Armed with this knowledge about SNMP OIDs, let's get to the real deal—getting SNMP data into Zabbix. To make the following steps easier, you should choose an entry that returns string data. We could use a UPS serial number, such as the one discovered previously to be PowerNet-MIB::upsAdvIdentSerialNumber.0. Do the same for some network printer or manageable switch; if you don't have access to such a device, you can choose a simple entry from the Net-SNMP enabled host, such as the already mentioned system description, SNMPv2-MIB::sysDescr.0.

Now is the time to return to the Zabbix interface:

1. Go to Configuration | Hosts, and click on Create host. Then, fill in the following values:

• • Host name: Enter SNMP device.
  • Groups: In the Groups list-box, if there's a group, select it and click on the button.
  • New group: Enter SNMP devices.
  • SNMP interfaces: Click on Add.
  • DNS name or IP address: Enter the correct DNS name or IP address next to the SNMP interfaces we just added. If you have chosen to use an SNMP-enabled device, input its IP or DNS here. If you don't have access to such a device, use the Another host IP address or DNS name. If your SNMP device supports the retrieval of items in bulk then also mark bulk requests as, performance-wise, it's better to retrieve items in bulk than item by item:

• • Connect to: Choose DNS or IP, according to the field you populated.

2. When you are done, click on the Add button at the bottom. It's likely that you won't see the newly created host in the host list. The reason is the Group drop-down menu in the upper-right corner, which probably says Linux servers. You can change the selection to All to see all configured hosts or to SNMP devices to only see our new device. Now is the time to create an item, so click on Items next to SNMP devices and click on the Create item button. Fill in the following values:

• • Name: Enter something sensible, such as Serial number, if you are using an OID from an SNMP agent, or System description if you are using the Net-SNMP daemon.
  • Type: Change to the appropriate version of your SNMP agent. In the displayed example, SNMPv1 agent is chosen because that's the only version our device supports.
  • Key: This is not restricted or too important for SNMP items, but required for references from triggers and other locations. You can choose to enter the last part of the textual OID, such as upsAdvIdentSerialNumber.0 or sysDescr.0.
  • SNMP OID: This is where our knowledge comes in. Paste the SNMP OID you have found and chosen here. In the example, PowerNet-MIB::upsAdvIdentSerialNumber.0 is entered. If you are using the Net-SNMP daemon, enter SNMPv2-MIB::sysDescr.0.
  • SNMP community: Unless you have changed it, keep the default public value.
  • Type of information: Select Character.
  • Update interval: This information doesn't really change that often, so use some large value, such as 86400.

3. When you are done, click on the Add button at the bottom.

Now, the outcome will depend on several factors. If you are lucky, you will already see the incoming data in Monitoring | Latest data. If you have chosen some vendor-specific OID, like in our example, it is possible that you will have to go back to Configuration | Hosts, click on Items next to SNMP device, and observe the status of this item:

Now, what's that? How could it be? We saw in our tests with Net-SNMP command-line tools that there actually is such an OID. Well, one possible situation when this error message appears is when the specified MIB is not available, which could happen if you tried SNMP queries previously from a different host.

Zabbix server works as if ALL is set for MIB contents; hence, you don't have to do anything besides copy the MIB to the correct directory (usually /usr/share/snmp/mibs) on the Zabbix server and restart the server daemon. If you did not copy the OID, deciding instead to retype it, you might have made a mistake. Verify that the entered OID is correct.

After fixing any problems, wait until the Zabbix server refreshes the item configuration and rechecks the item. With the item configured, let's see what data we can get in Zabbix from it. Navigate to Monitoring | Latest data, expand the filter, clear the Host groups field, and start typing SNMP in the Host field—SNMP device should appear, so choose it and click on Filter. Expand the other category if needed, and look for the serial number. You should see something like this:

The serial number has been successfully retrieved and is visible in the item listing. This allows us to automatically retrieve data that, while not directly tied to actual availability or performance monitoring, is still quite useful. For example, if a remote device dies and has to be replaced, you can easily find the serial number to supply in a servicing request, even if you neglected to write it down beforehand.