Configure VMware Aria Operations to send email via Amazon SES email server using secure TLS

Products

• VMware Aria Suite

Issue/Introduction

The purpose of this document is to inform users that VMware Aria Operations only uses port 587 for Secure TLS SMTP connections (starttls).

Symptoms:
Email will fail to send from VMware Aria Operations via Amazon SES.
Analytics log will show errors similar to:

Could not connect to SMTP host: email-smtp.xxx-1.amazonaws.com, port: 465, response: -1

Environment

VMware vRealize Operations 8.6.x
VMware Aria Operations 8.12.x
VMware vRealize Operations 8.10.x

Cause

• There is confusion as to which port to set when configuring email with STARTTLS.
• Amazon SES documentation states STARTTLS uses port 25, 587 or 2587.
• VMware Aria Operations only uses port 587 for secure TLS (STARTTLS)

Resolution

Ensure to use port 587 when configuring the Outbound Instance.

 

 

Additional Information

Add a Standard Email Plug-In for vRealize Operations Outbound Alerts (vmware.com)

Connecting to an Amazon SES SMTP endpoint - Amazon Simple Email Service