Setting up SMTP to use with SQL 2005 Database Mail

(reposted from the smtp_nntp group which doesn't get much traffic)

My goal is to send notification emails to myself/coworkers from SQL Server
2005 Database Mail. At this point there will not be any incoming mail
activity on this server. It's ok with me if I send email as myself rather
than a local account specifically for the SQL Server.

I'm using W2003 Server Standard and SQL2005 Standard. IIS and Pop3 are
installed but not configured. I'm at a university and part of an Active
Directory domain. Computer name is like MyServer.MyDomain.University.edu.
The University has an SMTP server: smtp.university.edu.


I'm clueless about all of this. I don't know whether I need SMTP running on
my server or just the default SMTP Virtual Server in order to send mail via
the university's SMTP, or whether I should just be my own mail server. I've
read Kristofer Gafvert's article at www.ilopia.com .

Most likely my network admin and the guys who own the university's SMTP
server have no experience with SQL2005. Before/if I need to get them
involved I'd like to understand as much as possible about the whole
situation.


Using only the default SMTP server I was able to use SQL 2005 Database Mail
to a private email server I have access to, but it would only accept mail to
an address on that server. I assume that means I had set up the SQL Database
Mail correctly.


Do I need to run a POP3/SMTP server on my machine? If so, in the POP3
snap-in I see "Connect to another Server" at the POP3 Service level and "New
Domain" at the MyServer level of the tree. Do I do anything with these?

In the Default SMTP Virtual Service Properties, General tab: Do I use "All
Unassigned" or my IP? Access tab: The article covers these settings.
Delivery: Outbound Security - what goes there? Advanced delivery: Do I need
to masquerade as University.edu to use the University's SMTP server?

Where do I start? Thanks in advance for helping me.


--
Cindy Winegarden MCSD, Microsoft Most Valuable Professional
cindy@cindywinegarden.com

Kristofer
Mon Jul 24 15:02:25 CDT 2006

Hi Cindy,

You do not need POP3 since you want to send emails from SQL Server 2005 to
an already existing email address. That is, you want to send emails to an
email address such as bob@online.ilopia.com (and assume that this email
address works already and you can read emails sent to it).

Let me explain how this works by showing you this image:

http://www.ilopia.com/Private/SMTP.jpg

In your situation, User 1 is SQL Server 2005 Database Mail, SMTP Server 1
is a local SMTP server (the one you need to configure to work together
with SQL Server 2005 Database Mail), SMTP Server 2 is the remote SMTP
server (the SMTP server for bob@online.ilopia.com) and the POP3 server
works together with the SMTP server for bob@online.ilopia.com (you connect
with Outlook to the POP3 server to receive your email). Since the POP3
server is needed on the remote side (the destination) you do not need to
configure one if you already have a working email address you will send to.

So we only need to care about a SMTP server.

I am checking the documentation of SQL Server 2005 Database Mail
Accounts[1] and can see that it can work with any SMTP server (it does not
have to be a SMTP server installed on the same machine as SQL Server
2005). This means that you should be able to use the university's SMTP
server (smtp.university.edu), assumed that SQL Server 2005 can connect and
authenticate to this SMTP server. This is also the easiest option, since
you do not need to run and secure another SMTP server on the network.

In this situation you would need to know a username and password if
smtp.university.edu requires authentication (it may not need that if you
are on the university network). Your regular email account should work
(although you may not want to use that).

I see no good reason for using a local SMTP server (a SMTP Server you
configure). You would connect to smtp.university.edu anyway (that is
probably best, although it may work without using the university's SMTP
server). So the flow of the emails will be:

SQL Server 2005 --> Local SMTP Server --> smtp.university.edu

instead of:

SQL Server 2005 --> smtp.university.edu



[1]
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms188668.aspx


--
Regards,
Kristofer Gafvert
http://www.gafvert.info/iis/ - IIS Related Info


Cindy Winegarden wrote:

>(reposted from the smtp_nntp group which doesn't get much traffic)
>
>My goal is to send notification emails to myself/coworkers from SQL Server
>2005 Database Mail. At this point there will not be any incoming mail
>activity on this server. It's ok with me if I send email as myself rather
>than a local account specifically for the SQL Server.
>
>I'm using W2003 Server Standard and SQL2005 Standard. IIS and Pop3 are
>installed but not configured. I'm at a university and part of an Active
>Directory domain. Computer name is like MyServer.MyDomain.University.edu.
>The University has an SMTP server: smtp.university.edu.
>
>
>I'm clueless about all of this. I don't know whether I need SMTP running on
>my server or just the default SMTP Virtual Server in order to send mail via
>the university's SMTP, or whether I should just be my own mail server. I've
>read Kristofer Gafvert's article at www.ilopia.com .
>
>Most likely my network admin and the guys who own the university's SMTP
>server have no experience with SQL2005. Before/if I need to get them
>involved I'd like to understand as much as possible about the whole
>situation.
>
>
>Using only the default SMTP server I was able to use SQL 2005 Database Mail
>to a private email server I have access to, but it would only accept mail
>to
>an address on that server. I assume that means I had set up the SQL
>Database
>Mail correctly.
>
>
>Do I need to run a POP3/SMTP server on my machine? If so, in the POP3
>snap-in I see "Connect to another Server" at the POP3 Service level and
>"New
>Domain" at the MyServer level of the tree. Do I do anything with these?
>
>In the Default SMTP Virtual Service Properties, General tab: Do I use "All
>Unassigned" or my IP? Access tab: The article covers these settings.
>Delivery: Outbound Security - what goes there? Advanced delivery: Do I need
>to masquerade as University.edu to use the University's SMTP server?
>
>Where do I start? Thanks in advance for helping me.

Cindy
Tue Jul 25 15:09:17 CDT 2006

Hi Kristofer,

Thanks for your nice explanation.

I was able to set up and send mail to a non-University account (mvps.org) so
I've now got the basics of the setup pinned down and working. I still can't
send via the university's SMTP server but now I'm sure the problem is
between me and their server, so I'll be contacting the help desk to see
what's what.

--
Cindy Winegarden MCSD, Microsoft Most Valuable Professional
cindy@cindywinegarden.com


"Kristofer Gafvert" <kgafvert@NEWSilopia.com> wrote in message
news:xn0ep47k89dcb4v00l@news.microsoft.com...
> Hi Cindy,
>
> You do not need POP3 since you want to send emails from SQL Server 2005 to
> an already existing email address. ....