SMTP Configuration - I

The kernel of the SAP Web Application Server supports SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). This enables e-mail exchange between the SAP system and each SMTP mail server, without having to use additional external components.  The SAP system sends the outbound e-mails to a separate mail server, whilst the e-mails in the inbound direction can be received by any number of mail servers.

Exchanging faxes and text messages (pager/SMS) using SMTP is also possible. For this, faxes and messages are packed as e-mails. For the send process, the mail server analyzes the domain of the recipient addresses and either forwards the e-mails to an internal fax-/text message server (for example SMS=+491759628717@sms-server.company.com) or to an external provider (for example FAX=+16105954900@fax-provider.com). For receiving, the fax-/text message server or provider sends e-mails to addresses that have the domain of the SAP system (for example FAX=+496227751624@crm-prod.company.com).

Prerequisites

The mail server in question must be SMTP-compatible.

If you want to send text messages in the SAP system, the names of the corresponding data transfer services (such as SMS) have to be defined in transaction SA14.

Process Flow

Settings for the Profile Parameters (Transaction RZ10)

You have to adjust the profile of the SAP Web Application Server if you want to use the SMTP function. The SAPconnect send job can only be scheduled for servers on which SMTP has been activated. For this reason, you must activate SMTP for all of the SAP system's application servers.

The following profile parameters have to be configured. The placeholder <*> stands for the sequence number (starting at zero) of frequently occurring parameters.

·        icm/server_port_<*> = PROT=SMTP,PORT=<port>

Parameter icm/server_port_<*> opens a TCP/IP port for receiving mails through the SMTP plug-in. <port> describes the number of the port that is to be used. The port cannot yet be used by another program on this host. If no mails are to be received in this SAP system (including notifications about the status), set <port> to 0.

Optionally, you can use TIMEOUT to define a maximum waiting time (in seconds) to be applied until the mail server responds.

·        is/SMTP/virt_host_<*> = <host>:<port>,<port>,...;

This parameter defines a virtual mail host for receiving mails. If all incoming mails (including status notifications) are to be received and processed by one single client of the SAP system, this parameter is not required. In this instance, is/SMTP/virt_host_0 = *:*; is used by default. If multiple clients are to be used as recipients, a virtual host has to be created for each of these clients. <host> describes the name of the host to which the incoming mails are addressed. You can enter * here if the mails are to be sent independently of the host being addressed. <port> describes the number of the port to which the incoming mails are addressed.

For UNIX, the profile parameters may look like this:

   rdisp/start_icman = true

   icm/server_port_0 = PROT=HTTP,PORT=1080

   icm/server_port_1 = PROT=HTTPS,PORT=1443                     

   icm/server_port_2 = PROT=SMTP,PORT=25000,TIMEOUT=180         

   icm/server_port_3 = PROT=SMTP,PORT=25001,TIMEOUT=180         

   is/SMTP/virt_host_0 = *:25000;                               

   is/SMTP/virt_host_1 = *:25001;