Migrate Zabbix 6.4 to Zabbix 7.0 LTS

December 22, 2025
12:02 am

Comprehensive step-by-step guide to migrate Zabbix 6.4 to Zabbix 7.0 LTS for MySQL and PostgreSQL. Includes pre-checks, database commands, schema upgrades, and rollback instructions.

🔈Introduction

Upgrading your Zabbix monitoring platform from version 6.4 to version 7.0 LTS is a strategic move that ensures long-term support, improved scalability, and enhanced performance. Active support for Zabbix 6.4 ended on June 30, 2024. The 7.0 LTS release (Long-Term Support) is designed for stability and enterprise use, providing five years of maintenance and security updates.

This guide walks you step-by-step through a production-grade migration process for both MySQL/MariaDB and PostgreSQL backends. It is concise and includes command-line examples, upgrade workflows, and validation steps.

✅ Why Upgrade to Zabbix 7.0 LTS

Benefit	Description
Zabbix 7.0 LTS Support	Supported until June 2029 — ideal for stable environments.
Improved Polling Engine	Asynchronous pollers improve scalability and performance.
Enhanced UI and APIs	Faster interface, updated widgets, extended REST API.
Security and Compliance	Updated encryption libraries and password handling.
Native PHP 8+ Compatibility	Frontend now requires PHP 8.0 or newer.

✅ Pre-Migration Preparation

🟢 Environment Audit

Before starting the migration, collect key information about your Zabbix environment:

Component	Command/Location	Notes
Zabbix Version	`zabbix_server -V`	Verify you’re running 6.4.x
OS	`cat /etc/os-release`	Supported: RHEL 9, Ubuntu 22.04+, Debian 12, etc.
Database	`mysql -V` or `psql --version`	MySQL 8+ or PostgreSQL 13+ recommended
PHP Version	`php -v`	Must be ≥ 8.0
Free Disk Space	`df -h`	Ensure enough room for schema migration

🟢 Backup Strategy

A complete backup is mandatory before upgrading.

🔹Configuration Files

Backup key configs:

				
					sudo cp /etc/zabbix/zabbix_server.conf /etc/zabbix/zabbix_server.conf.bak

				
					sudo cp -r /etc/zabbix/web/ /etc/zabbix/web_backup/

				
					sudo cp -r /usr/lib/zabbix/externalscripts /usr/lib/zabbix/externalscripts_backup

🔹Database Backups

MySQL/MariaDB:

				
					mysqldump -u root -p --single-transaction --quick --routines zabbix > /backup/zabbix_mysql_6.4.sql

PostgreSQL:

				
					sudo -u postgres pg_dump -Fc zabbix > /backup/zabbix_pg_6.4.dump

The -Fc flag creates a compressed, restorable dump that works with pg_restore.

Snapshot (Recommended)

If your Zabbix server runs in a VM or container, take a full system snapshot.

🔄 System Requirement Comparison

Component	Zabbix 6.4	Zabbix 7.0 LTS	Required Action
PHP	7.4–8.2	8.0–8.3	Upgrade if below 8.0
MySQL	≥ 5.7	≥ 8.0.30	Upgrade MySQL if older
PostgreSQL	≥ 12	≥ 13	Upgrade PostgreSQL if needed
OS	RHEL 8/Ubuntu 20.04	RHEL 9/Ubuntu 22.04+	Update if unsupported

✅ Migration Steps

🟢 Step 1: Schedule Downtime

Notify users and schedule a maintenance window. The upgrade will briefly stop all monitoring and alerting.

🟢 Step 2: Stop Zabbix Services

				
					sudo systemctl stop zabbix-server zabbix-agent zabbix-proxy

				
					sudo systemctl stop nginx php-fpm   # Or Apache (httpd), if applicable

🟢 Step 3: Update Repositories

RHEL 9 / CentOS Stream 9:

				
					rpm -Uvh https://repo.zabbix.com/zabbix/7.0/rhel/9/x86_64/zabbix-release-7.0-5.el9.noarch.rpm
dnf clean all
dnf upgrade zabbix-server-mysql zabbix-server-pgsql zabbix-frontend-php zabbix-agent

Ubuntu 22.04:

				
					wget https://repo.zabbix.com/zabbix/7.0/ubuntu/pool/main/z/zabbix-release/zabbix-release_7.0-5+ubuntu22.04_all.deb
sudo dpkg -i zabbix-release_7.0-5+ubuntu22.04_all.deb
sudo apt update
sudo apt install --only-upgrade zabbix-server-mysql zabbix-server-pgsql zabbix-frontend-php zabbix-agent

⚠️ NOTE: Choose either the MySQL or PostgreSQL server package, matching your backend.

🟢 Step 4: Verify Configuration

Edit /etc/zabbix/zabbix_server.conf to ensure correct database parameters. Examples:

MySQL Example:

				
					DBHost=localhost
DBName=zabbix
DBUser=zabbix
DBPassword=strongpassword

PostgreSQL Example:

				
					DBHost=localhost
DBName=zabbix
DBUser=zabbix
DBPassword=strongpassword

🟢 Step 5: Start and Run Schema Upgrade

Start the Zabbix server. It will automatically detect and upgrade the schema.

				
					sudo systemctl start zabbix-server

				
					tail -f /var/log/zabbix/zabbix_server.log

Look for entries like:

				
					upgrading database from version 06040000 to 07000000
database upgrade successfully completed

🟢 Step 6: Start Remaining Services

				
					sudo systemctl start php-fpm nginx

				
					sudo systemctl start zabbix-agent

				
					sudo systemctl start zabbix-proxy

Then, log in to the frontend and verify the version at the bottom of the home page:

Photo by admingeek from Infotechys

✅ Database-Specific Considerations

🟢 MySQL / MariaDB Notes

Ensure innodb_file_per_table is enabled.

Consider using utf8mb4 for full Unicode support:

				
					ALTER DATABASE zabbix CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_bin;

If using TimescaleDB for trend compression, migrate via official scripts after upgrade.

🟢 PostgreSQL Notes

Zabbix 7.0 LTS fully supports TimescaleDB 2.12+ for trends.

Check for bytea_output setting (must be 'hex').

PostgreSQL upgrade (if needed) can be performed with pg_upgrade or pg_dumpall.

For large installations, analyze and vacuum after upgrade:

				
					sudo -u postgres vacuumdb --all --analyze-in-stages

✅ Post-Upgrade Tasks

🟢 Validate Components

Task	Verification
Frontend	Login and check dashboard loads
Proxies	`zabbix_proxy.log` shows “active data sender started”
Agents	Data items updating within 5 min
Alerting	Send test email or webhook

🟢 Update Templates

Zabbix 7.0 introduces new official templates. Replace or update legacy 6.4 templates.
Import templates via UI (Data Collection → Templates → Import) or API:

				
					zabbix_import --server=https://zabbix.example.com --user=Admin --password=zabbix --template template_7.0_host.xml

🟢 Performance Tuning

After confirming system health, tune key parameters in /etc/zabbix/zabbix_server.conf:

Parameter	Default	Recommended for Large Setups
StartPollers	5	20–50
StartTrappers	5	20
StartHistoryPollers	5	10–20
CacheSize	8M	64M+
HistoryCacheSize	16M	128M+

🟢 Cleanup and Optimize

Remove outdated packages:

				
					sudo apt autoremove               # Ubuntu/Debian

				
					sudo dnf autoremove               # RHEL 8+ or higher

Check for deprecated custom scripts and verify all modules compile correctly with Zabbix 7.0.

🟢 Backup New Version

Once the migration is successful, create a fresh backup of the new environment.

✅ Rollback Procedure

If the upgrade fails or regression occurs:

✅ Stop Zabbix 7.0 services:

				
					sudo systemctl stop zabbix-server zabbix-agent zabbix-proxy

✅ Restore the database:

MySQL:

				
					mysql -u root -p zabbix < /backup/zabbix_mysql_6.4.sql

PostgreSQL:

				
					sudo -u postgres pg_restore -d zabbix /backup/zabbix_pg_6.4.dump

✅ Reinstall Zabbix 6.4 packages from repository.

✅ Restart all services and confirm the frontend works.

📋 Migration Checklist

Task	Status
Backup database and configs	☐
Verify PHP 8+ and OS support	☐
Stop Zabbix services	☐
Upgrade repositories and packages	☐
Verify DB connection config	☐
Run schema upgrade	☐
Validate frontend and proxies	☐
Update templates	☐
Tune performance	☐
Create post-upgrade backup	☐

🔧 Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Fix
Server fails to start	PHP or DB mismatch	Verify PHP 8+ and DB credentials
Schema upgrade stalled	DB locks or large tables	Stop and resume, ensure DB storage is sufficient
Frontend shows blank page	PHP modules missing	Install `php-xml`, `php-bcmath`, `php-gd`
High CPU after upgrade	Cache too small	Increase `CacheSize` and `HistoryCacheSize`

🏁 Conclusion

Migrating from Zabbix 6.4 to Zabbix 7.0 LTS delivers a faster, more stable, and future-ready monitoring platform. With built-in schema upgrades and LTS support, the transition is straightforward for both MySQL and PostgreSQL environments—provided you prepare carefully and follow best practices.

After upgrading:

Re-evaluate performance parameters

Replace old templates with official 7.0 versions

Continue monitoring logs for 48 hours

When executed properly, this migration ensures continuity and readiness for years of reliable operations.

Did you find this article helpful? Your feedback is invaluable to us! Feel free to share this post with those who may benefit, and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

📕 Related Posts

Maintain Security Warning Banner Zabbix Ansible

Coding

How to Maintain a Security Warning Banner in Zabbix with Ansible

Learn how to use Ansible to automate the maintenance of a security warning banner in Zabbix. Step-by-step instructions, CLI examples, and best practices for ensuring

Commands

Configuring Timezone in Zabbix for Accurate Monitoring

Learn how to configure the timezone in Zabbix for accurate monitoring and reporting. Follow our step-by-step guide to set the system timezone, update PHP settings,

HOWTO

How to Enable Gmail Notifications in Zabbix

Learn how to enable Gmail notifications in Zabbix with our step-by-step guide. Improve your IT monitoring by ensuring timely alerts and effective incident management. Perfect

Migrate Zabbix 6.4 to Zabbix 7.0 LTS

Table of Contents

🔈Introduction

✅ Why Upgrade to Zabbix 7.0 LTS

✅ Pre-Migration Preparation

🟢 Environment Audit

🟢 Backup Strategy

🔹Configuration Files

🔹Database Backups

MySQL/MariaDB:

PostgreSQL:

Snapshot (Recommended)

🔄 System Requirement Comparison

✅ Migration Steps

🟢 Step 1: Schedule Downtime

🟢 Step 2: Stop Zabbix Services

🟢 Step 3: Update Repositories

RHEL 9 / CentOS Stream 9:

Ubuntu 22.04:

⚠️ NOTE: Choose either the MySQL or PostgreSQL server package, matching your backend.

🟢 Step 4: Verify Configuration

MySQL Example:

PostgreSQL Example:

🟢 Step 5: Start and Run Schema Upgrade

🟢 Step 6: Start Remaining Services

✅ Database-Specific Considerations

🟢 MySQL / MariaDB Notes

🟢 PostgreSQL Notes

✅ Post-Upgrade Tasks

🟢 Validate Components

🟢 Update Templates

🟢 Performance Tuning

🟢 Cleanup and Optimize

🟢 Backup New Version

✅ Rollback Procedure

📋 Migration Checklist

🔧 Troubleshooting

🏁 Conclusion

📕 Related Posts

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Migrate Zabbix 6.4 to Zabbix 7.0 LTS

Table of Contents

🔈Introduction

✅ Why Upgrade to Zabbix 7.0 LTS

✅ Pre-Migration Preparation

🟢 Environment Audit

🟢 Backup Strategy

🔹Configuration Files

🔹Database Backups

MySQL/MariaDB:

PostgreSQL:

Snapshot (Recommended)

🔄 System Requirement Comparison

✅ Migration Steps

🟢 Step 1: Schedule Downtime

🟢 Step 2: Stop Zabbix Services

🟢 Step 3: Update Repositories

RHEL 9 / CentOS Stream 9:

Ubuntu 22.04:

⚠️ NOTE: Choose either the MySQL or PostgreSQL server package, matching your backend.

🟢 Step 4: Verify Configuration

MySQL Example:

PostgreSQL Example:

🟢 Step 5: Start and Run Schema Upgrade

🟢 Step 6: Start Remaining Services

✅ Database-Specific Considerations

🟢 MySQL / MariaDB Notes

🟢 PostgreSQL Notes

✅ Post-Upgrade Tasks

🟢 Validate Components

🟢 Update Templates

🟢 Performance Tuning

🟢 Cleanup and Optimize

🟢 Backup New Version

✅ Rollback Procedure

📋 Migration Checklist

🔧 Troubleshooting

🏁 Conclusion

📕 Related Posts

Tags

Leave a Reply Cancel reply