This article covers the SPF and DKIM authentication processes for Technolutions Slate 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.

Because Technolutions Slate leverages SendGrid's email infrastructure, it requires additions to your DNS records outside of the Valimail platform. Adding Technolutions Slate as an authorized sender in the Valimail platform usually requires a dedicated subdomain to be pointed to the Sendgrid infrastructure and typically the DKIM keys will be added in the Valimail platform.

1. Select Database on the top navigation bar.

2. Select DKIM Configuration.

3. Enter your email domain and click Lookup.

4. If this is the first time you have set up DKIM, you will see a status of “Inactive / Awaiting Configuration.” Click on Create Configuration.

The email domain is the part after the “@” in the email address you use for emails sent from Slate. It defaults to your school’s domain name, e.g., “college.edu.”

5. A small window will pop up where you can set a subdomain. As a best practice, we recommend you leave this as the default, slate-mx, unless your IT group notifies you that this subdomain is already in use.

6. Click Save.

Note: If you manage DKIM in Valimail, the 2 CNAME DKIM keys (slt1 and slt2) will be published in Valimail. The 3rd CNAME record will need to be published in your DNS.

Once all 3 records are added in their management areas, please follow the next in the below section - Validate DKIM Configuration.

1. Select Database on the top navigation bar.

2. Select DKIM Configuration.

3. Enter your email domain and click Lookup.

4. Click Validate Configuration.

5. If all three DNS records appear in black, your DKIM configuration is valid. If any appear in red (such as the third one in the screenshot below), those are not yet valid, and you must ask your IT group to ensure the appropriate DNS records are published.

Slate supports DKIM configuration for multiple domains should you send an email from Slate on behalf of various subdomains. By default, Slate will allow you to add DKIM configuration for any subdomain that falls under your Slate database domain. For example, if your database domain is apply.undergrad.slateuniversity.edu, you can create DKIM configuration for students.undergrad.slateuniversity.edu. You will not be able to create a DKIM configuration for students.graduate.slateuniversity.edu, however, since this domain is not part of your Slate instance domain. You first need to add domains such as these to the Allowed Service Domains list using the steps below.

1. Select Database on the top navigation bar.

2. Select Configuration Keys.

3. Open the Allowed Service Domains List key.

4. Add your intended email domain(s) to this key as a comma-separated list.

5. Click Save.

6. Allow 15-20 minutes for this updated configuration key to propagate to all web servers.

7. Return to DKIM Configuration and add the configuration for the new domain using the steps above.

You can also find the instructions on how to set up DKIM and SPF for Technolutions Slate here.

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

Once you establish that Technolutions Slate 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.