Learn Zabbix - OpenTelemetry & Zabbix 8.0

#Introduction

Throughout the series, Zabbix has been synonymous with agent-based monitoring. Episode 20 tells a bigger story about change in direction: OpenTelemetry and Zabbix 8.0 LTS, which is in beta as of the writing of this series with a release scheduled for Q3 2026. This is an episode about Zabbix's future — and what it means for your observability architecture.

OpenTelemetry is a vendor-neutral standard for telemetry. Its support in Zabbix 8.0 means Zabbix will no longer only accept data from its own agents, but also from the vast OTel ecosystem. For those of you who've followed this series from episode 0, this is the discussion of where Zabbix is heading after 22 episodes of building the foundation.

#OpenTelemetry in Zabbix 8.0

#OTel Collector Integration

Zabbix 8.0 introduces the ability to receive telemetry from the OpenTelemetry Collector. The Collector is a lightweight agent that collects, processes, and exports telemetry. Zabbix becomes one of its export destinations — data collected by OTel SDKs or exporters can enter Zabbix without needing a Zabbix agent.

exporters:
  otlp/zabbix:
    endpoint: zabbix.example.com:4318
    tls:
      insecure: false

The exporters block above directs the collector to send data to the Zabbix endpoint via the OTLP protocol. With this pattern, applications already instrumented with OTel can be visible in Zabbix right away.

#Ingesting Metrics, Logs, and Traces

The most important change: Zabbix 8.0 accepts all three signals — metrics, logs, and traces — not just metrics. This answers the classic criticism of Zabbix, which has long been identified with metrics alone. With OTel ingestion:

metrics → collected as metric items
logs    → ingested as log events
traces  → ingested as tracing data

The ability to accept traces is a big leap. Previously, tracing was the exclusive domain of dedicated stacks like Jaeger or Tempo. Now Zabbix can be a shared home for metrics and tracing.

#Unified Observability

The end goal is unified observability: one platform seeing metrics, logs, and traces without jumping between tools. With this integration, Zabbix steps into territory previously dominated by specialized observability stacks.

OTel-instrumented apps → collector → Zabbix 8.0 → unified frontend

Although the exact display behavior and correlation are still being refined in the beta version, the direction is clear: Zabbix is moving from "monitoring" toward "observability".

#Zabbix 8.0 LTS Features

#Core Modernization and Event Processing

Zabbix 8.0 brings core engine modernization — internal updates to data and event processing. Event processing capabilities are also improved, including correlation that's more sophisticated than what you learned in episode 7.

#A New Mobile App

The beta introduces a redesigned mobile app. For on-call teams, this app brings the problem list, acknowledgement, and notifications to your hand — reducing dependence on the browser when out of the office.

#Better Visualization

The visual side is also improved, refreshing the dashboards and widgets from episode 9. Since it's still beta, the final appearance details may change before the final release.

#Migration Path from 7.0 LTS

#When and How

Zabbix 7.0 LTS is still well supported — active support until June 2027 and security support until June 2029. There's no urgency to move to 8.0 right after release. The recommended migration pattern:

• Wait for the final release and the first patch release for stability.
• Test 8.0 in a staging environment using template exports and backups from episode 16.
• Verify all integrations, media types, and custom scripts before production.

zabbix_server --version

The command zabbix_server --version shows the installed version. Compare it with available releases — and note that major LTS-to-LTS migrations must always start from a valid backup.

#Risks to Watch

While in beta, features can change and final documentation isn't complete. Don't run beta versions in production, and monitor Security Advisories and official release notes before upgrading. The same principles apply to the 8.0 migration later: plan, test, back up, then execute.

#Preparing Now

Even though 8.0 hasn't had a final release yet, you can prepare from now:

• Start instrumenting applications with the OpenTelemetry SDK and standardize OTLP connections.
• Tidy your template library so version migrations run smoothly.
• Practice upgrade and rollback flows in staging.
• Follow the official Zabbix roadmap and release notes.

The skills you've already built — items, triggers, templates, API, HA, tuning — all remain relevant in 8.0. New versions extend capabilities; they don't replace the foundation.

#Closing

Episode 20 looked to the future: OpenTelemetry brings metrics, logs, and traces to Zabbix 8.0, core modernization and a mobile app refresh the foundation and how you access it, and the migration path from 7.0 LTS must be planned with careful testing and backups.

Key takeaways:

• Zabbix 8.0 receives telemetry from the OpenTelemetry Collector via OTLP.
• Metrics, logs, and traces can be ingested in one platform.
• 8.0 brings core modernization, a new mobile app, and better visualization.
• 7.0 LTS remains supported until 2029; no need to rush the migration.
• OTel instrumentation and tidy templates are the best preparation for 8.0.

In the next episode 21 we'll discuss modern features and the roadmap — the latest Zabbix 7.0 LTS capabilities like cloud-native proxy and website transactions, 7.4 updates, and the position of Zabbix 8.0 in the roadmap to 8.2.