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I have software that I want to install on systems that will send email alerts and I want the only configuration to be the email address to send alerts to.

I do not want:

  • to configure in SMTP server credentials, because then customers will need to set up an "alerts" user for this purpose.
  • to install a local SMTP server as that seems like overkill.
  • to provide universal email credentials

I just want a completely client utility (ideally for Windows) that I can tell it the address, subject, and body, and it takes care of looking up the MX record in the DNS and getting the email to that destination. Like "blat" for windows, but without needing an SMTP server configured for it.

Is there a technical reason why this does not exist? I understand in the past SMTP servers were needed for re-trys but this is no longer applicable (at least for my needs).

bzlm
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0xdabbad00
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  • SMTP servers are still needed for mail delivery, incoming as well as outgoing, not just for "re-trys". But even if you were to provide your own SMTP server on the Internet, outgoing SMTP may well be blocked by network rules on many of your client seats. Perhaps you could send mail via HTTP instead to some service on the Internet running HTTP? Then curl or wget could send your mails. – bzlm Sep 19 '13 at 18:55
  • Your HTTP option does not work because this might be used on a closed network (meaning no Internet access). This doesn't explain technically why I need an SMTP server. I don't need to listen on any ports (meaning no need for a server). I just need to send. – 0xdabbad00 Sep 19 '13 at 19:01
  • With all the blocking that goes on to prevent spam, running your own self contained server (or client) to send out message directly to MX will not work in a variety of places. Your best bet if it needs to be SMTP is to provide a configuration box and let the EU set their own SMTP server / credentials if required. – Doon Sep 19 '13 at 19:01
  • Well, the *technical* reason is that Windows doesn't have the concept of a local outgoing mail service, like Unix. Server Windows may have an SMTP service installed (client Windows will likely not), but there is no fool-proof built-in mechanism for relaying through it. Installing your own local SMTP server wouldn't help either, as it would have to relay using SMTP just as an SMTP *client* would. Do what @Doon writes; Windows users are used to this. – bzlm Sep 19 '13 at 19:05

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