hidden toggle buttons. While it cleans up the UI, the user experience might take a little getting used to. Also, you still cannot sort directly by the latest value or tags, which is a bit of a missed opportunity.
Native Dashboard Import and Export
Finally! For what feels like centuries, we have had global dashboards in Zabbix, but moving them between environments was incredibly frustrating. Now, you can natively export and import dashboards in YAML format. This is perfect if you run two Zabbix servers—one for testing and one for production—and want to safely migrate your dashboard layouts.
Y-Axis Inversion for Vector Graphs
We now have the ability to invert the Y-axis in vector graphs. This allows for the famous "mirror effect"—perfect for network traffic graphs where you want to display Transmit (TX) pointing up and Receive (RX) pointing down from the bottom axis. It makes dashboards much more dynamic and visually intuitive.
Native "Get" Items for Better Performance
Under the hood, Zabbix has introduced powerful native agent items like net.if.get and vfs.dev.get. Instead of making multiple requests, you can now use a single call to extract comprehensive data:
net.if.get: Retrieves all network interfaces with details like MAC addresses, virtual/physical type, duplex status, and administrative/operational statuses.vfs.dev.get: Extrapolates block device information such as device ID, total space, and logical/physical block sizes.
This acts as both a discovery rule and a system for populating metrics in a single stroke, saving valuable machine CPU cycles.
PostgreSQL Multi-Host Connection (Active Standby)
This is arguably one of the most important backend features. Zabbix now supports multi-host connection strings for PostgreSQL clusters. If a node fails, Zabbix automatically knows who the master is and redirects the connections. This eliminates the need for extra layers like HAProxy or load balancers just to manage database traffic routing.
Improved Housekeeper Deletion Process
Deleting a host with hundreds of items used to risk locking up the database because the Zabbix API had to manually instruct the housekeeper to delete the files. Now, this layer deletion process has been moved internally using database trigger functions. When you delete a host, triggers automatically create the necessary entries in the database, decomposing the workload and mitigating the risk of API stalls during heavy delete operations.
Audit Log CSV Export & Trapper Security
- Audit Log Export: You can now natively export audit logs to a CSV file directly from the GUI.
- Trapper Item Security: Trapper items now use a default macro (
{$TRAPPER.ALLOWED_HOSTS}) to filter incoming data. This prevents unauthorized IPs from pushing data via Zabbix Sender, adding a great layer of default security.
New and Updated Templates
Zabbix 8.0 Beta 1 comes packed with a refactored and expanded template library. Some of the notable additions include:
- Kubernetes Cluster (Refactored components)
- GLPI by HTTP
- Oracle Cloud Load Balancer
- Redis (now with native authentication macros)
- Podman
- Google Cloud Storage & Azure Container Apps
- Percona by ODBC
- Cradlepoint NCM
- Chef Monitoring: The Zabbix agent 2 plugin for Chef has been updated to fix compatibility issues with newer Chef versions.
How to Test Zabbix 8.0 Beta 1
If you want to get your hands dirty and test these features, the process is straightforward:
- Head over to the official Zabbix Downloads page.
- Select the 8.0 Pre-release version.
- Choose your preferred OS distribution and database (e.g., MySQL or PostgreSQL).
- Follow the standard installation instructions provided in the Zabbix documentation.
What's Missing? The Roadmap to Beta 2
Now, here is the catch. If we look at the Zabbix 8.0 roadmap, there were a few massive features I was really hoping to see in this beta:
- OpenTelemetry & Observability: I expected dedicated widgets and data collection items revolving around modern observability.
- Event Correlation Engine: We desperately need this for advanced problem reduction and correlation.
- NetFlow Data Collection: Native network monitoring via NetFlow is still absent.
Unfortunately, none of these made it into Beta 1. We are eagerly waiting for Beta 2 (hopefully in July!) so we can play with these observability and correlation features before the final release. Come on, Zabbix, do a miracle!
Join the Community
Overall, Zabbix 8.0 Beta 1 lays down some fantastic groundwork, especially with UI customizations, performance improvements, and database routing.
What do you think of these new features? Are you as excited for the event correlation engine as I am? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
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See you next week! Bye everyone!