Email Notifications

[sqlhotdog2005]

Maybe a dumb question, but in order to send email notifications from within a database maintenance plan, is it necessary to have Outlook installed (and running) on the SQL server?

I've created triggers that call a stored procedure (sorry, forget the name now), that sends out emails... but that was a little cumbersome.

It seems odd that one would have to have Outlook actually running on a SQL server to send out email notifications for a backup job... we have Outlook Express installed on the SQL Server, but not Outlook.

We have Exchange on another machine... would this help?

Ultimately, we would like for Database maintenance Plans to be able to send email notifications without having any kind of "client" (like Outlook) running on the SQL Server. If there was a small utility program that could run in the background, that would be great.

 

[SQLDenis]

xp_smtp_sendmail

http://sqldev.net/xp/xpsmtp.htm

“I sense many useless updates in you... Useless updates lead to defragmentation... Defragmentation leads to downtime...Downtime leads to suffering..Defragmentation is the path to the darkside.. DBCC INDEXDEFRAG and DBCC DBREINDEX are the force...May the force be with you" --

http://sqlservercode.blogspot.com/

 

[mrdenny]

xp_smtp_sendmail will work great for senging out email via code. However to sendout email from the job notifications you have to have outlook installed and a profile configured under the domain account that runs the SQL Service. Here is a FAQ on setting it up faq962-4452.

Denny
MCSA (2003) / MCDBA (SQL 2000)

--Anything is possible. All it takes is a little research. (Me)

http://www.mrdenny.com

 

[sqlhotdog2005]

Thanks again, Denny... that's what I thought. Sure does seem screwy to have to have Outlook loaded. Question: How does SQL "notification services" work? (We're REALLY looking for a way to set up clients' SQL server to notify us about backups and such, but we don't have the liberty to be loading stuff on their machines. I guess we could use the code way...)

 

[mrdenny]

SQL uses the installed MAPI client to send mail using the configured mail profile.

I'm not really sure what your asking.

Denny
MCSA (2003) / MCDBA (SQL 2000)

--Anything is possible. All it takes is a little research. (Me)

http://www.mrdenny.com

 

[sqlhotdog2005]

Um... I seem to recall an "add-on" for SQL... came on one of our CDs... something called Notification Services... (I think)

 

[mrdenny]

Notification Services is part of SQL 2005. As far as I know there isn't a Notification Services in SQL 2000.

Denny
MCSA (2003) / MCDBA (SQL 2000)

--Anything is possible. All it takes is a little research. (Me)

http://www.mrdenny.com

 

[SQLDenis]

You can get SQl Server 2000 Notification services here

http://www.microsoft.com/sql/ns/default.mspx

“I sense many useless updates in you... Useless updates lead to defragmentation... Defragmentation leads to downtime...Downtime leads to suffering..Defragmentation is the path to the darkside.. DBCC INDEXDEFRAG and DBCC DBREINDEX are the force...May the force be with you" --

http://sqlservercode.blogspot.com/