Email Notification Setup for DW Spectrum IPVMS

Email Notification Setup for DW Spectrum® IPVMS

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Affected Roles:  Administrator

Related Digital Watchdog VMS Apps:  DW Spectrum® IPVMS

Complexity:  Medium

Last Edit:  June 24, 2022

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Email Notification

DW Spectrum can be set up to send out email notifications over the Internet to inform users about networking issues, device issues, and other system event.

To use the Outgoing Email Notifications function of DW Spectrum, the Server must be assigned to an SMTP email server.

NOTE:  An active Internet connection is required for the Server to utilize email notifications.

Supported/Affected Devices

• DW Blackjack® Server Series

SMTP Servers

DW Spectrum does not have its own email service to send outgoing emails.  In order for DW Spectrum Systems to send notifications by email, an SMTP email service will need to be added to DW Spectrum.

Common SMTP Servers

To set up the Outgoing Email settings, you must know the SMTP Server information for your email provider. 

Use the table below for SMTP information of most common email services:

Service Provider	SMTP Server	Port	Authentication
AOL	smtp.aol.com	587	StartTLS
AT&T	smtp.att.yahoo.com	465	SSL
Gmail	smtp.gmail.com	465/587	SSL/StartTLS
Hotmail	smtp.live.com	465	SSL
Office365	smtp.office365.com	587	StartTLS
Outlook	smtp.live.com	587	StartTLS
Verizon	outgoing.verizon.net	465	SSL
Yahoo Mail	smtp.mail.yahoo.com	465	SSL
Yahoo Mail Plus	plus.smtp.mail.yahoo.com	465	SSL

**NOTE:  If your email service is not listed above, please consult with your IT representative or email provider for the required information.

Outgoing Email Settings Menu

1. Launch DW Spectrum and log in with either the Owner account or as an account with the Administrator role.

2. Open the Main Menu, then select the System Administration menu.

3. Select the Email tab at the top of the System Administration menu to display the Outgoing Email Settings menu.

Configuring Outgoing Email Settings

DW Spectrum can automatically provide some SMTP server settings for certain email carriers, requiring only a simple setup of SMTP information.

However, if the email carrier is not recognized by DW Spectrum, you will need to use the Advanced Settings to manually enter the SMTP server information.

Simple Setup

1. For a simple email setup, enter the following:
   • Email – email address that will be used for outgoing mail
   • Password – password for the outgoing email account
   • System Signature – user defined System description that will identify the System in outbound emails
   • Support Signature – support website for the DW Spectrum installation

2. Click the Test button to confirm that all SMTP settings are valid.

If the test is successful, click the OK button in the pop-up.

Click the Apply button to save the email configuration settings.

**NOTE:  If the test fails, use the Advanced Settings option to configure the SMTP server information manually.

Advanced Settings

1. To prompt the Advanced Settings to display, click the “Advanced settings” checkbox.

2. Enter the following information:
   • Email – email address that will be used for outgoing mail
   • SMTP Server -  email provider server address
   • User – email address of the user; this can be the same information as the Email field
   • Password – password for the outgoing email account
   • System Signature – user defined System description that will identify the System in outbound emails
   • Support Signature – support website for the DW Spectrum installation
   • Port – SMTP port;  choose from Auto, 25, 465, or 587 (depends on the email service being used)
   • Connection Type – Secure connection type; choose from TLS, SSL, or unsecure (depends on email service being used)

3. Click the Test button to confirm that all SMTP settings are valid.

If the test is successful, click the OK button in the pop-up.

Click the Apply button to save the email configuration settings.

**NOTE:  If the Test fails, try a different SMTP port and/or a different email service.  Additional configuration may be required, depending on the email service that is being used.

Additional Email Security Settings

If you are using an email service like Gmail, you may need to adjust additional email account security settings.

Other than using a different email service for setting up email notifications, to use Gmail be sure to use the Google Accounts App Passwords feature.

To create and use App Passwords:

1. Go to your Google Account.
2. Select Security.
3. Under "Signing in to Google," select App Passwords. You may need to sign in. If you don’t have this option, it might be because:
   1. 2-Step Verification is not set up for your account.
   2. 2-Step Verification is only set up for security keys.
   3. Your account is through work, school, or other organization.
   4. You turned on Advanced Protection.

4. At the bottom, choose Select app and choose the app you using.

Use “Select device” to specify a device and choose the device you’re using, then click “Generate”.

5. Follow the instructions to enter the App Password. The App Password is the 16-character code in the yellow bar on your device.

Use this 16-character code as your new password as a replacement in your DW product’s SMTP email notification settings.

6. Tap Done to close the password window in Google.
7. Use the Test function of the Outgoing Email Settings to confirm that DW Spectrum can now use the email service for email notifications.

Tip: Most of the time, you’ll only have to enter an App Password once per app or device, so don’t worry about memorizing it.

Please be aware that if you change your Google Account password, App Passwords will be revoked as part of Google’s account protection campaign.

For more information on using Google App Passwords, click here to visit the Google Account Help site.