Managing Alert E-mail Options for the SAS Metadata Server

About Metadata Server Alerts

The metadata server sends alert e-mails in the following situations:
  • An error occurs during a metadata server backup or recovery.
  • A problem occurs that prevents the repository data sets from being updated from the journal.
Alert e-mails that are generated by the metadata server are sent to the addresses that are specified in the OMA ALERTEMAIL option in the omaconfig.xml file. The generated e-mail has Metadata Server Alert in the subject line. The body of the message specifies the error that occurred, the name of the metadata server host machine, the metadata server port, and the location of the metadata server log.

How Alert E-mail Options for the Metadata Server Are Configured

To generate alert e-mails, the metadata server refers to the following configuration options:
  • OMA ALERTEMAIL in omaconfig.xml specifies one or more e-mail addresses to which alerts are to be sent.
  • EMAILSYS, EMAILHOST, and EMAILPORT options in the metadata server’s sasv9.cfg file provide information about the e-mail protocol and e-mail server.
  • The EMAILID option in the metadata server’s sasv9.cfg file provides information that appears in the From address of alert e-mails. If the e-mail server requires authentication, this option also provides the user ID that is used for authentication.
  • The EMAILAUTHPROTOCOL and EMAILPASSWORD options in the metadata server’s sasv9.cfg file provide additional information to authenticate to the e-mail server, if authentication is required.
The initial settings for these options are based on information that is specified in the SAS Deployment Wizard. Values for EMAILAUTHPROTOCOL, EMAILID, and EMAILPASSWORD can be specified in the wizard only if the custom installation option is selected.

See Also

To update alert e-mail addresses, see Reference Information for omaconfig.xml.
To modify e-mail server or authentication information, see Modifying the Metadata Server Invocation Options.
To update the e-mail user ID or password, see Update a Managed Password in SAS Intelligence Platform: Security Administration Guide.

Testing E-mail Alerts for the SAS Metadata Server

After your SAS system has been initially deployed, you should run a test to make sure that alert e-mails are working properly. You should repeat this test after you make any changes to your alert e-mail configuration.
To test e-mail alerts for the metadata server:
  1. Log on to SAS Management Console as a user who has the appropriate credentials. (See Who Can Do What in the Metadata Manager Plug-in.)
  2. In the Plug-ins tab, expand the Metadata Manager node, right-click the Active Server node, and select Properties.
  3. In the Active Server Properties dialog box, select Send Test Message.
  4. In the Send Alert E-mail Test Message dialog box, enter text to be included in the e-mail. Then select OK.
The metadata server sends an e-mail message to the addresses that are specified in the OMA ALERTEMAIL option in the omaconfig.xml file. The generated e-mail has Metadata Server Alert Email Test in the subject line. The body includes the text that you entered in the dialog box, followed by the name of the metadata server host machine, the metadata server port, and the location of the metadata server log.
If the test is successful, the following message is displayed: An alert e-mail message was sent to address. If the test is not successful, an explanatory error message is displayed.
You can also use the OMA ALERTEMAILTEST option in the omaconfig.xml file to test alert e-mails. However, this method requires stopping the server.