SQLMail Overview

Microsoft Windows NT Server includes a MAPI-enabled electronic mail application, Microsoft Windows NT Mail, that can exchange information with other Windows-based computers and can work with Windows-based applications. SQLMail can use Microsoft Windows NT Mail¾or another MAPI provider¾to send and receive mail messages.

SQLMail messages can consist of short text strings, the output from a query, or an attached file. Using the SQLMail extended stored procedures, messages can be sent from within a trigger or a stored procedure. For example, you could set up a trigger to send a mail message when changes occur in the database.

With SQL Server 6.0, mail functionality has been integrated with SQL Enterprise Manager. You can easily configure SQL Server to send mail messages to users when:

• A SQL Server alert occurs
• A SQL Performance Monitor threshold is exceeded
• A scheduled task¾such as a database backup or a replication event¾succeeds or fails

For example, you could configure SQL Enterprise Manager to notify you when long-running processes (such as data downloads) are complete. You could also send mail to a list of recipients when backups occur, and if errors occur during a backup.

Before SQL Server can send mail and receive messages through the MAPI client interface in Windows NT, the server must be configured as a Mail client.

For information about:

• Setting up a Mail client, see Setting Up a SQLMail Client, later in this chapter
• Sending a mail message when a scheduled task succeeds or fails, see Chapter 16, Scheduling Tasks
• Using SQL Enterprise Manager to send a mail message when a SQL Server alert occurs or when a SQL Performance Monitor threshold is exceeded, see Chapter 17, Managing Alerts
• Using SQLMail extended stored procedures, see the Microsoft SQL Server Transact-SQL Reference