This article covers the SPF and DKIM authentication processes for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and how they are managed in Valimail. While only one of the two authentication methods is required for an email to pass DMARC, our recommendation is to configure both whenever possible.

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure does not send SPF aligned emails by default, so DKIM would be the best option to have for this service.

To add a DKIM record, you need to determine what sending domain or subdomain that you want to set up DKIM for. For this exercise, we use example.com. Determine what email sending service provider or conduit you’re looking to authenticate. In this case, we use OCI Email Delivery.

If you send from different domains or subdomains, each requires their own DKIM record to be created. You can reuse selector records, however.

Create a selector record for that domain, which acts as your public key. This record is unique to that domain and can be whatever you choose. For this example, we use 1234-oracle.

You will need to publish the newly created DKIM key in Valimail Enforce. The example domain and selector record results in the following CNAME record for implementation:

1234-oracle._domainkey.example.com IN CNAME 1234-oracle.example.com.dkim.yyz1.oracleemaildelivery.com

OCI uses standard 2048-bit encryption. Valimail Enforce supports the 2048 bit encryption.

Following the publishing of the record and propagation time, your DKIM record is functional, providing a private key in sent emails that shows mailbox providers that email coming from that email provider is legitimate.

After everything is saved, it’s important to verify that your new DKIM record is set up correctly. You can most easily check through a third-party source for example the Google Admin Toolbox Dig. All you need is the domain and selector record.

You can also find the instructions to set up DKIM for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure here.

You can find more detailed information on how to add a DKIM key in Valimail, here:

Once you establish that Oracle Cloud Infrastructure is an authorized sender for your domain, you will need to add the service in your Enabled Senders.

You will find more detailed information on how to add a service for your domain in Valimail, here:

Note: We encourage you to use the comment section for any useful information about your sending service, such as the name of the service owner, change request ticket numbers, etc.