Kisco Systems
Tech Tip
Email Configuration

Several software products from Kisco Information Systems support sending email from your IBM i system. This document helps with common configuration issues that we have seen come up with all of these products. They all use a common email transmission protocol, so the problems with initial configuration are the same across these products.

In this section:


IBM i SMTP Server

Kisco email routines interface with the SMTP server that is built into the IBM i OS. For email to work, the IBM i SMTP server must be up and running. You can check to see if the SMTP server is currently running on your system with the following command:

WRKACTJOB SBS(QSYSWRK) JOB(QTSMT*)

If you need to start the SMTP server, use the following command:

STRTCPSVR SERVER(*SMTP)

When you choose to keep the Kisco software, you should update the SMTP Attributes on your system so that the SMTP server always starts during an IPL. To do this, prompt the CHGSMTPA (Change SMTP Attributes) command with the F4 key. The first parameter shown should be set to *YES.


Host Address Resolution

During email transmission, the Kisco email routines checks the server domain address for your IBM i server to make sure that it is valid. Many IBM i shops have not registered the system name of their IBM i server with the DNS, so this is a common issue.

To check this, go to the CFGTCP menu in the IBM OS (GO CFGTCP). Run option #12 and note the "Host Name" and the "Domain Name" that are displayed. The DNS system name for your system is a combination of these two values. For example, if your "Host Name" is "MYIBMI" and the "Domain Name" is "MYCOMPANY.COM", then the DNS system name for your server is "MYIBMI.MYCOMPANY.COM".

Next, from the command line, use the PING command to try and validate the DNS system name.

Example: PING RMTSYS(MYIBMI.MYCOMPANY.COM)

If it returns an "Unknown host" error message, then additional configuration work is needed. You can do this using option #10 on the CFGTCP menu. Start that menu option and then create a Host Table Entry for your IBM i server. Use the numeric IP address for your IBM i server and the DNS system name you have just verified. Once the host table entry has been established, try to validate it again. It should be valid at this point.


Email Relay Settings

For email to work from Kisco products, the SMTP server on the IBM i has to be set to allow email relays. As shipped from IBM, this setting disallows relays. The setting in question is in the SMTP Attributes and can be changed by prompting the Change SMTP Attributes command (CHGSMTPA).

To see more on this topic, please check THIS LINK for an article for our iEventMonitor software product. It gives you a detailed explanation of the issue and how to correctly configure your system.


Joblog Review

If the above issues have not resolved your issue, run a test email transmission and then immediately review the session joblog to see if any issues are revealed. You can do this by running the DSPJOBLOG command. When the joblog is displayed, press the F10 key followed by the F18 key to see the last entries posted by the job. If you see a single line displayed that reads "Mail sent", then all processing done by our software completed successfully. If you are still not receiving email, then a network issue is probably the cause. Check with your network admin to make sure that your network will allow your IBM i server to send email.


Recommended SMTP Attribute Settings

Some customers report problems that are not resolved with any of the above areas. For some of these, several SMTP Attribute settings create issues. We have found the following settings to be particularly problematic. We specifically recommend the following settings:

Verify identification . . . . . *NO
Allow authentication . . . . . . *NONE
Verify MSF messages . . . . . . *NO
Verify from user . . . . . . . . *NONE

To check these settings, sign on as a security officer and prompt the IBM i command CHGSMTPA. Press ENTER once to reveal all settings and then page up until these settings are displayed.


Debug Mode

Each of our software products includes a debug feature on the test email function from the INSTALL menu for the product. If all else fails, run your test email with the debug feature turned on. When you send the test mail, the debug option will cause a short trace listing to be produced. It will be named QPRINT and will be under your user profile. Examine the listing to see if your issue is reported. If you need assistance with this, send the listing to Kisco Information Systems for interpretation.

When examining the debug trace, if you see a diagnostic line that looks like this:

301 negative response from SMTP server ( RSP(550 User XXXX not recognized.) xxxxxxx

this may be caused by the "Verify identification" setting (parameter VFYID) in the SMTP Attributes being set to *YES. If you find that VFYID is set to *YES, change it to *NO.


Non-Standard Port Binding

On some systems, the SMTP server in the IBM i OS may be set up to use a non-standard port number. The normal port number is port 25 and our software is configured to use port 25.

Some systems may have this set using a system environment variable. To check this method, run the following command:

WRKENVVAR LEVEL(*SYS)

Check for the variable named QIBM_SMTP_SERVER_PORT. If it is listed, then the port number being used will show as the Value. If a value is displayed that is other than 25, then see below on how to change the port setting in our software below. If no variable is displayed, then there is a second method for finding the port number in use as follows.

To check the port number being used on your system, you must first start IBM i Access Client Solutions. Then select the "Navigator for i" option and do the require signon process. It may take a few moments while for the signon to complete and the various tasks to be listed on the lefthand panel of the browser display.

Select the following sequence of options from the lefthand panel.

Network
Servers
TCP/IP Servers

Locate the SMTP server in the list that is displayed and place a check mark in the box on the left. Then, using the "Actions" box at the top, select "Properties". The SMTP Properties for your server will be shown.

In the left hand panel, select the "Bindings" option. The SMTP Server port will show on the display panel. If it is set to 25 already, you do not need to make any changes in our software.

Changing the Port setting in Kisco's software

If a port number other than 25 is in use, you will need to change the port number being used in our software. If you are using iEventMonitor, you can click on this link for specific instructions - http://www.kisco.com/iem/support/iemfaq.htm#faq011

If any other Kisco software package is in use, contact Kisco Support staff for instructions.


Improving Deliverability

Required for delivery to gmail addresses

When sending email to an account at Google's Gmail using the SNDSMTPEMM option in our software, some customers find that the email fails to arrive. Here are some ideas on where to look for the problem.

  1. Determine your outgoing IP address. You can check this using the IBM i OS command WRKSMTPEMM. Find your failed email attempt using either the LISTBY(*ORG) or LISTBY(*RCP) option. Place an 8 next to the entry and review the log details closely. You will find the reason for non delivery and your outgoing IP address will be identified.

  2. Most problems are due to a domain registration issue that is preventing Google from doing a reverse lookup validation for your sending domain.

  3. You will need an A record in your domain registration that lists your host name and its IP address.

  4. You will also need a TXT SPF record that lists the host and the IP address. Example: v=spf1 a:myibmi.mydomain.com ip4:nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn include:_spf.google.com ~all

  5. At your ISP, you will need to add an RDNS record (reverse DNS) or a PTF (Pointer) record that point your host.domain.com to the IP address that sends the mail (step 1 above)

If you have been unsuccessful in getting the email function to work for you after reading the above topics, contact support staff at Kisco Information Systems by email and provide the details of your specific situation.