eG Administration
 

Configuration of O365MailSenderTest

The O365 Mail Sender test periodically emulates a user on Exchange Online sending a 'uniquely tagged' email to a configured receiver.

This unique tag is configured against the MAIL TAG parameter of the test, and is displayed as the descriptor of the test. Using the metrics reported by this test, administrators can find quick and accurate answers to the following performance queries related to the mail sending operation of Exchange Online:

  • Did authentication to the email service fail?
  • Was any latency noticed when connecting to the email service?
  • Is the sender's mailbox accessible? Was the eG agent able to send the emulated email from the sender's mailbox successfully? If not, what could have caused the failure?
  • Is email transmission slow? If so, what could be slowing down email transmission - is it because of a delay in connecting to the email service? or is it because Exchange Online is processing outgoing email traffic slowly?

The default parameters associated with this test are as follows:

  • The TEST PERIOD list box helps the user to decide how often this test needs to be executed.

  • In the HOST text box, the host for which the test is to be configured has to be specified. By default, this is portal.office.com

  • In the PORT text box, enter the port number at which the target host being monitored listens. By default, this is set to NULL

  • Specify a unique MAIL TAG in the MAIL TAG text box using which you want to tag the emulated email. This enables the eG Enterprise system to keep track of the simulated email. To be able to simulate the email activity end-to-end - i.e., from transmission to reception - you should configure both the O365MailRecverTest and the O365MailSenderTest tests with the same MAIL TAG.

  • Next, proceed to indicate which mailbox on Exchange Online should send the emulated email. For this, configure the email ID of the O365 Mail Sender in the O365 SENDER text box. For best results, make sure that you provide the email ID of a valid mailbox on Exchange Online. You may want to configure a dedicated mailbox for the purpose of this emulation.

  • To send an email, the eG external agent needs to access the configured sender's mailbox. In order to enable the agent to access the sender's mailbox, you need to configure this test with the access credentials of the sender on Exchange Online. For this purpose, specify the password for access in the O365 SENDER PASSWORD text box.

  • Confirm the password by retyping it in the CONFIRM PASSWORD text box.

  • Next, you need to indicate whom the email should be sent to. For that, enter the email ID of the receiver in the O365 RECEIVER text box.

  • As mentioned already, the test uses the Exchange Online email service to perform the simulation. In order to enable the test to connect to this service, type the WEBSERVICE URL of that service in the WEBSERVICE URL text box.

  • By default, every time this test runs, the eG external agent will send a single email from the configured sender to the receiver. This is why the NUMBER OF MESSAGES parameter is set to 1 by default. If required, you can configure the eG external agent to send out multiple emails to the receiver, every time the test runs. For this, you need to increase the value in the NUMBER OF MESSAGES text box.

  • By default, the TIMEOUT parameter of the test is set to 30 seconds. This means that, by default, the test will wait for a maximum of 30 seconds to connect to the Exchange Online email service - i.e., to the configured WEBSERVICE URL. If the test is unable to connect to the email service even after the default period lapses, the test will automatically timeout. You can increase or decrease the timeout value, if you so need.

  • The DD FREQUENCY parameter refers to the frequency with which detailed diagnosis measures are to be generated for this test. The default is 1:1. This indicates that, by default, detailed measures will be generated every time this test runs, and also every time the test detects a problem. You can modify this frequency, if you so desire. Also, if you intend to disable the detailed diagnosis capability for this test, you can do so by specifying none against DD FREQUENCY .

  • To make diagnosis more efficient and accurate, the eG suite embeds an optional detailed diagnostic capability. With this capability, the eG agents can be configured to run detailed, more elaborate tests as and when specific problems are detected. To enable the DETAILED DIAGNOSIS capability of this test for a particular server, choose the On option. To disable the capability, click on the Off option.

    The option to selectively enable/disable the detailed diagnosis capability will be available only if the following conditions are fulfilled:

    • The eG manager license should allow the detailed diagnosis capability.

    • Both the normal and abnormal frequencies configured for the detailed diagnosis measures should not be 0.

  • If multiple components of the same component type are awaiting configuration, then an APPLY TO OTHER COMPONENTS check box will appear in this page. Clicking on this check box will allow you to apply the configuration to all/selected components of that type.

  • Once the necessary values have been provided, clicking on the UPDATE button will register the changes made.

When changing the configuration for specific servers, a “*” beside the text box corresponding to the parameter signifies that these values have to be manually configured by the user. The parameter values that require to be configured will typically be prefixed with a “$” or contain a series of “*”. A value of “none” in the parameter value indicates that the corresponding parameter value can be changed if required.