Orbis Article: Learn about: Installation and Upgrade - Installing and Configuring the SMTP Agent

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1 Orbis Article: Learn about: Installation and Upgrade - Installing and Configuring the SMTP Agent

2 Page: 2 Learn about: Installation and Upgrade - Installing and Configuring the SMTP Agent Created Date: 09/04/ Last Updated Date: 18/06/2015 Table of Contents Introduction Planning an Installation Installing the SMTP Agent (coming soon) Configuring the SMTP Agent - Locating the Settings - Checking the Prerequisites - Registering the Agent Installing and Configuring the SMTP Agent: In Summary Introduction If you require a task to be triggered by the receipt of an message, you will need to install and configure the SMTP Agent. The SMTP Agent can be installed on the TaskCentre server machine or any other remote machine on your network. The Microsoft SMTP Virtual Server must also be running on the machine on which the agent is installed. You have to register the agent with the TaskCentre server before it becomes operational.

3 Page: 3 Figure 1. The deployment diagram. The TaskCentre Server installation is always the first step in a new deployment, for further details please see our knowledge base article for installing and configuring the server: Learn about: Installation and Upgrade - Installing and configuring the Server In this knowledgebase article the SMTP Agent (or Trigger Agent) is installed and then configured. ~ Top ~ Planning an Installation What do you need to do before installing the SMTP Agent? This checklist will help to plan a successful installation. CHECKLIST Trigger Agent Ensure that system prerequisites are in place on the machine where the agent will be installed (set out in the release notes and software compatibility document). Ensure the SMTP Virtual Server is installed and running on the machine where the agent is to be installed. Obtain the server name or IP address of the TaskCentre server. Obtain the administrator password for the TaskCentre server (in order to register the agent). Plan for a reboot of the server where you're installing the agent (though it's not normally required).

4 ~ Top ~ Article Ref: Page: 4 Configuring the SMTP Agent Like the other installed components, you use the Configurator to configure the SMTP Agent. A prompt will appear after install and if accepted the Configurator will load. You can deselect this prompt if you want to carry out configuration at a later time. You can open the Configurator from the Start -> Programs menu or for newer operating systems you can select the Configurator app from the start screen. 1. Locating the Settings In the navigation pane on the left, you first expand the Event Agents folder. Located here will be the SMTP Agent sub-folder. Clicking the folder will display the current agent configuration. Expanding the SMTP Agent folder will reveal two nodes; Prerequisites and Registration Settings. Figure 3. TaskCentre Configurator - Configuring the SMTP Agent ~ Top ~ 2. Checking the Prerequisites

5 Page: 5 One of the functions of the Configurator is to check and report whether the required software and settings are in place for the agent to operate correctly. Selecting the Prerequisites node will display a list of requirements in the pane on the right. A tick icon indicates that prerequisites are in place. A cross icon indicates that that an aspect of the required environment is missing or not running and action is required before the feature will work properly. A warning icon indicates that a configuration issue exists but the feature may still be useable. Figure 4. Checking the SMTP Agent prerequisites - Example screenshot showing all have been met for the agent to correctly run. SMTP Virtual Server Installation The SMTP Virtual Server must be installed and running. Versions of Internet Information Services (IIS) are integrated within each Windows Server version. However, unlike IIS 6.0 the more recent releases do not have SMTP Server built in. For example, IIS is integrated in Windows Server 2008 as IIS version 7.0 and in Windows Server 2008 R2 as IIS version 7.5. Both these versions of IIS do not have the SMTP functionality as standard. Therefore, if you need to create an SMTP environment on any of the TaskCentre supported Winders Server platforms, you will require IIS 6.0 to run in compatibility mode on that server in order to provide the functionality. The SMTP Virtual Server is available as a snap-in in the IIS 6.0 Manager.

6 Please refer to Microsoft web resources for details on how to achieve this using the IIS 6.0 Manager. Article Ref: Page: 6 Figure 5. Showing a Default SMTP Virtual Server snap-in in the IIS Management console. SMTP Server registration The SMTP Server registration check reports whether the SMTP virtual server is correctly registered in IIS. SMTP Server running The TaskCentre SMTP Agent cannot function without the SMTP Virtual Server running correctly. This can be checked in the IIS 6.0 Manager where the service can be started and stopped. Alternatively, you can use Telnet to check for a response from the SMTP Server which would verify that it is listening. Telnet is a communication tool which allows a user to pass messages to the server and receive responses. To do this, you specify the IP address of the SMTP server and the port number it is listening on. When using Telnet on a server to be used to host the SMTP Agent, an adequate test for an SMTP response is to type the command 'TELNET Localhost 25' in a command window and wait for the response from the server.

7 Page: 7 Figure 6. A successful SMTP response using Telnet. Note: On Windows Server 2008 and later, there may be security implications when using Telnet. By default Telnet is not installed. For further details please check the Microsoft TechNet library. ~ Top ~ 3. Registering the Agent The SMTP Agent needs to be registered with the TaskCentre Server. This will enable the agent to provide notifications to the server when an SMTP event is identified which in turn will trigger a task to run. The Registration Settings node allows you to check or change the server that the agent is registered with. By default, the current machine name will be displayed with the agent name as 'SMTP'. The name of the TaskCentre Server machine is entered into the Server field. Alternatively, you can use the server IP address. You can leave the Agent Name as it is or enter any name of your choice. Having a unique name to identify the agent would be beneficial if you were to have multiple SMTP agents across your network. You click Next to continue. Figure 7. Completing the Registration Settings. - Authentication Required -

8 Page: 8 The Configurator will then prompt you to log on using the TaskCentre Administrator account to complete the registration. You must ensure that you are not logged on elsewhere with the Administrator account, this will prevent the registration from being completed. Figure 8. Authentication dialog appears after clicking 'Next'. This completes the process of configuring the SMTP Agent and registering it with the TaskCentre Server. ~ Top ~ Installing and Configuring the SMTP Agent: In Summary The SMTP Agent is one of several Event agents that can be installed as part of the TaskCentre deployment. It is responsible for identifying SMTP events so that tasks can be triggered to run on the TaskCentre Server. This agent can be installed on the same machine that hosts the TaskCentre server or another machine on your network. To install the SMTP Agent you select it as an installable feature within the TaskCentre Installation Console. You carry out configuration of the SMTP Agent using the Configurator application which opens immediately after the install, alternatively it can be opened at any later time. The main configuration is to register the agent with the TaskCentre Server, after which it will become operational. The SMTP event tool can then be used to trigger a task based on the contents of incoming or outgoing mail sent via the virtual SMTP server. ~ Back to Top ~ Return to list of Installation and Upgrade Articles