We have a SQL Server 2000 cluster. I have been trying to get SQLMail to work with it, but have failed. What am I doing wrong?

SQLMail is not officially supported under SQL Server7.0 clustering.

SQLMail in SQL Server 2000 is supposed to work under clustering, although I have not personally tried it. In fact, I don't recommend it as you must add mail clients to both servers, and I don't like the idea of adding mail clients (with all the security and other reliability issues they represent) on a production cluster. But that is your choice.

To use SQLMail with SQL Server 2000 clustering, keep the following in mind:

• Each node must have a mail client, such as Outlook, installed on it.
• Each instance of SQL Server 2000 in the cluster must use the same service account.
• Each node in the cluster must have a MAPI profile with an identical name and settings.

Even if you setup everything correctly, SQLMail under SQL Server 2000 clustering may still not work. I understand that there is a problem with SP2 that prevents it from working correctly, and that Microsoft has a hotfix for the problem. So if you cannot get SQLMail to run correctly, you may need to contact Microsoft Support.

In SQL Server 2005, SQLMail is no longer used, and has been replaced with the new SMTP mail option. This is supported under clustering and does not require that a mail client to be installed on each node of the cluster.