SMTP Settings & System Notifications

CollectorCtrl uses a centralized SMTP notification service to deliver system emails, password reset links, administrator recovery codes, and fleet-wide pipeline alerts.

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1. SMTP Relay Configuration

The SMTP Settings panel provides inputs to link CollectorCtrl to your corporate mail server or transactional email delivery service (e.g. Amazon SES, SendGrid, Office 365).

Key Parameters

Configure the following parameters in the SMTP dashboard:

• Host & Port: The address of your outbound mail relay. Use Port 587 for STARTTLS, Port 465 for implicit SSL/TLS, or Port 25 for standard unencrypted relays.
• Authentication Credentials: The username and password used to authenticate. If your relay uses IP authorization instead of username/password, leave these inputs empty.
• From Sender Profile: Define the From Email address (e.g. alerts@observability.company.com) and Sender Name (e.g. CollectorCtrl Main) to format outbound headers.
• Security Encryption Protocols: Checkboxes to select TLS or SSL connection modes.

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2. Password Masking & Security

To ensure administrative security, SMTP passwords are protected from unauthorized disclosure:

• Retrieve Masking: When loading settings, the REST API returns the password masked as "********". The plain text password is never exposed in API payloads or page sources.
• Update Logic: When saving changes, the backend checks the submitted password payload. If it receives "********", the server ignores that attribute and preserves the existing encrypted password in the database, ensuring you can update other settings (like host or sender email) without re-entering credentials.

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3. Password Recovery & Alerts

SMTP is critical for system maintenance and security tasks:

• Password Reset Workflows: When a local administrator requests a password reset, the SMTP service generates a temporary, signed reset token link and emails it to their registered address.
• System Alert Notifications: Real-time alert handlers dispatch notifications to operators when a critical cluster node drifts from its assigned baseline policy or reports a crashed collector sub-process.

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4. Connection Testing & Diagnostics

Verify your mail configuration directly from the panel:

1. Click Test SMTP Connection on the SMTP Settings page.
2. Enter a target recipient address in the modal dialog.
3. The server runs a dry-run test (email.SendWithSettings), which:
   • Establishes a socket connection to the mail server.
   • Performs the SMTP handshake.
   • Transmits a test HTML template message.
4. Validation Output:
   • Success: The modal reports a green confirmation badge and dispatches the test message.
   • Failure: The modal displays the complete socket connection stack trace (e.g., dial tcp 192.168.1.50:587: connect: connection timed out or 535 Authentication Failed), helping network teams identify firewall blocks, security group limits, or invalid login credentials.