What do I need to do to get email working on my system?

You need to configure email on your system i before CoolSpools can send emails.

CoolSpools Email now offers two ways of sending emails:

1. CoolSpools SMTP server

   We recommend using CoolSpools own SMTP server, which we believe delivers greater functionality than the IBM i server's standard SMTP service.

   CoolSpools V7 users have the SMTP engine installed.  CoolSpools V6 users with a fix pack level earlier than 122 should install the latest fix pack.

   If you choose to use the CoolSpools SMTP server, you will lose no functionality compared to MSF and IBM's SMTP, but we believe you will find that CoolSpools SMTP is easier to set up and manage, and that the level of diagnostic, tracking and audit trail information available is far superior. If you use the CoolSpools SMTP server, we can track emails from the point they are created right through to delivery to the target email system (or to your mail server, if you are using one to relay messages, e.g. Exchange or Domino).

   For this reason we are recommending that all new customers use this method and that all existing customers move over to this method as soon as it is convenient to do so in a controlled fashion.

2. Mail Server Framework (MSF) and IBM's SMTP server

   The original release of CoolSpools V6 Email, as well as the earlier Communiqué product, used the IBM QtmmSendMail API to create emails. QtmmSendMail sends email via two IBM-provided services for processing, namely: Mail Server Framework (MSF) and IBM's Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) servers

   For email sent this way to work, both these services need to be configured and active.

   While this is the method of sending emails that many customers have used very successfully for years, it has a number of drawbacks:

   • It can be complex to set up and manage
   • Diagnostic and logging information can be hard to obtain and interpret
   • Tracing an email from the point at which it is created through to the point at which it is (hopefully) delivered or (sometimes) rejected, can be tough (or even impossible)

   If a customer site has other applications that send email using MSF then they may wish to deliver CoolSpools email via the same route for consistency.

See the User Guide ("Setup" chapter) for further details of the differences between these two methods and how to implement them.

The steps you need to follow to setup the first method (MSF + IBM's SMTP), as well as some tips for managing and troubleshooting system i email sent that way, are explained in our Email Setup and Troubleshooting Guide.