Network Requirements¶
Ports¶
As Alation needs to communicate with various systems, open the following firewall ports.
Outbound implies outbound from Alation. Inbound implies inbound into Alation.
Service |
Direction |
Ports |
Destination |
|---|---|---|---|
DNS |
outbound |
TCP, UDP 53 |
DNS Servers |
Email (default) |
outbound |
TCP,UDP 25 |
0.0.0.0/0 |
Email using corporate server |
outbound |
Corp. email server port |
Corp. email server |
SSH |
inbound only |
TCP 22 |
Alation server |
HTTP/HTTPS |
inbound only |
TCP 80, 443 |
Alation server |
LDAP |
outbound |
TCP 389 |
AD/LDAP server |
LDAPS |
outbound |
TCP 636 |
AD/LDAP server |
Auto S/W update |
outbound |
TCP 443 |
Alation Cloud: 52.4.59.229 |
Usage Stats |
outbound |
TCP 443 |
Alation Cloud: 52.4.59.229 |
Email Server Configuration Prerequisites¶
In Alation, users can share and receive information using email. They can subscribe to email notifications about specific events: scheduled query runs, updates to articles, or user mentions in conversations. In order for the email-based functionality to work, you will need to set up an email server. There are several setup options:
Parameter |
Description |
|---|---|
Built-in |
Alation uses Postfix as its built-in SMTP server. This option will be available during installation. You can use it as is, without any additional configuration; however, using the built-in SMTP server is prone to issues as the emails may be blocked by your company’s receiving server. Alation recommends to select this option during installation to move through the installation steps and to later fine-tune the email server configuration in the Alation UI. |
Corporate SMTP Server |
It is possible to use a corporate SMTP server to send emails from Alation. This option is available both during installation and in Admin Settings > Email Server. |
Built-in SMTP Server with a separate relay server |
This option allows utilizing the built-in SMTP server in combination with a relay server (Postfix, Sendmail, or other) outside the Alation chroot. Such a configuration cannot be performed during installation or in the UI as it requires changes to the main configuration file of the Postfix service on the Alation host server. The use of a separate relay server may help avoid email blocking issues by the receiving server. |
Microsoft (MS) modern authentication |
Available from version 2022.1 It is possible to configure email notifications using MS modern authentication and an MS email account. This option is available in the Alation UI only, in Admin Settings > Email Server. |
Built-in SMTP Server¶
Required ports:
Service |
Direction |
Ports |
Destination |
|---|---|---|---|
DNS |
outbound |
TCP, UDP 53 |
DNS Servers |
Email (default) |
outbound |
TCP 25 |
0.0.0.0/0 |
Corporate SMTP Server¶
Required ports:
Service |
Direction |
Ports |
Destination |
|---|---|---|---|
DNS |
outbound |
TCP, UDP 53 |
DNS Servers |
Email using corporate server |
outbound |
Corporate email server port |
Corporate email server |
To use the corporate email server, you will need the following information:
Confirm connectivity to the corporate email server.
telnet <EMAIL_SERVER_IP> <EMAIL_SERVER_PORT>
Example:
telnet smtp.google.com 25
Check if your network configuration requires that the Alation server IP should be whitelisted, and if so, whitelist it.
Confirm that the corporate email server allows SMTP authentication.
Confirm that Alation has a dedicated account with Send privileges on the corporate email server and obtain the credentials.
Obtain information on which port the corporate SMTP server is running.
Obtain information on whether the SMTP server uses SSL/TLS.