Background
SAP is going to change the e-mail infrastructure used for business e-mails sent from SAP Business ByDesign (ByDesign).
ACTION REQUIRED:
In case you have:
- set IP allow listing for receiving E-Mails in your Infrastructure or
- SPF records that you created in your own DNS or
- any throttling on your e-Mail server based on IP address,
- Whitelisting / Authentication based on e-mail headers like “Return-Path” / “Envelope-Sender” / “mailfrom” / “Bounce Address”
then you need to take action.
IMPORTANT: It is now mandatory to have DKIM enabled for your sender domains, please refer to DKIM Blog-Post for more details on how to request enabling DKIM for your sender domains.
Outbound e-mails sent from SAP Business ByDesign using sender e-mail domain(s) that are not DKIM signed can no longer be delivered to e-mail recipients after the change to the new email-infrastructure
What are the upcoming changes?
With transition to the new e-mail infrastructure, the sending server IP used to deliver e-mails sent from ByDesign will change.
It is now Mandatory to have DKIM enabled for your sender domains, please refer to https://blogs.sap.com/2022/01/18/dkim-enablement-for-sender-domains-byd/ for more details on how to request enabling DKIM for your sender domains
What does this mean for you?
- SAP takes care to create SPF records for your ByDesign tenants.
- If DMARC for SPF is maintained as strict for your sender domain(s), please refer to section SPF Maintenance below
- In case you set IP whitelisting for receiving E-Mails in your Infrastructure or SPF records that you created in your own DNS or in case if you have any throttling on your E-Mail server based on IP address, then you need to take action. Please refer to FAQ section below (What is the IP address through which E-Mails are sent from your ByDesign tenant?)
- For enabling DKIM for your sender Domain(s), please refer to https://blogs.sap.com/2022/01/18/dkim-enablement-for-sender-domains-byd/
- In case if you have enabled Whitelisting / Authentication based on e-mail headers like “Return-Path” / “Envelope-Sender” / “mailfrom” / “Bounce Address”, please update to the new values mentioned in FAQ – Will there be any change in the e-mail header “Return-Path”?
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Current Behavior
There are two types of E-mail scenarios in Business ByDesign:
Business E-Mails – E-mail messages sent through Ticket, customer invoice, order confirmation, etc. are all referred to business e-mail scenarios
- Business E-Mails are relayed from ByDesign (SAP Network) – CISCO Mail device (SAP Network) – Recipients
- Business E-Mails will be enabled with SPF policy by default
- Business E-Mails are sent through these IP range/address – 155.56.208.100/30, 157.133.97.216/30, 169.145.66.70/31,169.145.66.72/31
- SPF record for the business mails are updated on the technical from/Mail From/Envelop-From address, which is always dsn@myXXXXXX.mail.sapbydesign.com or dsn@myXXXXXX.mail.sapbyd.cn
- Example: SPF record for domain: myXXXXXX.mail.sapbydesign.com or myXXXXXX.mail.sapbyd.cn would look like: “v=spf1 include:_spf.cmail.ondemand.com ~all“
- Business E-Mails are sent with DKIM key signed – This is done based on “Explicit Request“
Bulk/Mass E-Mails: E-mail messages sent through Marketing/Campaign are referred as Bulk/Mass E-Mail
- Bulk E-mails are relayed from ByDesign (SAP Network) – Bulk Mail Service Provider – Recipients
- Bulk E-Mails are enabled with DKIM policy
- Bulk E-Mails are sent through this IP address/range – 213.61.69.122/32, 193.169.180.0/23, 212.45.106.160/27, 91.229.178.0/23, 91.241.72.0/22
- DKIM key is enabled for a customer sender domain and tenant based on request
Note – There are different service providers for business mail and for bulk mail.
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New Behavior
Business E-Mails – E-mail messages sent through Ticket, customer invoice, order confirmation, etc. are all referred to business e-mail scenarios
- It is now Mandatory to have DKIM enabled for your Domains, please refer to https://blogs.sap.com/2022/01/18/dkim-enablement-for-sender-domains-byd/ for more details on how to request enabling DKIM. Outbound e-mails sent from SAP Business ByDesign using sender e-mail domains that are not DKIM signed can no longer be delivered to e-mail recipients
- Business E-Mails are relayed from ByDesign (SAP Network) – Cronus (Hosted in SAP Network) – AWS (Hosted in Internet) – Recipients
- Business E-Mails will be enabled with SPF policy by default
- Business E-Mails are sent through these IP range/address – 199.255.192.0/22 , 199.127.232.0/22 , 54.240.0.0/18 , 69.169.224.0/20 , 23.249.208.0/20 , 23.251.224.0/19 , 76.223.176.0/20 , 54.240.64.0/19 , 54.240.96.0/19 , 52.82.172.0/22
- SPF record for the business mails are updated on the technical from/Mail From/Envelop-From address, which is always dsn@myXXXXXX.mail.sapbydesign.com or dsn@myXXXXXX.mail.sapbyd.cn. Example: SPF record for domain: myXXXXXX.mail.sapbydesign.com or myXXXXXX.mail.sapbyd.cn would look like: “v=spf1 include:_spf.cmail.ondemand.com include:amazonses.com ~all“
- E-mail headers like “Return-Path” will be changed. Please update to the new values as mentioned in FAQ if you have set restrictions based on Return-Path : Will there be any change in the e-mail header “Return-Path”?
SPF Maintenance:
This section is only relevant if the DMARC for SPF is maintained as strict for your sender domain(s).
In this case, please maintain below SPF record for your sender Domain(s) which you are going to use in ByDesign.
“v=spf1 include:_spf.cmail.ondemand.com include:amazonses.com ~all”
Bulk/Mass E-Mails – The bulk E-Mail scenario remains the same for now.
FAQ’s:
1. Regarding DKIM enablement for sender domains – Any further action required from customers who had already enabled DKIM for their sender domains?
No action required from customers who had already enabled DKIM for their sender domains. You can continue to use the same DKIM keys which were provided by SAP.
However, if key was generated in old e-mail infrastructure but not activated: Customer will be provided with a new DKIM key and selector which is generated from new e-mail infrastructure. Customer need to use the new key and selector provided
2. How to request DKIM key for your E-Mail sender domain address?
Please refer to https://blogs.sap.com/2022/01/18/dkim-enablement-for-sender-domains-byd/ for more details on how to request enabling DKIM. Outbound e-mails sent from SAP Business ByDesign using sender e-mail domains that are not DKIM signed can no longer be delivered to e-mail recipients
3. What is DKIM and Advantages of enabling DKIM key for Business Mails?
DKIM (Domain Keys Identified Mail) is an e-mail authentication technique that allows the receiver to check that an email was indeed send and authorized by the owner of that domain. This is done by giving the email a digital signature. This DKIM signature is a header that is added to the message and is secured with encryption.
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- Implementing DKIM will improve email deliverability
- Prevents from E-mail spoofing
- Makes mails trustworthy
4. What is SPF and Advantages of enabling SPF record for Business Mails?
The Sender Policy Framework (SPF) is an email-authentication technique which is used to prevent spammers from sending messages on behalf of your domain. The SPF record is checked on “Envelope-From/Mail-From/Technical Sender” address
By enabling this it is determined which e-mail servers are authorized to relay an e-mail.
5. SPF and DKIM policies are checked on which domains for Outbound Mail Scenario?
These checks are done at recipient Mail Server. In general, e-mails sent from SAP Business ByDesign application have headers similar to the following:
SPF Check is done on – “Envelop-From” address
DKIM Check is done on – “From Address”
++++++
From Address – Customer’s sender domain (example: test.com, abc.uk)
Envelop-From Address in ByDesign applications will always be: dsn@myXXXXXX.mail.sapbydesign.com / dsn@myXXXXXXX.mail.sapbyd.cn
Recipient Address: <Independent details>
Subject: <Independent details>
++++++
6. How to check if e-mail messages sent from SAP Business ByDesign Tenant is DKIM signed, and for which domain is it DKIM signed?
Check the mail headers: “header.i”, “header.s”, “header.from” of the received E-Mail, in the section “Authentication-Results”: In this section we should see the domain and selector details of the DKIM key.
7. Can customer choose their own selector while requesting a DKIM key?
A standard and unique selector is provided for each customers domain(s) so it is not possible to deliver the DKIM keys with custom selectors that are requested by Customers
8. Is DKIM Key enabled by default for your sender domain during the migration to new E-Mail infra
No, an explicit request has to be created for DKIM key creation for your sender domains which are used for relaying Business Mails from your SAP Business ByDesign tenant
9. Is the same DKIM key valid for both test environment and production environment?
Yes, the same key is valid for both the environments Production and Test
10. E–mails sent with this domain “donotreply@myXXXXXX.mail.sapbydesign.com” / “donotreply@myXXXXXX.mail.sapbyd.cn” / “donotreply@myXXXXXX.mail.businessbydesign.cloud.sap” / “donotreply@myXXXXXX.mail.businessbydesign.sapcloud.cn” are signed with DKIM key?
Yes, E-mails sent with above domains are already signed with DKIM key
11. If the e-mails are sent with DoNotReply@myxxxxxx.mail.sapbydesign.com address that is registered in the Default Sender Address, should you still request DKIM
No, not needed. DKIM should be requested for all the domains that you own and are used to send e-mails from BYDesign application
12. What if customer doesn’t want DKIM enabled for their sender domain
Outbound business e-mails sent from your SAP ByDesign tenant using sender e-mail domains that are not DKIM signed can no longer be delivered to e-mail recipients
13. Can the “Envelop-From” address be overwritten to the same as “From Address”
NO, this is not possible and not supported in SAP Business ByDesign
14. Are there any Exception domains for which DKIM key cannot be created from our side?
DKIM key cannot be created for following Domains: gmail.com, yahoo.com, Hotmail.com, outlook.com, sap.com
15. What is the IP address through which E-Mails are sent from your ByDesign tenant?
Following are the IP address through which your E-Mails will be sent from your ByDesign tenant: 199.255.192.0/22 , 199.127.232.0/22 , 54.240.0.0/18 , 69.169.224.0/20 , 23.249.208.0/20 , 23.251.224.0/19 , 76.223.176.0/20 , 54.240.64.0/19 , 54.240.96.0/19 , 52.82.172.0/22
16. What are the attachment types that are “NOT Allowed” at our e-mail server?
E-mails containing one of the following file types currently fall into the category “dangerous attachment”:
ade, adp, app, asp, bas, bat, bhx, cab, ceo, chm, cmd, com, cpl, crt, csr, der, exe, fxp, hlp, hta, inf, ins, isp, its, js, jse, lnk, mad, maf, mag, mam, mar, mas, mat, mde, mim, msc, msi, msp, mst, ole, pcd, pif, reg, scr, sct, shb, shs, vb, vbe, vbmacros, vbs, vsw, wmd, wmz, ws, wsc, wsf, wsh, xxe, docm, xlsm
This also applies if attachments with these extensions are found in the following (password-protected) archives:
arj, cab, jar, lha, rar, tar, zip, gz
17. What is the size limit of an Outbound and Inbound E-mail sent/received at SAP Business ByDesign application?
Mail size can be maximum of 25MB (Including attachments)
18. Can the customer point their ByDesign tenant to their own Mail infrastructure?
NO, this is not possible and not supported in SAP Business ByDesign
19. How SAP is handling private keys so that they are protected and not misused? And what is the plan if key is compromised
The secrets are stored in the email service without the ability to retrieve them.
If a private key is compromised, then SAP will inform the customer and generate a new DKIM key and update the customer (same process as mentioned above in the overview of execution steps).
20. If DKIM key was generated in old e-mail infrastructure and customer did not request to activate the key before the switch, can we use the same key?
If key was generated in old e-mail infrastructure but not activated: Customer will be provided with a new DKIM key and selector which is generated from new e-mail infrastructure. Customer need to use the new key and selector provided to import into their DNS (Old key and selector provided will be obsolete and cant be used)
21. Will there be any change in the e-mail header “Return-Path”?
Yes, please note that there is a change in the e-mail header “Return-Path” / “Envelope-Sender” / “mailfrom” / “Bounce Address”. Below are the new values for each DC:
Earlier : dsn@my<tenantNumber>.mail.sapbydesign.com (or) dsn@my<tenantNumber>.mail.sapbyd.cn
Now : Return path will be changed based on your system location:
Frankfurt: ***@eu-central-1.amazonses.com (Example – 0107-66f90629-bef1-4a03-9a38-45fba29b6e70-000000@eu-central-1.amazonses.com)
USA: ***@ca-central-1.amazonses.com (Example – 010d-128d33fc-d10c-4be6-b2d7-65e976db2ffe-000000@ca-central-1.amazonses.com)
China: ***@ap-northeast-1.amazonses.com (Example – 0106-fd47112b-deb5-49a7-a226-dc543064171b-000000@ap-northeast-1.amazonses.com)
Australia: **@ap-southeast-2.amazonses.com (Example – 0108-67acbe3f-2ab8-49f3-8bd2-589a10957f7b-000000@ap-southeast-2.amazonses.com)
ROT: **@eu-west-1.amazonses.com (Example – 0102018322cf2600-40a2f297-59de-45dc-be43-8a6144638e80-000000@eu-west-1.amazonses.com)
22. Is there any limit for maximum number of recipients per e-mail?
Yes, we do have a hard limit of 50 recipients per e-mail and this is not adjustable
23. What are the reasons for generating soft bounce and hard bounce?
Please refer to Note https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/notes/3257552
24. What is the schedule to switch the systems to New E-Mail host?
Detailed Change scheduled will be communicated via E-mail too:
Data Center | Date |
Shanghai | 18-July-2022 between 18:00 UTC and 22:00 UTC |
Sydney | 27-July-2022 between 15:00 UTC and19:00 UTC |
Colorado Springs, USA | 12-Aug-2022 between 04:00 UTC and 08:00 UTC |
Frankfurt | Between 29-Aug-22 22:00 UTC and 30-Aug-22 02:00 UTC |
ROT (RO2) / Walldorf (WD4) | Switch to New e-mail infra happened as part of migration of your tenant to SAP Converged Cloud (through the SAP Next-Generation Cloud Delivery program) |
Conclusion:
We hope that this article provides clarity on migration of ByDesign customers to the new E-mail infrastructure, which is more reliable and secure.