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ch04 preprocessing: add Check for not supported value and error handlers - #401

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ch04 preprocessing: add Check for not supported value and error handlers#401
WMP wants to merge 1 commit into
penmasters:mainfrom
WMP:docs/preprocessing-check-not-supported

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@WMP WMP commented Jun 11, 2026

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Summary

Adds a new subsection "Check for not supported value and error handlers" to
the preprocessing page (ch04-zabbix-collecting-data/preprocessing.md).

The chapter already lists Check for not supported value among the available
preprocessing steps, but never explains it, and error handlers (Custom on fail)
are not documented anywhere in the book. This fills that gap.

What it adds

  • How an item failing to collect a value (SNMP error, unreadable file,
    unsupported agent key) becomes not supported, and how that — together with
    triggers going to unknown — generates internal events that bloat the
    events/event_tag tables and overload the housekeeper.
  • The Check for not supported value step (runs because the item failed).
  • Error handlers / Custom on fail: Discard value, Set value to,
    Set error to.
  • The practical recipe: Check for not supported value → Discard value to stop
    a not-supported flood at the source.
  • Three real-world examples: virtual network interfaces returning invalid
    argument
    on /sys/class/net/<if>/speed, empty SNMP hardware slots returning
    genError, and a Prometheus pattern step failing when the source object
    (e.g. a pod) disappears (handled via the step's own error handler, since the
    collection itself succeeded).
  • A note that LLD filters are the cleaner first line of defence, and a
    caution that discarding errors hides them, so it should be used deliberately.

Why

These steps are the standard, supported way to keep a large environment's
database from filling with internal-event noise, yet they are easy to miss.
Documenting them with concrete examples makes the behaviour discoverable.

Notes

  • Style follows the book conventions (prose, ### subsection, !!! tip
    admonition, ~80-column wrapping). One file changed; no images required.

Sources

…dlers

Documents how "not supported" items (and "unknown" triggers) generate internal
events that bloat the events/event_tag tables and overload the housekeeper, and
how to tame the flood with the "Check for not supported value" preprocessing
step plus error handlers (Custom on fail -> Discard value). Includes real
examples (virtual network interfaces, empty SNMP slots, Prometheus pattern on
vanished pods) and notes LLD filters as the cleaner first line of defence.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
@larcorba larcorba self-assigned this Jun 13, 2026
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3 participants