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Maintenance Management

Schedule maintenance windows to suppress alerts during planned downtime, system updates, or routine maintenance activities.

What is Maintenance?​

Maintenance windows allow you to temporarily suppress problem notifications for hosts, host groups, or entire maps during planned work. This prevents false alerts and reduces noise in your monitoring system.

Maintenance Types​

With Data Collection

  • Zabbix continues collecting metrics
  • Data is stored normally
  • Only alerts are suppressed
  • Best for: Routine maintenance where you want to keep historical data

Without Data Collection

  • Zabbix pauses data collection
  • No data is stored during maintenance
  • Alerts are suppressed
  • Best for: Situations where data collection might interfere with maintenance work

Creating a Maintenance Window​

  1. Navigate to Settings → Maintenance in the sidebar
  2. Click "Create Maintenance"
  3. Follow the multi-step wizard:

Step 1: Basic Information​

Configure the fundamental details of your maintenance window:

Maintenance Basic Info

Name

  • Enter a descriptive name for the maintenance window
  • Example: "Monthly Server Patching" or "Network Upgrade - Building A"

Description (Optional)

  • Add details about the maintenance activity
  • Include ticket numbers, change request IDs, or other references
  • Example: "Apply security patches to all web servers - CR-2025-001"

Maintenance Type

  • With data collection: Recommended for most scenarios
  • Without data collection: Use when data collection might interfere
Naming Convention

Use a consistent naming format like: [Type] - [Location/System] - [Date] Example: "Patching - Web Servers - 2025-01-22"

Step 2: Entity Selection​

Choose which hosts, groups, maps, or sites will be under maintenance:

Entity Selection

Individual Hosts

  • Select specific hosts from the dropdown
  • Search by hostname
  • Add multiple hosts

Host Groups

  • Select entire Zabbix host groups
  • All hosts in the group will be included
  • Useful for applying maintenance to logical groupings

Maps

  • Select one or more maps
  • All hosts visible on the selected maps will be included
  • Great for location-based maintenance

Sites

  • Select physical sites
  • All hosts linked to the site will be included
  • Perfect for data center or office maintenance
Multiple Selection Types

You can combine different selection types. For example, select a host group AND add individual hosts that aren't in that group.

Step 3: Schedule​

Configure when the maintenance occurs and whether it repeats:

Schedule Configuration

Start Date/Time

  • When the maintenance window begins
  • Use the date picker to select the date
  • Set the exact time (24-hour format)

End Date/Time

  • When the maintenance window ends
  • Must be after the start date/time
  • System will automatically resume normal monitoring after this time

Timezone

  • Select the appropriate timezone
  • Important for distributed teams
  • Defaults to your system timezone

Recurring Maintenance​

Add time periods for maintenance that repeats on a schedule:

One-Time Maintenance

  • Occurs only once
  • No recurrence
  • Automatically ends at the specified end time

Daily Recurrence

  • Repeats every N days
  • Example: Every 7 days for weekly maintenance
  • Set the interval (1 = daily, 7 = weekly, etc.)

Weekly Recurrence

  • Repeats on specific days of the week
  • Select multiple days (e.g., Monday and Wednesday)
  • Useful for regular maintenance windows

Monthly Recurrence

  • Repeats on specific days of the month
  • Example: First Sunday of every month
  • Configure day of month and interval

Example Recurring Schedules:

Daily Backup Window:
- Type: Daily
- Every: 1 day
- Start: 02:00
- Duration: 2 hours

Weekly Patching:
- Type: Weekly
- Days: Sunday
- Start: 00:00
- Duration: 4 hours

Monthly Maintenance:
- Type: Monthly
- Day: 1 (first day of month)
- Start: 20:00
- Duration: 3 hours

Step 4: Advanced Options​

Configure tags and save as a template for future use:

Advanced Options

Tags

Filter hosts by Zabbix tags for more precise control:

  • Tag Name: The tag key (e.g., "Environment", "Service")
  • Operator:
    • Equals
    • Contains
    • Does not equal
    • Does not contain
  • Value: The tag value to match (e.g., "Production", "Web")

Example Tag Filters:

Include only production servers:
Tag: Environment
Operator: Equals
Value: Production

Exclude test systems:
Tag: Environment
Operator: Does not equal
Value: Test

Save as Template

Save your maintenance configuration for reuse:

  1. Check "Save as Template"
  2. Enter a template name
  3. The template will be available for future maintenance windows
  4. Useful for recurring maintenance patterns

Step 5: Review​

Review all settings before creating the maintenance window:

Review Screen

  • Verify all selected entities
  • Check the schedule is correct
  • Confirm timezone settings
  • Review tag filters if used

Click "Create Maintenance" to activate the window.

Managing Active Maintenance​

Viewing Maintenance Status​

In Host Tooltips

Hosts under maintenance display an orange "Maintenance" indicator:

Maintenance Indicator

Hover over the indicator to see:

  • Maintenance name
  • Type (with/without data collection)
  • Start and end times
  • Time remaining

Expanding Maintenance Details

Click the chevron icon in the tooltip to view:

  • Full maintenance description
  • Created by (user who created it)
  • Tags applied
  • Recurring schedule (if applicable)

Maintenance List​

View all active and upcoming maintenance windows:

  1. Navigate to Settings → Maintenance
  2. See a list of all maintenance windows
  3. Filter by:
    • Active
    • Upcoming
    • Past
    • All

Editing Maintenance​

Modify an existing maintenance window:

  1. Navigate to Settings → Maintenance
  2. Find the maintenance window in the list
  3. Click "Edit"
  4. Make your changes
  5. Click "Save"
Active Maintenance

Changes to active maintenance windows take effect immediately. Hosts may start or stop being suppressed based on your changes.

Deleting Maintenance​

Remove a maintenance window:

  1. Navigate to Settings → Maintenance
  2. Find the maintenance window
  3. Click "Delete"
  4. Confirm the deletion

What Happens:

  • The maintenance window is immediately removed
  • Hosts resume normal monitoring
  • Suppressed alerts may trigger if problems still exist
  • Historical data is not affected

Maintenance Templates​

Save time by creating reusable maintenance templates.

Creating a Template​

During maintenance creation (Step 4):

  1. Configure all your settings
  2. Check "Save as Template"
  3. Enter a descriptive template name
  4. Complete the maintenance creation

The template is now saved for future use.

Using a Template​

When creating new maintenance:

  1. Start the maintenance wizard
  2. In Step 4, select "Load from Template"
  3. Choose your saved template
  4. The wizard pre-fills with template settings
  5. Adjust dates/times as needed
  6. Complete the wizard

Template Examples​

Weekly Patching Template

  • Name: "Weekly Server Patching"
  • Type: With data collection
  • Schedule: Weekly, Sunday 02:00-06:00
  • Entities: Host group "Production Servers"

Emergency Maintenance Template

  • Name: "Emergency Maintenance"
  • Type: Without data collection
  • Duration: 4 hours
  • Entities: To be selected per incident

Quarterly Upgrade Template

  • Name: "Quarterly System Upgrades"
  • Type: With data collection
  • Schedule: Monthly, first Saturday
  • Tags: Environment=Production

Best Practices​

Planning Maintenance Windows​

  1. Schedule During Low Activity

    • Plan maintenance during off-peak hours
    • Consider different timezones for global systems
    • Avoid business-critical hours

  2. Communicate in Advance

    • Notify stakeholders before maintenance
    • Include maintenance details in the description
    • Reference change management tickets

  3. Use Appropriate Duration

    • Add buffer time for unexpected issues
    • Don't make windows too long (reduces monitoring coverage)
    • Typical windows: 2-4 hours for routine maintenance

  4. Group Related Systems

    • Use host groups or sites for logical grouping
    • Avoid selecting individual hosts when a group works
    • Consider dependencies between systems

Recurring Maintenance​

  1. Use Templates

    • Create templates for regular maintenance
    • Reduces setup time and errors
    • Ensures consistency

  2. Review Recurring Windows

    • Periodically review active recurring maintenance
    • Remove obsolete recurring windows
    • Update schedules as needs change

  3. Document Patterns

    • Add clear descriptions to recurring maintenance
    • Note the purpose and scope
    • Include contact information

Tag-Based Filtering​

  1. Consistent Tagging

    • Use consistent tag names across your infrastructure
    • Document your tagging strategy
    • Examples: Environment, Service, Location, Owner

  2. Combine with Entity Selection

    • Use tags to refine host group selections
    • Example: Host group "Web Servers" + Tag "Production"
    • Provides precise control

Troubleshooting​

Alerts Still Triggering During Maintenance​

Check:

  • Is the maintenance window active? (Check start/end times)
  • Are the correct hosts selected?
  • Are tag filters too restrictive?
  • Is the timezone correct?

Solution:

  • Verify the maintenance is listed as "Active"
  • Check host tooltip for maintenance indicator
  • Review entity selection in maintenance settings

Maintenance Not Appearing on Hosts​

Check:

  • Has the maintenance window started?
  • Is the host included in the selection?
  • Are tag filters excluding the host?

Solution:

  • Wait for the start time if it's in the future
  • Verify host is in selected groups/maps/sites
  • Check host tags match the filter criteria

Cannot Edit Maintenance​

Possible Causes:

  • Insufficient permissions
  • Maintenance created by another user
  • System-level maintenance

Solution:

  • Contact your administrator for permissions
  • Ask the creator to make changes
  • Check if you have the required role

Maintenance Workflow Example​

Here's a complete workflow for monthly server patching:

graph TD
    A[Plan Maintenance] --> B[Create Maintenance Window]
    B --> C[Select: Production Servers Group]
    C --> D[Schedule: First Sunday, 02:00-06:00]
    D --> E[Add Tags: Environment=Production]
    E --> F[Save as Template: Monthly Patching]
    F --> G[Maintenance Active]
    G --> H[Perform Patching]
    H --> I[Verify Systems]
    I --> J[Maintenance Ends Automatically]
    J --> K[Normal Monitoring Resumes]
  • Problem Management: See Working with Problems
  • Task Management: Convert problems to tasks during maintenance
  • Host Groups: Organize hosts for easier maintenance selection
important

Maintenance windows only suppress alerts - they don't prevent problems from occurring. Always verify your systems are healthy after maintenance ends.