HOME
 
 

FEST and email notifications

Question:

How do I configure FEST to send e-mail notifications of successfully completed or failed jobs? Also, if such e-mails fail to reach their recipients, how can I find out why ?

Answer:

FEST can be configured to send notification e-mails of a job's completion status. Depending on the selected scenario and its configuration, these e-mails can contain all or some of the following attachments:

  • Summary of the job (success/failure and name of the hot directory).
  • A list of files in the hot directory.
  • FEST Configuration file
  • Detailed trace of the stages FEST performed when processing the job. (This is usually not required unless a serious problem arises. It involves adding a special value to the Windows registry - contact SoftLink Support for further details)
The Mail Setup tab of the FEST Configuration dialog box allows you to set up a default mailing list. Members of the mailing list will receive all or some of the job completion logs (according to your configuration) on completion of the FEST job. Additionally, each separate job provides the option of setting up a specific mailing list whose members will receive reports of this job only (unless they are also members of the default mailing list).

Setting up a Default Mailing List:
In the FEST Configuration Control window:
  1. Click Configure>FEST.
  2. Click on the Mail Setup tab.
  3. Enter your SMTP server address.
  4. Specify a "From" e-mail address (does not have to be an actual e-mail address).
  5. You can complete the Subject and Body fields with any information you like, though keeping the current entries is recommended.
  6. Choose the type of report you would like.
  7. Add your intended recipients using the "Add" button.
  8. Click the Save & Exit button of the FEST Configuration dialog box. (answer "Yes" when prompted to restart the FEST service).
Note: FEST will NOT send any e-mails, even to the default mailing list, unless the job's configuration itself is set up to send e-mails. This will be explained below.

Setting up a Job-Specific Mailing List
  1. Go to the final stage of the FEST Scenario Wizard (the FEST Scenario Wizard - E-mail dialog box).
  2. Select the check box(es) in the E-Mail Attachment region according to the type of information you require.
  3. Complete the "SMTP Server", "Mail To", "Mail From", "Subject" and "Body" fields. The default settings in these fields are the same as the settings that you entered in the Mail Setup tab of the FEST Configuration dialog box. You can modify this information or add to it. All modifications will apply to this job only. Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated by a semi-colon (";") in the "Mail to" field.

Creating an E-mail Log File
The e-mail log file documents the entire mail delivery process for the current job. To create an e-mail log file, select the "Create log file" check box at the bottom of the FEST Scenario Wizard - E-mail dialog box. See below for an explanation of the Email.log file.

Troubleshooting E-mail Delivery
SoftLink provides a simple tool for troubleshooting jobs whose completion status e-mail did not reach its intended recipient(s). Using Active Monitor, you can view all error messages related to failed e-mail reports.
  1. Open SoftLink's Active Monitor and locate the problematic job in the Archive section (bottom pane).
    Note: unless the file transfer operation has failed, Active Monitor will display this job as successful, even though an e-mail report has failed to reach one or all of its intended recipients. That is, failure to receive an e-mail does not necessarily indicate that the job has failed.
  2. Right-click the FEST parent job ("FEST") and select "Browse job directory".
  3. Double-click the file called Scenario.log. The log file should contain an error message under the heading:
SCNAPI-I-TIME, Error time : 14:59:29
-SCNAPI-E-GENERR, send_email_func failed
 Under which the specific error will be presented. Common error messages are presented below:

The following error message usually means that the recipient address is incorrect:
-GEN-E-GENERAL, sl_send_mail: error in smtp_mail connection. server returned <550 Sender address is missing a domain>

The error message below usually means that the specified SMTP server is blocking unauthorized e-mail distribution through it. Make certain that your network/domain has the proper relay permissions for this SMTP:
-GEN-E-GENERAL, sl_send_mail: error in smtp_rcpt connection <550 Relaying is prohibited>

The error message below implies that the DNS could not resolve the SMTP host name. Make sure you typed the SMTP host name correctly. If you are certain, make sure your DNS resolves this host by trying to "ping" it (or using "nslookup"):
-NET-E-RESHOST, failed to resolve hostname
-SYS-E-ERRMSG, Authoritative Answer Host not found

Check again your specified SMTP server's IP address (or hostname, if given in the error). If you are sure it is correct, try to "telnet" the server at port 25. There could be some network problems (disconnection, delay or Firewall setup) preventing FEST from using the SMTP server correctly.
-GEN-E-GENERAL, sl_send_mail: sl_net_connect returned an error
-NET-E-CONNF, failed to connect to node <155.126.215.2>
-SYS-E-ERRMSG, Connection timed out
The Email.log File
FEST provides a further option of creating a detailed log file in the job directory. This option is particularly useful if e-mails don't arrive at the recipient's side and you are unable to find a relevant error message in the Scenario log (See Creating an E-mail Log File).
To access the Email.log file through SoftLink's Active Monitor:
  1. In the Archive pane, right-click the problematic parent job.
  2. Select "Browse job directory" from the popup menu.
  3. Double-click the "Email.log" file.
The Email.log file describes the entire process FEST performed to send the e-mail. Any and all errors should be thoroughly detailed here. Just follow the delivery procedure until you reach an error message. If no message appears in this file and e-mail problems persist, consider checking the recipient's mail service for any anomalies.


Related Topics:
WINDOWS
FEST

Back to FAQ Index
Site mapSupportContact us