SendUsing configuration value is invalid

[fm]

We are documenting and configuring our email solution.

Our applications will be created with ASP.NET running on Windows 2003
servers using Framework 1.1

To minimize the administrative effort of configuring developer workstations
and servers, we want developers not to specify a value for
System.Web.Mail.SmtpMail.SmtpServer.

We also have a requirement that on the servers the Application Pools in IIS
run under domain accounts maintained by our Windows Server Administration
group. These accounts are not allowed to be Administrators on the servers.

This domain user has been added to the IIS_WPG group and IIS_WPG has been
added as an operator of the Default SMTP Virtual Server.

Scenarios of sending out emails
1)
- Our user is a non-Administrator
- System.Web.Mail.SmtpMail.SmtpServer = ""
- Result: Error: The "SendUsing" configuration value is invalid.

2)
- Our user is a non-Administrator
- System.Web.Mail.SmtpMail.SmtpServer = "localhost"
- Result: Email is successfully sent.

3)
- We make our user an Administrator (which is not allowed as a solution)
- System.Web.Mail.SmtpMail.SmtpServer = ""
- Result: Email is successfully sent.

We want scenario 1 to work. By the results of scenario 3 it looks like a
permission issue for our non-Admin user. I scoured REGMON and FILEMON finding
no hints.

So outside of being an operator for SMTP, what permissions is our user
missing?

Thanks,
fm

[Steven Cheng[MSFT]]

Hi Fm,

From your description, you're using the System.Web.Mail to send mail and
the smtpserver is the local IIS smtp server(on W2K3 IIS6). However you
found that if you specify the SmtpMail.SmtpServer as "localhost", it work
well. If is assigned "", it only works when the asp.net's process identity
is a domain accoutn which has administrator privilege, yes?

Based on this, I've also performed some tests and did find the same
behaviors. I test the same code in Console application,asp.net(with LOCAL
SYSTEM process account) asp.net (default workerprocess account ),
asp.net(with admin domain worker process account). All of them excepet
using the default workprocess work well. So from a general view, this is
likely a permission issue and I'm also not sure the definite permission we
need. Currently I'm consulting some further experts on this behavior and
I'll update you as soon as I've got any update.

Thanks for your understanding.

Regards,

Steven Cheng
Microsoft Online Support

Get Secure! www.microsoft.com/security
(This posting is provided "AS IS", with no warranties, and confers no
rights.)

[fm]

Steven,

You've produced exactly the problem we are having. I await your findings.

Thanks,
Fm

"Steven Cheng[MSFT]" wrote:

Hi Fm,

From your description, you're using the System.Web.Mail to send mail and
the smtpserver is the local IIS smtp server(on W2K3 IIS6). However you
found that if you specify the SmtpMail.SmtpServer as "localhost", it work
well. If is assigned "", it only works when the asp.net's process identity
is a domain accoutn which has administrator privilege, yes?

Based on this, I've also performed some tests and did find the same
behaviors. I test the same code in Console application,asp.net(with LOCAL
SYSTEM process account) asp.net (default workerprocess account ),
asp.net(with admin domain worker process account). All of them excepet
using the default workprocess work well. So from a general view, this is
likely a permission issue and I'm also not sure the definite permission we
need. Currently I'm consulting some further experts on this behavior and
I'll update you as soon as I've got any update.

Thanks for your understanding.

Regards,

Steven Cheng
Microsoft Online Support

Get Secure! www.microsoft.com/security
(This posting is provided "AS IS", with no warranties, and confers no
rights.)

[Steven Cheng[MSFT]]

Hi Fm,

Sorry for keeping you waiting. After some further consultant, I think the
following information maybe helpful:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/de...us/e2k3/e2k3/_
techsel_tech_1.asp
=========================
Run-Time Permissions
No special permissions are required to run interactive applications or ASP
pages to enable use of CDOSYS. In applications that use the SMTP or NNTP
drop-directory, the application or user must have permission to write into
that directory. When running an application that sends e-mail, the user
will require either write access to the pick-up directory, or read access
to the IIS metabase so the application can determine the SMTP port used for
sending mail.
==========================

So I think when we don¡¯t specify an smtpserver (or leave a required field
null), cdo tries to get configuration settings from outlook express or
from metabase. Administrator has access to metabase and thus operation
succeeds. Other users don¡¯t so they get sendusing configuration is invalid.

#816789 Read Access to the Everyone Group Is Removed After You Install
Exchange
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=816789

In addition, it is recommended that we always specify the definite
smtpserver names for when calling the System.Web.Mail components or CDO.

Thanks.

Regards,

Steven Cheng
Microsoft Online Support

Get Secure! www.microsoft.com/security
(This posting is provided "AS IS", with no warranties, and confers no
rights.)

[fm]

Sorry it took so long for me to get back to you. We will make it part of our
architecture to have a SMTP server set on the object.

"Steven Cheng[MSFT]" wrote:

Hi Fm,

Sorry for keeping you waiting. After some further consultant, I think the
following information maybe helpful:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/de...us/e2k3/e2k3/_
techsel_tech_1.asp
=========================
Run-Time Permissions
No special permissions are required to run interactive applications or ASP
pages to enable use of CDOSYS. In applications that use the SMTP or NNTP
drop-directory, the application or user must have permission to write into
that directory. When running an application that sends e-mail, the user
will require either write access to the pick-up directory, or read access
to the IIS metabase so the application can determine the SMTP port used for
sending mail.
==========================

So I think when we don¡¯t specify an smtpserver (or leave a required field
null), cdo tries to get configuration settings from outlook express or
from metabase. Administrator has access to metabase and thus operation
succeeds. Other users don¡¯t so they get sendusing configuration is invalid.

#816789 Read Access to the Everyone Group Is Removed After You Install
Exchange
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=816789

In addition, it is recommended that we always specify the definite
smtpserver names for when calling the System.Web.Mail components or CDO.

Thanks.

Regards,

Steven Cheng
Microsoft Online Support

Get Secure! www.microsoft.com/security
(This posting is provided "AS IS", with no warranties, and confers no
rights.)

[Steven Cheng[MSFT]]

Hi Fm,

Thanks for your followup.
Good luck!

Regards,

Steven Cheng
Microsoft Online Support

Get Secure! www.microsoft.com/security
(This posting is provided "AS IS", with no warranties, and confers no
rights.)