HP Instant Capacity User's Guide for Versions 8.x

IMPORTANT: The e-mail is bounced/rejected by the mail servers at HP if the domain name in
the FROM address, for the e-mail sent from the Instant Capacity system to HP, is not DNS resolvable
by HP. Also, since asset reports are encrypted and must be decrypted at the HP portal, the
decryption process may not work correctly if outgoing e-mail sent from your system is
automatically modified in any way, for example, to include a privacy notice.
E-Mail Configuration
Before you Start
If you decide to enable e-mail connectivity, your Instant Capacity system must be network
accessible to HP mail servers that are outside your company's firewalls. If your Instant Capacity
system is on an isolated network, e-mail from the system does not reach HP. This causes your
system to be out of compliance with your Instant Capacity contract if you are using temporary
capacity (TiCAP).
Sendmail
sendmail is the application used by the Instant Capacity software to send encrypted mail
messages from your system to HP. The sendmail daemon, if running, can also be used to receive
e-mail. For the purposes of this e-mail configuration, only the ability to send e-mail is required.
Mail applications invoke sendmail to send e-mail. The configuration file,
/etc/mail/sendmail.cf, offers tremendous flexibility.
Overview of E-mail Routing Across the Internet
When sendmail is invoked by the Instant Capacity software to send e-mail to HP, sendmail
determines where it should initially send the e-mail (the first hop). Mail often goes through
multiple systems (hops) before it reaches the final destination. To determine the first hop for the
e-mail, sendmail uses one of the following:
• The e-mail is routed to a mail relay host if it is configured in the /etc/mail/sendmail.cf
configuration file. This is the easiest implementation and can be done with just a one line
change (DS) to the default /etc/mail/sendmail.cf file.
Note that the relay host must be configured to properly route (forward) the mail to the final
destination.
• DNS MX records - this method requires that the Instant Capacity system be in an environment
(network) where DNS (Domain Name Server) is operating and properly configured.
sendmail on the system queries a DNS server for the name of the mail server to forward
the e-mail to (for the first hop) in order for the e-mail to reach the final destination (hp.com).
In all cases, the following requirements must be met:
• HP’s mail servers receiving mail expect the host (the mail server in the last hop before
reaching HP) to be properly registered in DNS. Otherwise the HP mail server rejects or
“bounces” the e-mail.
• The 'From' field (e-mail address) in the e-mail message must be known by the receiving mail
server (that is, the hostname is registered in DNS and advertised on the internet). Otherwise,
the receiving mail server at HP rejects the mail. This field in the e-mail can be configured
with a simple one line modification (DM) to the /etc/mail/sendmail.cf file.
In some DNS environments, no changes to the default /etc/mail/sendmail.cf file may
be needed to properly route e-mail from the Instant Capacity system to HP.
• In some environments, configuring your system to properly send e-mail from the system
to HP can require as little as a two line edit (or none) to the /etc/mail/sendmail.cf
file. Configuring mail, including sendmail and DNS configurations, is usually handled by
the IT team in most organizations.
186 Special Considerations