Documentation forKiwi Syslog Server NG

Configure email options

This documentation is for legacy Kiwi Syslog Server versions 9.8.2 and older.

Before you add an action to send email, specify the email format and configure other email options. For example, you can send alarm messages, send statistics, and enable logging.

  1. Choose File > Setup to open the Kiwi Syslog Server Setup dialog box.
  2. Scroll down and click E-mail.
  3. Specify the following options.

    Email format Choose HTML or Plain Text.
    Security

    Select one of the following:

    • None: This option can be used for sending email via SMTP server through insecure channel.
    • SSL: This option can be used for sending secured emails via email server which supports SSL (Secure Socket Layer), for example Gmail and Yahoo email servers.
    • TLS: This option can be used for sending secured emails via email server which supports TLS (Transport Layer Security), for example Webmail, POP, IMAP, and SMTP email servers.
    Send syslog alarm messages to

    Select this option to send an email when an alarm threshold has been exceeded. The email can be sent securely.

    Enter the email address or addresses you want notified when an alarm is triggered. Email addresses must be separated by commas. For example:

    noc@company.com, helpdesk@company.com, pager123@company.com

    If the message is being sent to a paging service and there is a limited amount of display space, select Short alarm messages (for pagers). This option sends only the subject line, not the message body.

    Send syslog statistics to

    Select this option to email statistics for a selected interval. The message contains information on log file size, disk space remaining on the archive drive, number of total messages and a breakdown of where the messages came from and the facility and level.

    The message is best viewed in a fixed font such as Courier New so all the columns line up. This can be sent securely.

    Enter one or more recipients, separated by commas, and specify the interval:

    • Hours: Hour interval can be in multiples of 24. Hour interval can accept values of 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 12.
    • Days: Statistics are emailed out on midnight 00:00 based on the number of days set.
    • Weeks: By default, the statistics are emailed out on Sunday, for example, 00:00 based on the number of weeks set.
    • Months: By default, the statistics are emailed on the 1st of every month or for the number of months set.

    Click More to set a maximum number of hosts to be displayed in the statistics email and in diagnostics.

    Hostname or IP address of SMTP mail server

    Enter the IP address or host name of your SMTP server. This can be your local server, or one provided by your ISP.

    The host name of the mail server is usually something like mail.company.com or smtp.company.com. Below are examples:

    • Gmail - smtp.gmail.com
    • Yahoo - smtp.mail.yahoo.com
    • Hotmail - smtp.live.com
    SMTP port

    If your SMTP server listens on a non-standard port, specify the alternate value here. Normally SMTP servers listen on port 25. Some companies change this value for security reasons. The value can be from 1 to 65535.

    The default port for SSL is 465 and for TLS is 587.

    Valid 'from' e-mail address on SMTP server

    SolarWinds recommends that you use a valid reply address in this field. In case of a mail failure, the SMTP server will send the bounce message to this address.

    Some SMTP servers require you to specify a domain name on the end, others do not.

    The address you use here will be the name that appears in the 'message from' field on your received email.

    Optionally, you can specify a friendlier name in brackets after the address. This will be shown as the From address in the mail client. For example:

    noc@company.com (Syslog Server)

    In the example above, the name "Syslog Server" will appear in the From field of the received message. Some SMTP servers might not support this format of from address.

    Timeout The timeout value is how long the program waits for a response from the SMTP server before giving up. If your SMTP is via a dial-up link or very busy, you may want to increase this value from the default of 30 seconds. Valid values are from 1 second to 240 seconds.
    SMTP Username and Password

    Set these options only if your SMTP server requires authentication before accepting email. Most SMTP servers do not need these options set.

    To enable authentication, select the checkbox to the left and fill in your user name and password for the SMTP server. These values are supplied by your network administrator, SMTP server provider, or ISP.

    If you need to use the POP before SMTP option for authentication. SolarWinds recommends that you download a freeware POP mailbox checker and run this on your system as well. Have it check for new messages every 5 minutes which will then allow the SMTP mail to go through.

    Default E-mail Delivery Options Use this option to change the default importance, priority, and sensitivity flags of email messages sent by Kiwi Syslog Server.
    Keep a log file of e-mail activity

    If you intend to use the e-mail feature to notify you of alarms and statistics, select this option to keep a log of what messages have been sent and to whom. The log file is named SendMailLog.txt and is located in the Kiwi Syslog Server installation directory.

    • Click View log to open the log.
    • Click Delete log to delete the file and start a new log file.
    Enable verbose logging

    Enable this option if the mail is not being sent correctly. All the information being sent between the program and the mail server is logged to file. (The message content is not shown.)

    This option can use a lot of disk space.

  4. Click Apply to save your changes.