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PixelView Zabbix Kubernetes Deployment Guide

Overview

This guide provides a step-by-step process to deploy PixelView to fetch and expose metrics from Zabbix within a Kubernetes cluster using a pixelview namespace.

Prerequisites

  • A running Kubernetes cluster

  • kubectl configured with the cluster

  • A MySQL/MariaDB instance for Zabbix

  • Persistent storage for MySQL (optional but recommended)

  • Network access between PixelView, Zabbix, MySQL, and Redis

Kubernetes Deployment Configuration

ConfigMap for Environment Variables

The following ConfigMap stores non-sensitive configuration values: 

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: pixelview-config
  namespace: pixelview
data:
  FLASK_ZABBIX_ROOT_URL: "http://zabbix-backend:8000/metrics"
  FLASK_ZABBIX_MYSQL_HOST: "mysql-service"
  FLASK_ZABBIX_MYSQL_PORT: "3306"
  FLASK_ZABBIX_MYSQL_DATABASE: "zabbix"
  CACHE_TYPE: "RedisCache"
  CACHE_REDIS_URL: "redis://redis-service:6379/0"
  CACHE_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT: "500"
  ALLOWED_HOSTS: "*"

Secret for MySQL Credentials

To securely store MySQL credentials, use a Secret: 

apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: pixelview-secret
  namespace: pixelview
type: Opaque
data:
  FLASK_ZABBIX_MYSQL_USER: <base64-encoded-user>
  FLASK_ZABBIX_MYSQL_PASSWORD: <base64-encoded-password>
Replace <base64-encoded-user> and <base64-encoded-password> with base64-encoded values of your MySQL username and password.

Deploying the Zabbix Backend

Create a Deployment for the API backend: 

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: zabbix-backend
  namespace: pixelview
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: zabbix-backend
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: zabbix-backend
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: zabbix-backend
        image: ghcr.io/pixelvirt/zabbix-test:latest
        envFrom:
        - configMapRef:
            name: pixelview-config
        - secretRef:
            name: pixelview-secret
        ports:
        - containerPort: 8000

Service for Zabbix Backend

Expose the backend service internally: 

apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: zabbix-backend-service
  namespace: pixelview
spec:
  selector:
    app: zabbix-backend
  ports:
    - protocol: TCP
      port: 8000
      targetPort: 8000
  type: ClusterIP

Deploying Redis for Caching

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: redis
  namespace: pixelview
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: redis
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: redis
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: redis
        image: redis:7.0
        ports:
        - containerPort: 6379

Service for Redis

apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: redis-service
  namespace: pixelview
spec:
  selector:
    app: redis
  ports:
    - protocol: TCP
      port: 6379
      targetPort: 6379
  type: ClusterIP

Deployment Steps

Save the manifest file as pixelview-k8s.yaml.

Apply the manifest to Kubernetes:

kubectl apply -f pixelview-k8s.yaml

Verify the deployment:

kubectl get pods -n pixelview

Accessing Metrics

Once deployed, access metrics at: 

http://<your-domain-or-ip>:8000/metrics

To test the API: 

curl -X GET http://<your-domain-or-ip>:8000/metrics

Visualizing Metrics in PixelView

  1. Log in to the PixelView dashboard.
  2. Click on "Add New Chart."
  3. Click on "Add Source."
  4. Provide an appropriate name in the "Name" section.
  5. In the URL section, insert: 
    http://<your-domain-or-ip>:8000/metrics
  6. Click on Submit.
  7. After submitting, multiple metric options will appear.
  8. Select the desired items to visualize them on the PixelView dashboard.

Troubleshooting

1. API Not Responding

  • Check logs:
kubectl logs -n pixelview deployment/zabbix-backend

  • Ensure MySQL and Redis are accessible.

  • Verify ConfigMap and Secret configurations.

2. Redis Connection Issues

  • Test Redis connectivity:
kubectl exec -it -n pixelview deployment/redis -- redis-cli ping
  • If not running, restart:
kubectl rollout restart deployment redis -n pixelview

3. MySQL Connection Issues

  • Check if MySQL is reachable:
mysql -h <mysql_host> -u <mysql_user> -p

security Considerations

  • Do not expose MySQL credentials publicly.

  • Restrict access to Redis and the API using firewall rules.

  • Use ClusterIP for internal services to limit exposure.

This guide ensures a complete Kubernetes deployment for fetching and visualizing Zabbix metrics in PixelView.