AI Assistant

MapZ includes an AI-powered assistant using Google Gemini to help you manage your network monitoring tasks and answer questions about your infrastructure.

Prerequisites

The AI Assistant requires a Google Gemini API key. If the AI Assistant option is not available in your sidebar, contact your administrator to enable this feature.

Accessing the AI Assistant

1. Click on the "AI Assistant" icon in the left sidebar
2. The chat interface will open in a dialog

Features

Context-Aware Assistance

The AI Assistant understands your current map context and can provide targeted help:

• It knows which hosts you're currently viewing
• It can reference specific hosts you have selected
• It provides recommendations based on your map configuration

What You Can Ask

The AI Assistant can help with a wide variety of network monitoring tasks:

Host Information

• "Tell me about this host"
• "What's the status of [hostname]?"
• "Show me the interfaces for this host"

Problem Diagnosis

• "Why is this host showing problems?"
• "What problems are currently active?"
• "Help me troubleshoot connectivity issues"

Configuration Help

• "How do I add SNMP monitoring?"
• "What's the best way to monitor a web server?"
• "How do I set up bandwidth testing?"

Best Practices

• "What's the best way to organize my map?"
• "How should I structure my host groups?"
• "What monitoring templates should I use for routers?"

Zabbix Questions

• "How do I create a trigger?"
• "What's the difference between active and passive checks?"
• "How do I configure maintenance windows?"

Function Calling

The AI Assistant can perform actions on your behalf with your permission:

• Retrieve host details: Get comprehensive information about specific hosts
• Check problem status: Query current problems and their severity
• Suggest configurations: Recommend monitoring templates and items
• Explain metrics: Interpret Zabbix item values and their meaning

Using the AI Assistant

Starting a Conversation

1. Click the AI Assistant icon to open the chat
2. Type your question or request in the input field
3. Press Enter or click Send
4. The AI will process your request and respond

Example Conversations

Example 1: Getting Host Information

You: Tell me about the host "web-server-01"
AI: I'll retrieve the details for web-server-01...
    [Displays host information including status, interfaces, and current metrics]

Example 2: Troubleshooting

You: Why is my database server showing high CPU?
AI: Let me check the current metrics for your database server.
    Based on the data, I can see CPU usage is at 95%. This could be due to:
    1. Heavy query load
    2. Missing indexes
    3. Background maintenance tasks
    Would you like me to check for active problems or recent changes?

Example 3: Configuration Help

You: How do I monitor HTTPS response time?
AI: To monitor HTTPS response time in MapZ, you can:
    1. Add a Web Monitoring scenario to your host
    2. Configure the HTTPS endpoint you want to monitor
    3. Set the expected response time threshold
    Would you like me to guide you through the setup process?

Clearing Conversation History

To start a fresh conversation:

1. Click the "Clear Conversation" button at the top of the chat
2. Your previous messages will be removed
3. Start a new conversation with a clean context

Tips for Best Results

Be Specific

Instead of: "My host has problems" Try: "Why is web-server-01 showing critical problems?"

Reference Host Names

When asking about specific devices, use their exact hostname:

• ✅ "Check the status of router-core-01"
• ❌ "Check that router"

Ask Follow-up Questions

The AI remembers the context of your conversation:

You: What's the CPU usage on web-server-01?
AI: Current CPU usage is 45%
You: What about memory?
AI: Memory usage on web-server-01 is 62%

Use for Learning

The AI Assistant is great for learning Zabbix best practices:

• "What's the difference between Zabbix agent and SNMP monitoring?"
• "When should I use active vs passive checks?"
• "How do I optimize my monitoring for large environments?"

Privacy & Data

What Data is Shared

• Your questions and conversation history
• Network data only when you specifically request it (e.g., "show me host details")
• Map context (which hosts are visible, selected)

What Data is NOT Shared

• Your Zabbix credentials
• Complete network topology (unless explicitly requested)
• Historical data (unless specifically queried)

Data Processing

• Conversations are processed by Google Gemini AI
• Chat history is stored locally in your browser
• Clearing your browser data will remove chat history

Security Considerations

• The AI Assistant does not have write access to your Zabbix configuration
• It cannot make changes without your explicit action
• All function calls require your review before execution

Limitations

• The AI Assistant requires an active internet connection
• Response times may vary based on query complexity
• The AI provides suggestions and guidance but cannot replace expert judgment
• Some advanced Zabbix configurations may require manual setup

Troubleshooting

"AI Assistant is not configured"

This message appears when the Gemini API key is not set. Contact your administrator to:

1. Obtain a Google Gemini API key
2. Add it to the environment variables as VITE_GEMINI_API_KEY
3. Restart the MapZ application

"Failed to initialize AI Assistant"

If you see this error:

1. Check your internet connection
2. Verify the API key is valid
3. Check browser console for detailed error messages
4. Contact support if the issue persists

Slow Responses

If the AI is responding slowly:

• Complex queries take longer to process
• Check your internet connection speed
• Try breaking complex questions into smaller parts

tip

The AI Assistant learns from context, so providing clear, specific questions will yield the best results. Don't hesitate to ask follow-up questions to clarify or get more details!