MOSS 2007 has finally come to be a product we can install into production, the problem remains that there are some areas that can be tricky to say the least. Such an area is the Email Configuration. In this article I intend to cover this topic both in production and on test lab such as Virtual PC, something I use regularly to demonstrate MOSS 2007 and WSS v3 to clients.
So here are the steps we need to follow:
1.) Install MOSS 2007 or WSS v3 onto the base platform
2.) Install and configure the SMTP service on the machine you intend to send email from (MOSS or WSS v3 server)
In a test lab environment
3.) Install and configure POP3 Service.
4.) Configure Outlook Express
In Prodcution
5.) Configure Active Directory.
6.) Configure SharePoint Outgoing E-mail Settings
7.) Configure SharePoint Incoming E-mail Settings
8.) Test the Solution
Install MOSS 2007 or WSS v3 onto the base platform
Using media available to you simply install MOSS or WSS v3 on to the platform selecting the option relevant to your deployment. In this case it is a simple deployment to a single server with its own SQL Server 2005 Database.
After you have completed the install and navigated to the SharePoint Central Administration,
Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> SharePoint 3.0 Central Administration
You will be presented with the view below. For now we will leave that intact and move on to install the SMTP Service.
Install and configure the SMTP service on the machine you intend to send email from (MOSS or WSS v3 server)
1.) Navigate to the Control Panel select Add Remove Programs , in the window select Add/Remove Windows Components.
2.) Select Application Server -> click Details left bottom -> select Internet Information Services (IIS) .
3.) Click Detail and in the next window -> check the SMTP Service -> select OK. Select OK again and then Next, this will initiate the install process.
NOTE: You will require the installation CD or the files in the I386 directory to be available as the process will requires these files to complete the process.
4.) Once the installation is complete , navigate to the IIS Manager in Administrative Tools -> Right Click the Default SMTP Virtual Server - > Select Properties .
5.) In the Properties Windows select the Access Tab, Add the users that can relay mail through this services. In production this will be the Exchange Server(s) in my case it is the same machine and my Laptop.
Well Done , we now have a SMPT service running on the MOSS 2007 or WSS v3 Server. The following step is to go back to the SharePoint Central Administration and configure the email settings.
Install and configure POP3 Service
This article was very helpful in explaining step by step. This is useful in a test lab.
http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Windows_POP3_Service.html
Configure Outlook Express
1.) Open Outlook Express
2.) Select Tools -> Accounts -> Select the Mail Tab -> Add
3.) Supply the Email address you have configured using the article above
4.) Supply the POP3 server, in my case my Virtual PC
5.) Supply the SMTP server, in my case my Virtual PC
Configure SharePoint Outgoing E-mail Settings
1.) Select the hyperlink in the task list, alternatively navigate to Operations -> under Topology and Services select Outgoing e-mail settings.
2.) Complete the Form supplying the Settings to reflect your environment.
3.) Select OK to complete.
Your SharePoint server will now be able to send alerts to users.
Configure Active Directory
For production we need to create an OU in AD that will allow the lists to create contacts when they are mail enabled. For practical reasons we should dedicate this OU to SharePoint Farm.
1.) Open AD Users and Computers on the Domain Controller (DC) and create a new OU.
2.) The example domain could be peterverster.com and the SharePoint OU could be DLSharePoint in which case the fully distinguished path to the OU would be “OU=DLSharePoint, DC=peterverster, DC=com”
3.) We will come back to this as we will need it to configure the email settings.
NOTE: Ensure the Application Pool Account for the SharePoint Central Administration has access to the OU and Rights to create contacts.
Configure Incoming E-Mail Settings
1.) Enable sites on this server to receive e-mailby select yes.
2.) Settings mode = Automatic
3.) Use the SharePoint Directory Management Service to create distribution groups and contacts Select No for the test environment and Yes for a production environment using exchange.
4.) E-mail server display address, select the default domain, in the test environment this is “Win2003-SQL2005”, the name of the local machine. I production select your domain name in my case “peterverster”.
5.) Enable Accept mail from all e-mail servers
These setting above are fine for test labs , however in production we want to enable the email adresses assigned to the lists to be create in the AD OU we have create earlier in the document. For this we need to change a setting.
1.) Use the SharePoint Directory Management Service to create distribution groups and contacts? = Yes
2.) Complete the Active Directory container with the distinguihed path we created earlier on “OU=DLSharePoint,DC=peterverster,DC=com”
3.) Select the Options In the Directory Management Service that is appropriate to your environment
We now have an MOSS 2007 or WSS v3 server that is ready to accept e-mail!
Configure E-mail enabled List
I have create a site on the default website and will use the Shared Documents to enable the list.
1.) In the document Library select Settings -> Document Library Settings
2.) In the Communications Settings select -> Incoming e-mail settings
3.) Allow this document library to receive e-mail = yes
4.) Select an E-mail address for this library, I selected shared@win2003-sql2005
5.) Select the method to group your incoming emails by
NOTE: If you have configured a POP3 server in a lab, ensure the domains are different for SharePoint and the POP3 service , else you will receive delivery failures.
Test the Solution
Using Outlook Express send an e-mail to the address configured, wait for a minute or so and check
Your document library. Success !