How To Configure SMTP Alerts? 4

[robp29]

I'm using BrightStor ArcServe v9 for NT/2000 and I'm having a hard time getting SMTP alerts to work with Alert Manager.

I have configured my email address in Alert Manager under Configuration/SMTP. But when I send a test alert message nothing happens. The Alert Activity Log shows "Failed to Send SMTP (20)"

How does the SMTP alerting work? I feel like I'm missing something somewhere. This is the first SMTP capable application I've seen that doesn't offer an option to configure the SMTP server. How does it know where to send it? Do I need to install SMTP on the ArcServe servers? I'd really hate to have to do that on all the boxes we have running ArcServe.

Naturally the documentation and knowledge base is of no help. Or I'm probably too impatient to dig and dig for the info.

We're using Lotus Domino and it's configured to accept SMTP email. We have other admin type apps already sending alerts through this server just fine via SMTP. I know Alert Center supports Notes but I'd really like to avoid that option if possible. I don't want to install the Notes client on each server running ArcServe.

Thanks!

 

[D4C]

are you tried de IIS from Windows , in my case i configured de SMTP services whit the ip of my SMTP email server, and work. Check out how to config SMTP in Microsoft Technet Web Page-

 

[mass2612]

To get the alerts working you need to logon locally to the server using the agent account that you have setup with a mailbox in your domain. Then you need to run through the Exchange agent configuration whilst logged on as this user. Specify the mailbox and account details for this user during the setup and the configuration will complete succesfully then you should be able to send the test message.

The account will need the right to log on locally, act as part of the OS, log on as a service and I would also add them to the backup operators group.

 

[mohamdr]

Hi
Yes you are correct SMTP server has to be existing with the machine having alert Manager otherwise it won't work
In case you have more than one Arcserve Server you need to
configure SMTP server for each,CA promised to relase a new version on Alert manager which you can specify the SMTP server,but till this momemmt no new about it.
What we can do is just to wait and accept what CA gives us.

regards,
mohamdr

 

[virogo]

We have installed ArcServe 9 also, and having the same problems getting an e-mail alert to work.

Here's my story with a working solution at the end...

Exchange settings made, AlertManager says to have logged in succesfully on the Exchange system.
Trying to send a mail thru the Exchange settings, no luck.

Problem: Windows 2000 server does not have Windows Messaging. So you cannot make any connection to an Exchange server.
Microsoft has a patch to install Windows Messaging on 2000 server but, that also fails due to the too old software (not Y2K compliant and only Microsoft Mail is supported and no Exchange)
Second option, install MS Outlook 97/2000/XP and setup your profile using Exchange Server. Done that, been there, but still no result.

Working solution:
Install SMTP service of IIS, set Smart host to be your Exchange server (IP or domain name).
Setup SMTP in Alert Manager, do a test mail and viola....

Only problem now: Getting a message saying:

AlertManager:
This is a test message from the Alert Manager

Fine, I have about 15 servers running all local versions of ArcServe. If I cannot alter the subject text to be added with the name of the server in question, how am I supposed to know which one of them had an error.
So here I go again, browsing all screens to see which one has troubles...

:-|

 

[robp29]

Thanks for all your replies.

I had taken a guess that I needed to install IIS' SMTP server. So I managed to do that and got it working well enought that I can send myself email from that server via Outlook Express.

But of course Alert Manager still refuses to send the test email. I get "Failed to Send SMTP (20)" in the Alert Activity Log.

I have the Alert Service Account set up to use my ID. But I might need to run with mass2612's suggestion and configure mail settings again for the service accounts ArcServe uses. We aren't using Exchange so I can't utilize those suggestions involving Exchange.

virogo, what exactly did you mean by "set Smart host to be your Exchange server (IP or domain name)"? I'm not sure what Smart host is.

mohamdr, I sure hope you're right about the updated Alert Manger. It looks like the same basic code that's been in use by ArcServe for years. If you hear any more info about it please let us know. I'm sure we'd all be interested.

 

[virogo]

Heck, I had it running for a day and WHAM! I got the same error sending SMTP error 20....

I do not know what I changed, but anyway:

The smart host is the mailserver which can handle SMTP messages, you can either put a domainname or IP address there.

Hope it works for you!
I tried the option to send an event to a remote computer, so it shows it in the events-log.
It works, but still cannot get the other systems to do the same on ArcServeIT, 2000 and so on....
It is a complicated piece of software when it comes to this....

Good luck!

 

[Wiedie]

Hi group,
i found an article under:

http://support.ca.com/Download/patches/ilitnt/QO36911.html

This is an update for the Alerter Service for etrust Antivirus. After i applied this patch i was able to configure the SMTP Alert for Arcserve V9. After a reboot and opening the Alert Manager i pressed the right mouse button on SMTP an there i found a new entry in the menue. It is called "SMTP Settings". There i could configure the sender adress, a subject and a remote SMTP server! After that a added a new recipient and tryed to send a test message. It works!

I also deinstalled the IIS on my backup server and it is still working.

You should give this a try!
Good luck!

 

[mcse924]

FINALLY SMTP Alerts WORK IN ARCSERVE!!!

Wiede,

I have been using Arcserve since 1997. I struggled to find out how to use SMTP alerts, since we use Lotus Notes. I gave up, and struggled to configure Alert Mgr with Lotus Notes. After much trial and error, I got it to work. However, upon re-install of Arcserve over the years, I learned even configuring Notes and Alert is NOT an exact science!!

THANK YOU for discovering how to use SMTP with Alert Mgr. I was apble to apply the aforementioned patch without rebooting. Voila! IT WORKS!

You would think being on CA's email support list, they would make these things CRYSTAL CLEAR to all users. I suspect CA is full of NERDS who have no common sense at all.

Thanks a million...

Carpe diem, procrastination is the thief of time...

 

[Zebis]

Hi all,

Im having a similar problem but not sure how to fix it.
Inoculate 6.0 with Alert Manager 7.0 (Build 684) - QO36911 applied, running on Windows 2000 Server SP3.
The Inoculate server is also the exchange 2000 server.
There is no Virtual SMTP Service in IIS (But it is in the Exchange Manager)
Tried all the steps above but still get a message,
Failed to send SMTP (80000002)

I thought it would have been easier with Alert Manager running on the actual Exchange Server, but makes no diff.

TIA

Matt

 

[mritchie]

Hi Group,

Not sure if anyone is monitoring this thread anymore, however I am experiencing this same problem.

We have Arcserve 9.01 installed on Windows Server 2003. I have installed the QO36911 Alert patch, and I do get the additional config items for setting the smtp server, however the alerting still does not work, and I am also getting "Failed to Send SMTP (20)" errors in the Alert Activity log.

I have the Alert Noifification service set to logon as Administrator. Administrator has been given "logon as part of operating system" permission, and "logon as a service" permission.

As discribed by virogo above, I had it working for a couple of days, and now I can not get it going again..???

Can anyone out there shed some light on this problem..???

Regards,

Mark R.

 

[koljande]

In by case (with Arcserve 11 on Windows Server 2003 with Exchange 2003) it was that:

error: "Failed to Send SMTP (80000002)"
reason: no SMTP-server IP was configured in alert manager
resolution: I did use my Exchange Server's IP (because Exchange 2003 always provides virtual smtp-server)

error: "Failed to Send SMTP (80000005)"
reason: by default Exchange server's Virtual SMTP-server does not allow relaying mail
resolutions: configured Virtual SMTP-server's relay (from server's properties, access, relay) to allow relay from it's own IP-address because that's where Alert Managers SMTP-connections come from

 

[crownit]

This is a small thing, my problem is, but it's annoying none the less. Thought I'd see if anyone had an idea.

I have SMTP working through BrightStor 9.0.1 working on a Windows 2003 server (thanks Wiedie) but unlike the Alert Manager on every other 2003 system when I have an SMTP message sent to me from this system it sends it from AlertAdministrator instead of who I have set up in the SMTP settings. This causes the email to go though our Exchange server without a valid from field and causes problems there.

On every other server the Alert message is sent from the Sender Address specified. Anyone know how to set Brightstor up so it actually sends from the "Sender Address" you specify?.

 

[crownit]

This was finally solved. When I updated Alert it wasn't actually updating the files. I had to manually get the files and copy them over those in the directory then the Alerter started working as it should.

 

[henrikp]

I installed the patch Wiedie sugested but still couldn't get the notifications. I then did a tcpdump on the SMTP server and saw that CA doesn't follow the RFC om SMTP.

They use "RCPT TO:my@email.com" and not "RCPT TO:<my@email.com>" as the RFC says. So i then changed the "Address" field in the "SMTP Recipients" to <my@email.com> instead of my@email.com and now it works. So if you have a picky SMTP server you could try this.

 

[Fredje]

Hi all,

If someone is interested in...

I used Alert and do not find it effective. Too many alerts for the same problem... For example I got one tape error that makes my mailbox oversize...

So I've written an simple VB script that can analyse the ARCserve.log for errors and send it by Outlook to a specific adress.
I know the script is not perfect but verry helpfull to discard unsuitable errors.
It runs actually under AS2k. Because I'm migrating on BABv11 an adaptation will be written for this version.

If someone is interested in I can send the code.
(of course, for free ;o))
Just send me a mail to frederic.verbeyst@elia.be

If it can help you...

Fredje

 

[serverhandle]

Hi,all,
Firt, many thank for all your help here,I can get my SMTP working now. But I got a new problem now.

In the Alert activity log shows my SMTP send successfully, but in my email box still got nothing, I check the server even logs, it shows the following errors:

Event Type: Warning
Event Source: smtpsvc

Description:
Message delivery to the remote domain 'yahoo.co.uk' failed for the following reason: The remote server did not respond to a connection attempt.

Data:
0000: d2 02 04 c0 Ò..À

I am not sure where is the problem is? Hopefully, you are still looking at this and waiting for your reponse.