How do I configure Amazon SES to send SQL Server backup notification emails from Amazon WorkSpaces while keeping existing email hosting?

Important: New Amazon SES accounts start in sandbox mode with restrictions: only 200 emails per 24-hour period, 1 email per second, and emails can only be sent to verified addresses Request production access through the Amazon SES console by providing business details and use case information. AWS Support provides initial response within 24 hours.

To resolve this SES issue, you need to configure the service settings and verify the setup. The following steps provide detailed console navigation and command-level instructions to guide you through the configuration process.

Verify your identity in Amazon SES

1. Navigate to the Amazon SES console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/ses/.
2. In the left navigation pane, choose Identities.
3. Choose Create Identity.
4. Select Domain as the identity type for sending from multiple email addresses, or Email Address for individual address verification.
5. For domain verification: Enter your domain name and choose Create Identity.
6. Copy the three CNAME DNS records provided by SES.
7. Add these CNAME records to your domain's DNS settings through your domain provider.
8. Wait for verification status to change from "Pending" to "Verified" (typically within a few hours, maximum 72 hours).
9. For email address verification: Enter the specific email address, choose Create Identity, then click the verification link sent to that address.

Create SMTP credentials for Amazon SES

1. In the Amazon SES console, choose SMTP settings from the left navigation pane.
2. Choose Create SMTP credentials.
3. Accept the default IAM user name or enter a custom name, then choose Create.
4. Download and securely store the SMTP credentials file containing your SMTP username and password.
5. Record the SMTP endpoint.
6. Note the available ports: 587 or 2587 for STARTTLS, and 465 or 2465 for TLS Wrapper.

Request production access to remove sandbox limitations

1. In the Amazon SES console, choose Account dashboard from the left navigation pane.
2. In the sandbox warning box, choose View Get set up page followed by Request production access.
3. Select Transactional as the email type since backup notifications are automated system emails.
4. Enter your website URL in the Website URL field.
5. Add up to 4 email addresses in Additional contacts for account communications.
6. Select your preferred contact language.
7. Check the acknowledgement box confirming you will only send emails to recipients who requested them and have bounce/complaint handling processes.
8. Choose Submit request and wait for AWS Support response within 24 hours.

Configure SQL Server to use Amazon SES SMTP

1. Open SQL Server Management Studio and connect to your SQL Server instance on the WorkSpaces.
2. Right-click on the server name and select Properties.
3. Navigate to the Advanced tab and locate the Database Mail section.
4. Enable Database Mail XPs by setting the value to 1.
5. Configure Database Mail with the following SMTP settings: Server name: email-smtp.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com, Port: 587, Authentication: Basic Authentication, Username: Your SES SMTP username, Password: Your SES SMTP password.
6. Enable SSL encryption for the SMTP connection.
7. Set the From email address to a verified address or domain in SES.
8. Test the configuration by sending a test email through Database Mail.

Test and monitor the email configuration

1. Send a test backup notification email from SQL Server to verify the configuration works.
2. In the Amazon SES console, navigate to Reputation metrics to monitor sending statistics.
3. Check the Sending statistics section for delivery rates, bounce rates, and complaint rates.
4. Set up Amazon SNS notifications for bounces and complaints by navigating to Configuration sets in the Amazon SES console.
5. Monitor your sending quotas in the Account dashboard to ensure you stay within limits.
6. Verify that backup notification emails are successfully delivered to recipient inboxes.