ILO 4 SMTP Alert Issues

[SM10000]

As per this thread:

Solved: Re: ILO 4 Not Sending email alerts - Hewlett Packard Enterprise Community (hpe.com)

I am posting a new discussion as recommended with my comment in previous thread as below:

We still have a server with iLo 4 that has encountered multiple hardware failures over the years and really do need these alerts. We have recently changed ISP and now cannot get SMTP alerts working with port 25 and I have also attempted to create an SMTP relay using additional server to send emails and this is not working either potentially due to the 'Domain' field. Please assist any way to receive alerts quickly without logging in to check? Is SNMP an option someohow to send alerts or is there any solution to sending by SMTP that I may not have attempted? 

Thank you for your assistance, greatly appreciated

[TVVJ]

Hello,

You may refer to section "Enabling AlertMail" of the HPE iLO User Guide for more information about SMTP settings.

Regards,

[SM10000]

Unfortunately, HPE documentation is unhelpful.

As per previous post and OP this previously worked with port 25, however no longer an option as authentication is now enforced via ISP and additional email hosts. As we are unable to implement SSL or TLS using 465 or 587 we require another alternative to receive alerts.

Has anyone managed a successful alternative, SMTP relay or can SNMP somehow assist?

Thank you to anyone that can provide assistance, cheers.

[Mr_Techie]

@SM10000 

If SMTP isn't working for you, SNMP is indeed an alternative option that you can explore. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you set up SNMP alerts:

Setting Up SNMP Alerts:

1. Configure SNMP on iLO 4- Access iLO 4 web interface>> Navigate to "Administration" -> "Access Settings" -> "SNMP Settings.">> Enable SNMP and set the community string. This will act as a sort of password for SNMP communication.

2. On the server that will receive SNMP traps, you need to have an SNMP service running.>> Install an SNMP service if it's not already installed.

3. In iLO, navigate to "Administration" -> "Alerting" -> "SNMP Alert Destination.">> Add the IP address or hostname of the server receiving SNMP traps.>> Set the SNMP trap community string to match the one set on the receiving server>> On iLO, try sending a test SNMP trap to verify the configuration.

SMTP Relay Configuration (Alternative for Email Alerts)

If you still prefer using SMTP for alerts, consider setting up an SMTP relay on a separate server. Here are steps to configure an SMTP relay using Postfix

1. Install Postfix on a server that will act as an SMTP relay

2. Edit the Postfix configuration file (main.cf).>> Set the relayhost parameter to the SMTP server of your new ISP.>> Ensure that the server allows outgoing traffic on port 25.

3. Test the SMTP relay by sending a test email using the mail command.

Any issues still, give a try to below ones:

1. Check if firewalls on the iLO server or the SMTP relay server are allowing traffic on the necessary ports.
2. Ensure that DNS resolution is working correctly for both iLO and the SMTP relay server.
3. Some ISPs restrict outbound SMTP traffic on port 25. Confirm with your new ISP if they have any restrictions.
4. If your SMTP server requires SSL/TLS, ensure that the iLO settings are configured accordingly.
5. Check log files on iLO and the SMTP relay server for any error messages that might provide insights into the issue.

I hope by following these steps and troubleshooting tips, you should be able to either set up SNMP alerts or configure an SMTP relay successfully for receiving alerts from your iLO 4 server.

Let me know if you still have the same, I will try to help you.

[SM10000]

Thank you so much for your in depth response, it is greatly appreciated.

So I have managed to configure SNMP traps and can view the traps on another device however this is all manual.

Obviously everyone is trying to monetise their products and therefore I am having great difficulty still sending these alerts.

I have come to the conclusion that SMTP directly is broken on the iLO and I cannot detect anything being sent and from iLO to ISP, email or my SMTP server which works fine with everything else.

Therefore the only solution I can see which I have been attempting is to somehow catch the trap and and forward to the SMTP server which will forward the email.

This is where I am struggling now somewhat as I can view the trap in a program, however the logging isn't working and I am lost trying to find any way to get the trap into a log or event or anything that can be sent via SMTP to email or to alert automatically.

Again I really appreciate your assistance if there is a batch file or command that can do this or even an older program that I cannot find as lost in the Solarwinds, ManageEngine, etc. search results.

Thank you again.

[SM10000]

@Mr_Techie OK I believe I maybe close to a workaround for this issue.

I have succesfully managed to:

- Log SNMP traps to a log file

- Create SMTP relay that sends emails

- Create a powershell command / script / batch file that can send an email via the SMTP server

- View the log file via email

Now potentially the last step is how I can schedule a task to send either an email when an SNMP trap is caught or when logged to file. I cannot work out how to do either of these tasks and have tried event ID 1500 however nothing happens. Is it possible to trigger any snmp trap caught or any changes in the log file size, date modified, etc. and then I can receive alerts again?

Thank you to anyone that can assist.

[Mr_Techie]

@SM10000 

Unfortunately, the Windows Task Scheduler doesn't have built-in triggers for changes in log files or SNMP traps.

Sorry, I was not able to help you. If anyone knows better here, they can answer/help. 

Good luck. 

[SM10000]

I definitely do not have a great understanding of SNMP, hypothetically how would SNMP traps be used to alert generally?

What about the Windows event log being triggered by either the log file changing or an SNMP trap? Is it possible or does anyone know if the Windows Event log triggers an event whenever the text file I am collecting SNMP traps in is modified or is there anything in the event log when a SNMP trap occurs and I could use this to schedule a task?

Thank you again, all assistance appreciated.

[SM10000]

Unfortunately I still have not managed to get a solution for my issue of being unable to receive alerts from iLO / server.

SNMP traps are working however I can't really understand the point if there is no way to alert you from a trap, am I missing something about how to use them as an alert?

Anyone have an idea how to have anything alert me from the iLo on this server as SMTP options have been exhausted with nothing ever being sent regardless of settings via SMTP?

Thank you again and appreciate any assistance or suggestions that can be given?

Cheers

[mobo2413]

If the issue started after changing ISP, your ISP may be blocking outbound port 25 (or whatever port you're using). Have seen that many times.

[SM10000]

Thank you so much for replying, this is still an issue.

ISP is not blocking port 25 as able to send with the outgoing mail server on port 25 from other devices, scanners and Outlook, etc. however the problem is the fields for the iLO.

Any other ideas what I could try in the Sender Domain / SMTP Server fields?

Notably: previously this worked with mail.ISPDomain.com and the IP address when pinging this domain, however this is not working with different combination(s) or in house domain.

Thanky you for revisiting this thread, we will probably need to keep this device for the next couple of years at this stage so would love to get the alerts active again.

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated, cheers

[BunnyPon]

I apologise for interrupting, but mail is my job and this piqued my curiosity.

I have a tm200 here, it has ilo4 version 2.82 and I asume you are looking at  Management -> AlertMail

(It needs updating, not sure what will change though)

And it is not good. For one, it HELOs as the IP address, it doesn't understand errors and should be classed as "barely functional."

• Email address **personal info erased**
• Sender domain example.net
• SMTP port 25
• SMTP server postfix.example.org    

This works, BUT I expect your ISP would reject it because.

The HELO will be the private network IP,, not the public one and you would have to be a real special kind of person to put your ILO naked on the intertubes.

Received: from [10.0.0.27] (tm200-ilo.in.example.org [10.0.0.27])
        by postfix.example.org (Postfix) with SMTP id 2268D59CF0
        for <bunny@example.org>; Sun, 22 Sep 2024 01:45:36 +0900 (JST)
...
Subject: HPE iLO AlertMail-003: (INFO) AlertMail Test Message
From: iLO tm200-ilo <tm200-ilo.in.example.org@example.net>
To: bunny@example.org
X-OS: HPE=20iLO
X-Priority: 5

EVENT (21 Sep 16:45): AlertMail Test Message

The receipt of this message confirms that AlertMail is configured correctly on this iLO

iLO URL: https://tm200-ilo.in.example.org
iLO IP: https://10.0.0.27
iLO Name:      tm200-ilo
iLO 4 firmware:  2.82 Feb 06 2023

Server Model:  HPE ProLiant MicroServer
System ROM:    U26 07/19/2019
Server UUID:   34313738-3836-4E43-3637-333130433646

The above only works because I configured postfix to not spam filter my local network.

Depending on where you send your messages, workarounds may be possible. For example, a toy server acting as a gateway. (raspi + postfix) or talking to your provider, you could start with asking them for the error message.