SMTP Standard Email Plugin Connection Test Fails with 'Email test error' - VCF Operations 9.1

Products

• VCF Operations

Issue/Introduction

• Attempting to configure the SMTP outbound Standard email plugin in VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) Operations 9.1 fails when testing the connection with a recipient email address. The UI returns the following error:
  
  Test was not successful: Email test error: [Invalid Addresses]
  
  Or
  
  "Test was not successful: Email test error:[535 5.7.139 Authentication unsuccessful, the request did not meet the criteria to be authenticated successfully. Contact your administrator.

• The issue began occurring following an upgrade to VCF Operations 9.1.
  
  
• The /storage/log/vcops/log/analytics-UUID.log displays the following errors:
  
  

  ERROR analytics [com.vmware.vcops.platform.notification.email.EmailSender.call] - Failed to send email Outbound Email message: 'Test email from VMware Cloud Foundation Operations outbound email plugin'; To: ; <receipient_email_address>; Invalid Addresses
  ERROR analytics [com.vmware.vcops.plugins.filter.EmailPlugin.test] - Email test failed: [Invalid Addresses]

  



  ERROR analytics #### [ops@#### threadId="#####" threadName="Sending Outbound Email message: 'Test email from VMware Cloud Foundation Operations outbound email plugin'; To: ; [email protected]" operationId=""] [com.vmware.vcops.platform.notification.email.EmailSender.call] - Failed to send email after token refresh: Outbound Email message: 'Test email from VMware Cloud FoundationOperations outbound email plugin'; To: ; [email protected]; 535 5.7.139 Authentication unsuccessful, the request did not meet the criteria to be authenticated successfully. Contact your administrator. 
  
  WARN analytics 6521 [ops@#### threadId="#####" threadName="Sending Outbound Email message: 'Test email from VMware Cloud Foundation Operations outbound email plugin'; To: ; [email protected]" operationId=""] [com.vmware.vcops.platform.notification.NotificationPluginHealthStatusCache.put] - Skipping invalid entry of plugin health status with missing pluginId

• The /storage/log/vcops/log/vcops-bridge.log displays:
  
  

  ERROR vcfops-bridge [ops@#### threadId="######" threadName="ServerConnection on port ##### Thread ###" operationId=""] [com.vmware.vcops.bridge.server.BridgeTracerAspect.processBridgeResult] - Email test error: [Invalid Addresses]
  

   

• Testing the email from the CLI using command (curl -v --ssl-reqd --url smtp://<SMTP-FQDN>:<Port> --mail-from <Sender-Email-Emailaddress> --mail-rcpt <receipient_email_address> -F "text='Email Test'" ) also fails with a rejection from the SMTP server:
  
  

  root@<Hostname> [ ~ ]# curl -v --ssl-reqd --url smtp://<SMTP-FQDN>:<Port> --mail-from <Sender-Email-Emailaddress> --mail-rcpt <receipient_email_address> -F "text='Email Test'"
  
  Host <SMTP-FQDN>:<Port> was resolved.
  SSL certificate verified via OpenSSL.
  Established connection to <SMTP-FQDN>:<Port> from ###.##.###.## port #####
  > MAIL FROM:<Sender-Email-Emailaddress>  SIZE=###
  
  < 250 2.1.0 Ok
  
  > RCPT TO:<receipient_email_address>
  
  < 553 5.7.1 <Sender-Email-Emailaddress>: Sender address rejected: not logged in
  
  RCPT failed: 553
  shutting down connection #0
  curl: (55) RCPT failed: 553

Environment

VCF Operations 9.1

Cause

A metadata key rename in version 9.1.0 caused existing email plugins to drop their authentication setting, resulting in the SMTP server rejecting the connection.

Resolution

This issue has been resolved in the VCF Operations 9.1.1 release.

For a workaround, please  Contact Broadcom Support and ensure that Article ID 450350 is noted in the problem description when submitting the case.

Additional Information

 For standard configuration details, refer to the official documentation: Adding Outbound Notification Plug-Ins