Install Zabbix 8.0 server, database and frontend on Ubuntu

Everything in this lab runs on zbx01 (192.168.56.80). Use the lab password Zbx@Lab2026 for the database, and only in the lab: at work, generate a long random one and keep it in your password manager or a vault.

1Add the Zabbix 8.0 repository

Run this on zbx01:

cd /tmp
wget https://repo.zabbix.com/zabbix/8.0/release/ubuntu/pool/main/z/zabbix-release/zabbix-release_latest_8.0+ubuntu26.04_all.deb
sudo dpkg -i zabbix-release_latest_8.0+ubuntu26.04_all.deb
sudo apt update
apt-cache policy zabbix-server-mysql | head -3

You should see:

zabbix-server-mysql:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 2:8.0.0-1+ubuntu26.04

The candidate must be an 8.0 version ending in ubuntu26.04. If it shows an older version with “ubuntu” only, apt is looking at Ubuntu’s own archive and the release package didn’t install, so run apt update again and read its output for repo.zabbix.com lines. The 2: in front is the package epoch, and the number after 8.0.0 goes up as Zabbix ships fixes, so a later 8.0.x is fine.

✅ Checkpoint: apt-cache policy shows an 8.0 candidate from the Zabbix repository.

2Install the server, frontend, agent 2 and MySQL

Run this on zbx01:

sudo apt install -y zabbix-server-mysql zabbix-frontend-php php8.5-mysql zabbix-nginx-conf zabbix-sql-scripts zabbix-agent2 mysql-server
mysql --version
ls /usr/share/zabbix/sql-scripts/mysql/server.sql.gz

You should see:

mysql  Ver 8.4.11-0ubuntu0.26.04.1 for Linux on x86_64 ((Ubuntu))
/usr/share/zabbix/sql-scripts/mysql/server.sql.gz

Apt pulls in Nginx, PHP 8.5 FPM and the PHP extensions the frontend needs (gd, bcmath, mbstring, xml, ldap and so on). MySQL 8.4 is in the supported range for 8.0, and you can see the schema file you’ll import next.

✅ Checkpoint: MySQL reports version 8.4 and server.sql.gz exists under /usr/share/zabbix/sql-scripts/mysql/.

3Create the database and user

Run this on zbx01:

sudo mysql <<'EOF'
create database zabbix character set utf8mb4 collate utf8mb4_bin;
create user zabbix@localhost identified by 'Zbx@Lab2026';
grant all privileges on zabbix.* to zabbix@localhost;
set global log_bin_trust_function_creators = 1;
select @@log_bin, @@log_bin_trust_function_creators;
EOF

You should see this:

@@log_bin	@@log_bin_trust_function_creators
1	1

On Ubuntu, root logs in to MySQL through the Unix socket, so sudo mysql needs no password. Binary logging is on (1), which is why the second setting must be 1 for the import. The zabbix user can only connect from localhost, which is all the server and frontend need on a single box.

✅ Checkpoint: The zabbix database and user exist and log_bin_trust_function_creators is 1.

4Import the schema and switch the setting back off

Run this on zbx01 (enter Zbx@Lab2026 when asked):

zcat /usr/share/zabbix/sql-scripts/mysql/server.sql.gz | mysql --default-character-set=utf8mb4 -uzabbix -p zabbix
sudo mysql -e "set global log_bin_trust_function_creators = 0;"
sudo mysql -e "select count(*) as tables from information_schema.tables where table_schema='zabbix'; select mandatory from zabbix.dbversion;"

You should see this:

Enter password:
tables
230
mandatory
8000000

The import is quiet when it works and takes about 20 to 60 seconds, depending on your disk. 230 tables and a database version of 8000000 (8.0.0) mean the schema and data are in. Turning the trust setting off again closes a door you only needed open for those seconds.

✅ Checkpoint: The zabbix database has 230 tables and dbversion mandatory is 8000000.

5Give the server its database password

Run this on zbx01:

sudo sed -i 's/^# DBPassword=$/DBPassword=Zbx@Lab2026/' /etc/zabbix/zabbix_server.conf
sudo grep -E '^DB(Name|User|Password)=' /etc/zabbix/zabbix_server.conf
sudo zabbix_server -T -c /etc/zabbix/zabbix_server.conf

You should see this:

DBName=zabbix
DBUser=zabbix
DBPassword=Zbx@Lab2026
Validating configuration file "/etc/zabbix/zabbix_server.conf"

DBName and DBUser are already set to zabbix in the shipped file, and DBHost stays commented out, so the server uses the local socket. -T checks the file without starting the server: a typo in a parameter name would print “unknown parameter” with the line number here instead of failing silently later. The file is readable only by root and the zabbix group, which matters because it now holds a password.

✅ Checkpoint: zabbix_server -T prints only the “Validating configuration file” line.

6Configure Nginx for the frontend

The zabbix-nginx-conf package ships a server block with the listen and server_name lines commented out. Set them for the lab name, then remove Ubuntu’s default site so it doesn’t grab port 80 first.

Run this on zbx01:

sudo sed -i -E 's/^#?\s*listen\s+[0-9]+;/        listen          80;/; s/^#?\s*server_name\s+\S+;/        server_name     zbx01.lab;/' /etc/zabbix/nginx.conf
sudo rm -f /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default
grep -nE '^\s*(listen|server_name|root)\s' /etc/zabbix/nginx.conf
sudo nginx -t

You should see:

2:        listen          80;
3:        server_name     zbx01.lab;
5:        root    /usr/share/zabbix/ui;
nginx: the configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf syntax is ok
nginx: configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf test is successful

The root points at /usr/share/zabbix/ui, and with Nginx the frontend sits at the top of the site (http://zbx01.lab/), not under /zabbix as with Apache. The PHP limits for the frontend (memory_limit, post_max_size, max_execution_time) live in the PHP-FPM pool file /etc/zabbix/php-fpm.conf; the time zone isn’t set there, you’ll pick it in the installer.

✅ Checkpoint: nginx -t reports “syntax is ok” and the Zabbix server block listens on 80 for zbx01.lab.

7Start and enable everything

Run this on zbx01:

sudo systemctl restart zabbix-server zabbix-agent2 nginx php8.5-fpm
sudo systemctl enable zabbix-server zabbix-agent2 nginx php8.5-fpm
systemctl is-active zabbix-server zabbix-agent2 nginx php8.5-fpm mysql
sudo grep -E 'Starting Zabbix Server|database version|server #0 started' /var/log/zabbix/zabbix_server.log | tail -4

The last two commands print this (your PIDs and times will differ):

active
active
active
active
active
  4211:20261108:113021.402 Starting Zabbix Server. Zabbix 8.0.0 (revision c81e276e505).
  4211:20261108:113021.418 current database version (mandatory/optional): 08000000/08000000
  4211:20261108:113021.418 required mandatory version: 08000000
  4211:20261108:113021.436 server #0 started [main process]

Each Zabbix log line starts with the process ID, then the date and time as YYYYMMDD:HHMMSS.milliseconds. Matching database versions mean no upgrade was needed. If you see “database is down: reconnecting in 10 seconds” instead, jump to Break It number 2.

✅ Checkpoint: All five services are active and the server log shows “server #0 started [main process]”.

8Run the web installer

On your laptop open http://zbx01.lab/ (the hosts entry from Lesson 1 makes the name work). The installer has six steps:

The installer writes /etc/zabbix/web/zabbix.conf.php. Click Finish and log in as Admin with password zabbix (the user name is case-sensitive). Lesson 3 changes this password, so don’t leave it like this on anything that’s reachable from a real network.

✅ Checkpoint: You are logged in to the Zabbix frontend as Admin and see the Global view dashboard.

9Check System information and take a snapshot

Open Reports > System information. This page is the first place to look whenever the frontend and server seem to disagree.

Parameter                                        Value          Details
Zabbix server is running                         Yes            localhost:10051
Zabbix server version                            8.0.0
Zabbix frontend version                          8.0.0
Number of hosts (enabled/disabled)               1              1 / 0
Number of templates                              390
Number of items (enabled/disabled/not supported) 126            115 / 0 / 11
Number of triggers (enabled/disabled [problem/ok]) 70           70 / 0 [0 / 70]
Number of users (online)                         2              1
Required server performance, new values per second  1.96

The one host is “Zabbix server” itself, already linked to the templates Linux by Zabbix agent and Zabbix server health. Your counts may differ a little, because a few items need things this VM doesn’t have and show as not supported, which is normal. Shut zbx01 down and take a snapshot called zabbix-installed.

✅ Checkpoint: System information shows “Zabbix server is running: Yes” with server and frontend version 8.0.0, and the snapshot zabbix-installed exists.