smartd test email fails to send / How to specify "from:" address used by smartd?

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#1

Hello All,

smartd can not successful complete sending an email test message because:

  1. I could not find a way to make smartd specify the “from:” address in the outgoing email test message; or
  2. I do not know how to make Postfix always use a user-specified “from:” address

Please help me get smartd to successfully complete sending an email test message. I would strongly prefer making smartd specify the “from:” address, rather than making changes to Postfix.

Details follow.

Here is the contents of /etc/smartd.conf


/dev/sda -a -d sat -M test -m recipient@q.com -n standby,3,q -o on -S on  -s (S/../.././(00|06|12|18)|L/../(01|05|10|15|20|25)/./(00|06|12|18))  -W 5,51,54

smartd thinks it succeeded sending the test email:


LinuxBox:/ # service smartd status
smartd.service - Self Monitoring and Reporting Technology (SMART) Daemon
   Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/smartd.service; enabled)
   Active: active (running) since Fri 2014-05-09 16:52:28 MDT; 41s ago
 Main PID: 2951 (smartd)
   CGroup: /system.slice/smartd.service
           `-2951 /usr/sbin/smartd -n
May 09 16:52:28 LinuxBox.site smartd[2951]: Device: /dev/sda [SAT], is SMART capable. Adding to "monitor" list.
May 09 16:52:28 LinuxBox.site smartd[2951]: Device: /dev/sda [SAT], state read from /var/lib/smartmontools/smartd.ST3320620NS-5QF2ZLX6.ata.state
May 09 16:52:28 LinuxBox.site smartd[2951]: Monitoring 1 ATA and 0 SCSI devices
May 09 16:52:28 LinuxBox.site smartd[2951]: **Executing test of <mail> to recipient@q.com ...**
May 09 16:52:28 LinuxBox.site smartd[2951]: **Test of <mail> to recipient@q.com: successful**
May 09 16:52:28 LinuxBox.site smartd[2951]: Device: /dev/sda [SAT], initial Temperature is 31 Celsius (Min/Max 33/35)
May 09 16:52:28 LinuxBox.site smartd[2951]: Device: /dev/sda [SAT], SMART Usage Attribute: 190 Airflow_Temperature_Cel changed from 74 to 69
May 09 16:52:28 LinuxBox.site smartd[2951]: Device: /dev/sda [SAT], SMART Usage Attribute: 194 Temperature_Celsius changed from 26 to 31
May 09 16:52:28 LinuxBox.site smartd[2951]: Device: /dev/sda [SAT], SMART Usage Attribute: 195 Hardware_ECC_Recovered changed from 94 to 81
May 09 16:52:28 LinuxBox.site smartd[2951]: Device: /dev/sda [SAT], state written to /var/lib/smartmontools/smartd.ST3320620NS-xxxxxxxx.ata.state

BUT, the test message never gets delivered.

When I examine the Postfix log, it reveals the receiving SMTP server bounced smartd’s test email because the SMTP server could not determine the test message’s proper sender:


2014-05-09T16:52:28.896883-06:00 LinuxBox postfix/pickup[2897]: DAEA314245: uid=0 from=<root>
2014-05-09T16:52:28.898026-06:00 LinuxBox postfix/cleanup[2938]: DAEA314245: message-id=<20140509225228.DAEA314245@LinuxBox.site>
2014-05-09T16:52:28.921660-06:00 LinuxBox postfix/qmgr[2898]: DAEA314245: **from=<root@LinuxBox.site>**, size=769, nrcpt=1 (queue active)
2014-05-09T16:52:29.404586-06:00 LinuxBox postfix/smtp[2940]: DAEA314245: to=<recipient@q.com>, relay=smtp.q.com[205.169.121.111]:587, delay=0.5, delays=0.05/0/0.43/0.03, dsn=5.0.0, status=bounced (host smtp.q.com[205.169.121.111] said: 550 **Could not resolve sender's domain (in reply to MAIL FROM command))**

I know Postfix is configured correctly, because I manually sent a message successfully:


LinuxBox:/ # mailx -s "Testing" -r recipient@q.com sender@q.com
Testing
EOT

BTW - I know just barely enough to get Postfix set up using YaST.

Note:
The actual email addresses used were sanitized for security.

System details:
openSUSE 13.1 for x86_64
smartmontools-6.2-95.1.x86_64 (where smartd is from)
postfix-2.9.6-7.4.1.x86_64
Linux kernel 3.11.10-7-desktop

#2

On 2014-05-10 02:06, Max314 wrote:
>
> Hello All,
>
> smartd can not successful -complete- sending an email test message
> because:
> 1) I could not find a way to make smartd specify the “from:” address in
> the outgoing email test message; or

I think I have that problem on another machine, but I have not
investigated it yet. I did see the bounces. I must have a better look.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.

(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” (Minas Tirith))

#3

Thank you for your effort. I appreciate any help you have to offer.

Ever since openSUSE 12.2, I have not been able to get smartd to successfully complete sending a test email, despite much time and effort spent, and that has been very frustrating.

#4

On 2014-05-10 03:18, Carlos E. R. wrote:
> On 2014-05-10 02:06, Max314 wrote:
>>
>> Hello All,
>>
>> smartd can not successful -complete- sending an email test message
>> because:
>> 1) I could not find a way to make smartd specify the “from:” address in
>> the outgoing email test message; or
>
> I think I have that problem on another machine, but I have not
> investigated it yet. I did see the bounces. I must have a better look.

Ok, testing this thing. The machine I have problems with is my desktop,
but at the moment I only have the laptop. I tested with this line taken
from the man page:


echo /dev/sda -m cer@localhost -M test | smartd -c - -q onecheck

I don’t know what the “-M” does, not in the manual. BUT, I have notes
from an older manual or different manual that says:


-m ADD  Send warning email to ADD for -H, -l error, -l selftest, and -f
-M TYPE Modify email warning behavior (see man page)

So it must be somewhere (and I knew about it when I wrote that note!).
Anyway, the test email I got fine.


Return-Path: <root@minas-tirith.valinor>
X-Original-To: cer@localhost
Delivered-To: cer@localhost.valinor
Received: by minas-tirith.valinor (Postfix, from userid 0)
id 83BF1183EDF; Sun, 11 May 2014 21:46:29 +0200 (CEST)
Date: Sun, 11 May 2014 21:46:29 +0200
To: cer@localhost.valinor
Subject: SMART error (EmailTest) detected on host: minas-tirith
User-Agent: Heirloom mailx 12.5 7/5/10
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Message-Id: <20140511194629.83BF1183EDF@minas-tirith.valinor>
From: root@minas-tirith.valinor (root)

This message was generated by the smartd daemon running on:

host name:  minas-tirith
DNS domain: valinor

The following warning/error was logged by the smartd daemon:

TEST EMAIL from smartd for device: /dev/sda [SAT]

Device info:
ST9500325AS, S/N:......., 500 GB

For details see host's SYSLOG.

So, for your problem then, as I can’t examine my desktop machine at the
moment. Your problem is that you are sending to an outside, internet
address, when the email address FQDN is obviously faked (as is mine).

Well, I found a little jewel: there is a file named
“/etc/smartd_warning.sh”, that is actually used for sending the email,
and which you can modify!


# Send mail or run command
if  -n "$SMARTD_ADDRESS" ]; then

# Send mail, use platform mailer by default
test -n "$SMARTD_MAILER" || SMARTD_MAILER=$os_mailer
if  -n "$dryrun" ]; then
echo "exec '$SMARTD_MAILER' -s '$SMARTD_SUBJECT Mío' $SMARTD_ADDRESS
<<EOF
$fullmessage
EOF"
else
exec "$SMARTD_MAILER" -s "$SMARTD_SUBJECT Mío 2" $SMARTD_ADDRESS <<EOF
$fullmessage
EOF
fi

I added the words “mío” and “mío 2” to see if it was used, did a test
job, and bingo, got the email:


Date: Sun, 11 May 2014 22:05:44 +0200
From: root <root@minas-tirith.valinor>
To: cer@localhost.valinor
Subject: SMART error (EmailTest) detected on host: minas-tirith Mío 2

It executed the second concoction.

So… openSUSE “mail” command is not the classic one, but mailx. And in
this one you can set the sender address like this:


-r address
Sets  the  From  address. Overrides
any  from  variable  specified   in
environment   or   startup   files.
Tilde escapes are disabled.  The -r
address  options  are passed to the
mail transfer agent unless SMTP  is
used.   This option exists for com-
patibility only; it is  recommended
to  set  the from variable directly
instead.

So you have to modify the script to add that parameter (I have not
investigated the warning about “set(ting) the from variable directly
instead”. On other occassions I have used this “-r”, if my memory serves
me right (and it doesn’t always - sigh).


exec "$SMARTD_MAILER" -r "good_sender@q.com" -s "$SMARTD_SUBJECT"
$SMARTD_ADDRESS <<EOF

That should work. Of course, your postfix must be setup to talk to your
ISP and be able to send as “good_sender@q.com” - if it needs
authentication, that can be done.

HTH :slight_smile:

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.

(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” (Minas Tirith))

#5

I’m not sure I understand what you mean here. When you say “an outside, internet address”, are you referring to the SMTP server’s address, the message’s destination email address, or something else? Also, please elaborate what you mean by “faked”.

The “To:” email address I configured smartd to use for sending the test message is a legitimate address. I do not own a domain, so the SMTP server being used by smartd/Postfix to sent the test email lives at my ISP, smtp.q.com (CenturyLink).

Are you suggesting there is a bug in the current version of smartd?

#6

On 2014-05-11 23:56, Max314 wrote:
>
> robin_listas;2642542 Wrote:
>>
>> On 2014-05-10 03:18, Carlos E. R. wrote:
>> Your problem is that you are sending to an outside, internet
>> address, when the email address FQDN is obviously faked (as is mine).
>>
> I’m not sure I understand what you mean here. When you say “an
> outside, internet address”, are you referring to the SMTP server’s
> address, the message’s destination email address, or something else?
> Also, please elaborate what you mean by “faked”.

Your from address. You used “root@LinuxBox.site”, I used
“root@minas-tirith.valinor”. Both are “faked”, not real internet
addresses. The “To” address you use is, in your case, a real Internet
address.

I do not own a domain either.

> Are you suggesting there is a bug in the current version of smartd?

Not at all.

They provide a script that does the job of sending the email, which you
can customize for your own uses. In this case you probably only need to
add a good “from” address, but you might also use it to send an SMS to
your mobile phone.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.

(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” (Minas Tirith))