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Configuration > System Tools > AutoSupport : Understanding AutoSupport : AutoSupport transport protocols
AutoSupport transport protocols
AutoSupport supports HTTPS, HTTP, and SMTP as the transport protocols for delivering AutoSupport messages to technical support. If you enable AutoSupport messages to your internal support organization, those messages are sent by SMTP.
AutoSupport supports the following types of transport protocols:
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HTTPS (This is the default transport protocol used by AutoSupport; you should use it whenever possible.)
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HTTP
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SMTP
Because SMTP can introduce limitations on message length and line length, you should use HTTP or, preferably, HTTPS for your AutoSupport transport protocol if possible.
HTTP uses port 80; HTTPS uses port 443. If the network connection does not allow HTTPS or HTTP, you need to configure AutoSupport for SMTP. SMTP uses port 25.
To use HTTP or HTTPS to send AutoSupport messages, you might need to configure an HTTP or HTTPS proxy.
The AutoSupport feature requires an external mail host if you use SMTP. The storage system does not function as a mail host—it requires an external mail host at your site to send mail. The mail host is a host that runs a mail server that listens on the SMTP port (25).
Examples of mail servers include the following:
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A UNIX host running an SMTP server such as the sendmail program
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A Windows NT server running the Microsoft Exchange server
The storage system uses the mail host’s mail server to send periodic e-mail messages automatically to technical support about the system’s status. You can configure AutoSupport to use one or more mail hosts.
Note: Make sure that mail hosts in the AutoSupport e-mail delivery pathway are configured to send and receive the 8-bit Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) encoding.