Enabling a secure TLS connection to your email server

Enable a secure TLS connection to your email server to allow encrypted TLS communication.

If SSL Encryption is configured, but a secure TLS connection is not enabled, the connection fails and the following message appears: 502 Unknown command.

Before you begin

You must have a certificate, typically in .crt format, that is common to the email server.

Procedure

  1. Import the certificate into the JRE keystore to enable a trust between Cognos Analytics and the email server.
    • On Windows, type install_location\bin\DLS_SSL_CertImportTool.bat certificate_location\email_certificate.crt -p keystore_password
    • On Unix or Linux, type install_location/bin/DLS_SSL_CertImportTool.sh certificate_location/email_certificate.crt -p keystore_password
  2. In Cognos Configuration, select Data Access > Notification and edit the properties as follows:
    SMTP mail server
    Set the value to email_server_name:port_number, where port_number represents a port that is enabled for TLS/SSL or STARTTLS
    Account and password
    Set a userid and password when authentication to the email server is required.
    Default Sender
    Set the email account that sends emails from the email server.
    SSL Encryption Enabled
    Set the value to True.
  3. In Cognos Configuration, select Local Configuration.
    1. Click the Value field for Advanced properties.
    2. Click the pencil icon Edit icon.
    3. Click Add.
    4. In the Name field, type emf.mail.tls.enabled
    5. In the Value field, type true
    6. Click OK.
  4. In Cognos Administration, configure the advanced setting emf.mail.tls.enabled with a value of true. For more information, see Configuring advanced settings for specific services.
    Note: You must restart the delivery service after you make this change.