Server Settings - Email Settings

To send emails in the context of Alfabet functionalities, either a local SMTP server must be installed and configured on the Alfabet Server machine, or an existing enterprise SMTP server must be configured in the server alias configuration file of the Alfabet Server.

Configuration of the Alfabet Server comprises both the specification of the SMTP server and the parameters for processing emails in the queue.

The Alfabet Server checks the queue for pending emails in a configurable time interval and sends out emails to the SMTP server in blocks via a single connection. For the email queue processing parameters, best practice default values are displayed in the respective fields in a new server alias configuration. These parameters should only be changed if problems are encountered with the connection to the SMTP server.

The sender email address of Alfabet emails is configurable. The configuration is described below. The sender email address must be a valid email address that must be available before you begin to configure the Alfabet Server.

Define the connection to the SMTP server:

1. Expand the Alfabet Aliases node in the Administrator explorer.
2. In the table, select the server alias that you want to edit and click the Edit   button in the toolbar. An editor opens.
3. In the Server Settings > Email Settings tab, specify the connection to the SMTP server with the following parameters:
   •  EMail Mode: This field is set to SMTP and for informational purposes only.
   • SMTP Settings section:
     • Host: Enter the fully qualified domain name of the SMTP server.

       By default, the Alfabet Server tries to use a local SMTP server with default settings for the connection definition. Therefore, the configuration of the SMTP Settings attributes is not required if you want the Alfabet Server to connect to an SMTP server that is installed on the Alfabet Server host on port 25 without authentication and without using SSL.

     • Port: Enter the port of the SMTP server for incoming connections. By default, port 25 is used.
     • Use SSL: Select the checkbox to send data to the SMTP server on an SSL secured connection. By default SSL is not used.
     • Enable Authentication: Select the checkbox if authentication is required for the SMTP server. If the checkbox is selected, you must provide a user name and password in the User and Password attributes. By default, authentication is not enabled.
     • User: If the Enable Authentication attribute is activated, enter the user name for authentication at the SMTP server.

       Server variables can be used to define the user name encrypted.

     • Password: If the Enable Authentication attribute is activated, enter the password for authentication at the SMTP server. The password is stored encrypted in the alfabetMS.xml server alias configuration file.
   • Define the mode for the specification of the sender email address of emails sent by the system by means of the System Sender Email Account and Failover Sender Email Account parameters described below.

     The System Sender Email Account and Failover Sender Email Account parameters must also be defined in the server alias of the Alfabet Web Application.

4. Click OK to save your changes.

Define the email processing parameters:

The Alfabet Server checks the queue for pending emails in a configurable time interval and sends out emails to the SMTP server in blocks via a single connection. For the email queue processing parameters, best practice default values are displayed in the respective fields in a new server alias configuration. These parameters should only be changed if problems are encountered with the connection to the SMTP server.

•  Email Queue Sleep Time (milliseconds): The Alfabet Server will check the queue for emails to be sent out in the specified time interval. The default value is 3000.
• Max. Emails per Minute: Enter the maximum number of emails that may be processed per minute. The default is 30.
• Send Email Timeout (milliseconds): The timeout in milliseconds for sending emails via the Alfabet Server. The Alfabet Server wait the defined time for the SMTP server to send out outgoing emails. If the timeout elapses before the emails can be sent, the sending of emails will fail.

Define the sender email address:

Typically, an SMTP server requires a sender email address for emails to be sent out. The sender address used for outgoing emails sent in the context of Alfabet by the Alfabet Server will depend on the setting of the System Sender Email Account attribute in the Server Settings > Email Settings tab of the server alias configuration.

The sender email address is written to the ALFA_EMAIL_BUS database table when scheduling the email for sending. If a user triggers sending an email via the Alfabet user interface, the information is added to the table by the Alfabet Web Application. If for example a workflow is started via an event, the Alfabet Server triggers sending of emails.

Therefore, the following attributes must be set in the server alias of both the Alfabet Web Application and the Alfabet Server:

• If the System Sender Email Account attribute is defined, the specified email address will be used as the sender address for all emails even if the originator of the email can be evaluated.
• If the System Sender Email Account attribute is not defined, the email address of the user that is the originator of the email will be used as sender address. In this case, a failover email address should be defined via the Failover Sender Email Account attribute. Otherwise, sending emails will fail if the originator cannot be determined.

  If you do not specify a system sender email account, you must define the email address for each user in the user data.

  The sender address will be determined in the context of the functionality for which the email is sent. For example:

  • Assignment functionality: If a notification is sent out to either the assignee or the originator of an assignment because a user has performed changes to the assignment via the Alfabet interface, the email address of the Alfabet user performing the changes is used as the sender email address. If a notification email is sent out via a batch job that reminds users that assignments are nearing their target date, the batch job will use an artificial email address.
  • Workflow functionality: The sender is generally determined as follows:
    1. Email address configured in the Notification Sender Address attribute for the workflow template.
    2. Email address of the current user performing the action.
    3. Email address of the workflow owner.
    4. Email address of the workflow template owner.

  If the email address of the originator is not specified in the user configuration data of the originator of the email, the setting of the Failover Sender Email Account attribute of the server alias is evaluated:

  • If the Failover Sender Email Account attribute is set, the specified failover email address will be used as sender address.
  • If the Failover Sender Email Account attribute is not set, the sending of emails will fail.