SMTP service not running - Event 6599 (SharePoint 2010 Products)

Applies to: SharePoint Server 2010, SharePoint Foundation 2010

Alert Name:   SMTP service is not running

Event ID:   6599

Summary:   Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Products sends alerts and other SharePoint 2010 Products administration messages by using a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) mail server. When SharePoint 2010 Products is configured to receive incoming e-mail, the SMTP service delivers e-mail messages to a drop folder. A SharePoint timer job scans the drop folder and inserts the messages into SharePoint lists.

Symptoms:   One or more of the following symptoms might appear:

  • SharePoint 2010 Products does not receive incoming e-mail.

  • Some front-end Web servers receive incoming e-mail while others do not.

  • This event appears in the event log: Event ID: 6599 Description: there was an error connecting to the Windows SMTP service.

Cause:   Automatic configuration for incoming e-mail is enabled and the Windows SMTP service is not installed on one or multiple servers, or the Windows SMTP service is not running on one or multiple servers.

Note

The SMTP server is not installed by default. SMTP can be added by using the Features Summary area of Server Manager in Windows Server 2008 R2.

Resolution:   Configure outgoing e-mail settings in Central Administration

  1. Note

    SMTP is turned off by default in SharePoint Server 2010.

    On the Central Administration Home page, click System Settings, and in the E-Mail and Text Messages (SMS) section, click Configure Outgoing E-Mail Settings.

  2. On the Outgoing E-Mail Settings page, in the Mail Settings section, type the correct SMTP server in the Outbound SMTP server box.

Resolution:   Enable and configure the SMTP service

Resolution:   Start the SMTP service

  1. Note

    In Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 Manager, connect to the SMTP server.

    Expand the server node, and look for the SMTP virtual server used by SharePoint 2010 Products.

  2. Right-click the correct virtual server, and then click Start.