Visualizing Zabbix Metrics with Grafana (Part 4) — Building Dynamic Dashboards with Variables

📘 Overview

If you’ve completed the static dashboards for CPU, memory, and disk in Part 3,
this section will show how to extend them into dynamic, exploratory dashboards by using Grafana’s Variables feature.

By leveraging variables, you can:

Filter servers by Zabbix group
Compare specific hosts within multiple servers
Switch metrics (e.g., CPU, Memory, I/O) in real time — all within a single view

1. Understanding Variables

Grafana variables act as dynamic placeholders that pass query values within a dashboard.
The Zabbix plugin supports variable query types such as Group, Host, and Item, allowing you to reuse the same panel across multiple hosts or metrics.

In other words, it enables you to create “one CPU usage panel that displays every server.”

2. Setting up the Group Variable

2.1 Configuration Path

Dashboard → Settings (⚙️) → Variables → Add variable

(If the settings menu isn’t visible in the top-right corner, click Edit instead.)

2.2 Key Parameters

Field	Value	Description
Name	Group	Variable name
Hide	Nothing	Displays variable name on screen (not hidden)
Query Type	Group	Retrieves Zabbix group list
Group : Regex Filter	`/.example./i`	Filters only groups matching “example”

💡 Multi-value and Include All option are not selected in this case,
since there’s only one example group. See the Host variable setup section below for details.

2.3 Save

Click Save dashboard →
If the Group dropdown appears at the top of the dashboard, it’s working correctly.

3. Setting up the Host Variable

3.1 Add a New Variable

Dashboard Settings → Variables → New variable

3.2 Configuration

Field	Value	Description
Name	Host	Variable name
Query Type	Host	Retrieves hosts belonging to the selected group
Group	`$Group`	References the previously created Group variable
Host : Regex filter	`/^example/` or `/.*?/`	Filters specific hosts
Multi-value	✅ Enabled	Allows selecting multiple hosts
Include All option	✅ Enabled	Adds an “All” option

⚙️ Multi-value is useful when managing three or more servers.
For instance, if there are multiple example servers, you can view only example server 01 and example server 02 without selecting “All.”

4. Setting up the Item Variable

4.1 Add a New Variable

Dashboard Settings → Variables → New variable

4.2 Configuration

Field	Value	Description
Name	CPU_performance_overview	Variable name (Label name can also be specified if desired)
Query Type	Item	Retrieves Zabbix item list
Group	`$Group`	References the Group variable
Host	`$Host`	References the Host variable
Item : Regex filter	`/^CPU (utilization	user time
Multi-value	✅ Enabled	Displays multiple metrics at once
Include All option	✅ Enabled	Adds an “All” selection option

5. Applying Variables to Panels

Now, link the variables to your existing CPU panel.

Select the CPU panel → Edit
Query Type: Metrics
Group: $Group
Host: $Host
Item: $CPU_performance_overview
Delete the previous static query and Save dashboard

💡 With this setup, a single panel can now switch between groups, servers, and metrics instantly.

6. Advantages of a Dynamic Dashboard

Category	Static Dashboard	Dynamic Dashboard (with Variables)
Scope	Specific to one server	Shared across multiple servers/groups
Scalability	Requires panel duplication	Easily reusable by adding variables
Operational Efficiency	Manual edits when adding servers	Instantly reflects changes
Readability	Limited	Easy exploration via selection filters

Ultimately, a variable-based dashboard reduces panel count, simplifies maintenance,
and maximizes operational efficiency.

7. Saving and Validation

Click Save dashboard
→ Use the dropdown menus at the top to switch between Group / Host / Item
→ If graphs respond immediately to changes, the configuration is correct.

8. Practical Tips

Use English names for variable identifiers and Korean or readable labels for display.
Always maintain a hierarchical structure: Group → Host → Item.
Enable Multi-value to build comparison dashboards for multiple servers.

🛠 마지막 수정일: 2025.11.10

ⓒ 2025 엉뚱한 녀석의 블로그 [quirky guy's Blog]. 본문 및 이미지를 무단 복제·배포할 수 없습니다. 공유 시 반드시 원문 링크를 명시해 주세요.
ⓒ 2025 엉뚱한 녀석의 블로그 [quirky guy's Blog]. All rights reserved. Unauthorized copying or redistribution of the text and images is prohibited. When sharing, please include the original source link.

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