iDRAC 9 Enterprise SMTP alerts w/Office 365

Question

I'm running a Dell PowerEdge T440 with iDRAC9 Enterprise. I'm attempting to setup SMTP alerts using Office 365. I have been unable to successfully send a test e-mail at all. I receive the error: RAC0225 every single time I sent a test e-mail.

This is the setup so far, any help would be super appreciated because I'm at a loss.

iDRAC Settings -> Connectivity -> Network -> Common Settings Register iDRAC on DNS: Enabled DNS iDRAC Name: iDRAC-ServiceTag Auto Config Domain Name: Disabled Static DNS Domain Name: xxx.userdomain.com Connection View: Enabled

Configuration - > System Settings -> Alert Configuration Alerts: Enabled

Configuration -> System Settings -> SMTP (Email) Configuration Email Alert 1: my.email@emailaddress.com

Configuration -> System Settings -> SMTP (Email) Server Settings I've attempted various configuration settings in this area such as: SMTP (Email) Server IP Address or FQDN /DNS Name: Public WAN IP domain-com.mail.protection.outlook.com. I created an IIS Server with SMTP enabled and followed this guide: http://www.ponjavic.com/wordpress/2016/06/16/configure-smtp-relay-server-for-office-365/ for the setup

I'm complete at a loss of how to set it up. Even if I'm not able to, or it's an extremely small oversight I missed I just want to know if it's possible, and how people have had luck setting it up because I haven't had any.

Thank you so much.

Answer 1

I have a hybrid exchange with iDrac9 using an SMTP relay over p25. I had to update the firmware to 4.40 for the iDrac. This will change the menu a bit and allow you to configure the sender. I then added a DNS record to my DNS "idrac1" under domain "mydomain.com". Then make sure the sender address is changed to "idrac1@mydomain.com" Also used start TLS with auth disabled.

Also, make sure you have the receive connector configured for your SMTP relay.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

I'm not familiar with iDrac configuration but maybe these will help

Check your external IP address. When you created the connector online, you need to list the external IP address where network packets leave your network and will then connect to Microsoft's. If you listed an internal IP address, the connector won't recognize it. Also be sure that IP address is not blacklisted. If your ISP has not provided a static IP, it may be that port 25 is blocked outbound as well. If this is the case you can try 587. If you send over port 587, it has to be secured with TLS 1.2.

Be sure you have validated the solution. Break down the problem domain to figure out which parts of the setup are your issue. Can you send mail to the SMTP server, can that server send mail to Office 365? Check it with TELNET or PowerShell - and send a message through your SMTP server. If it's a problem with the SMTP server, TELNET should help you see that. If it makes it to the SMTP server, but stall there, the server logs can help you diagnose that (why is SMTP server not able to connect to Exchange Online). Once you know the mail flow parts are working, you should know right away then if you have an issue with the server config (or just the server).

If your having issue with your MX endpoint, try sending to SMTP.Office365.com. If that fails, try to query that and pick one of the IP addresses it returns and use that. If that works with the IP, you have a DNS resolution problem. Double check the IP configuration of the device. Usually, these have hardcoded DNS entries, so check the DNS servers, and Gateway settings to be sure it can actually find and route messages to the next hop.

Answer 3

On iDRAC 9 firmware version 4.40 and newer, you can now configure a custom sender address and SMTP connection encryption in the web GUI. The settings required for Office 365 are as follows:

• SMTP server settings: smtp.office365.com, port 587, STARTTLS
• Sender Email Address / Username: Same email address in both fields.
• Two-factor authentication needs to be disabled on the sender/authentication mailbox in the Office 365 settings console.

With older firmware versions (and with iDRAC 6/7/8), sending email alerts to cloud-based mail services via the iDRAC is a bit more complicated. Outbound SMTP connections on all iDRAC firmware versions older than 4.0 are unencrypted, and the "From:" address on the alert email is based on the DNS name and domain name assigned to the iDRAC. For example, email alerts sent from your iDRAC would come from "iDRAC-ServiceTag@xxx.userdomain.com".

You'll need to use the following settings for Office 365 on older iDRACs:

• DNS iDRAC Name: Should match the name portion of the authentication email address.
• Static DNS Domain Name: Should match the domain portion of the authentication email address.
• SMTP server settings: The SMTP server will be the MX endpoint address of your email domain on port 25. The URL will look something like "contoso-com.mail.protection.outlook.com".
• Two-factor authentication needs to be disabled on the authentication mailbox in the Office 365 settings console.

Connecting directly to O365 with these settings is a less-than-ideal solution; using a local SMTP relay to forward the alert would be preferable.

I'd recommend verifying the following settings, if you haven't already:

• Make sure the iDRAC has a valid DNS server address configured.
• Check the "State" box next to Email Alert 1.
• Verify that the port/authentication settings in the iDRAC match what's configured on the SMTP relay server (port 25 with authentication set to Disabled, if you're going by the article).

If the email still fails after that, you might be able to get more details on why it's failing by enabling logging on the SMTP site properties in the IIS6 console.