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Trading Partner Communication tab

Updated 

The Communication tab is where you define the communication method to use to send and receive documents with trading partners.

The My Company component contains the communication/connections settings to use when paired with one or more partners that you trade with. If you use a VAN or central location to manage sending and receiving data for all trading partners, you can set them all in one place. You can configure individual communication settings for each trading partner in the trading partner component. Or, you can define a Communication Channel component and reuse the communication settings across multiple Trading Partner components.

The settings for My Company are different than partners that you trade with. You can define one or more methods in either trading partner type. The field settings are the same as those you define in the corresponding connector.

The available communication methods for B2B integration are:

  • AS2
  • Disk
  • FTP
  • HTTP
  • JMS V2 (Early Access)
  • MLLP
  • OFTP2
  • SFTP
  • SFTP (Legacy)
note

Not all communication methods are available for all standards. MLLP is supported only for HL7 and X12. The RosettaNet standard supports only HTTP communication. All other communication methods are available for non-RosettaNet standards.

You can define each communication method once. When you add a communication method, the Edit Configuration panel opens. For Trading Partner components that are set to “my company,” you must configure the communication method settings manually. For Trading Partner components that are set to “partners that I trade with,” you can accept the default settings specified in the “my company” trading partner, specify unique settings to this partner, or use a shared Communication Channel component.

The table on the Communication tab identifies the communication methods that you have and, for “partners that I trade with,” the settings used.

To add additional communication methods, click Add Communication Method and select one from the list. Once you have added each communication method once, the option to add additional methods is removed.

Global variables limitation

Global variables are currently not supported in fields that use regex or length validation. The following fields do not support global variables in trading partner communication methods:

MethodField
AS2serverHostField
AS2serverExternalHostField
HL7 MLLPhostField
ODETTE OFTP2localSsidcodeField
ODETTE OFTP2defaultHostFiel
ODETTE OFTP2defaultPartnerSsidcodeField
ODETTE OFTP2defaultSfiddsnField
ODETTE OFTP2hostField
ODETTE OFTP2sfiddsnField

“My company” settings

The settings that are required to be configured for a “My Company” trading partner differ based on the communication method.

AS2 communication method

Use the AS2 Client connector for sending and the AS2 Shared Server connector for listening. To use the AS2 communication method with trading partners, configure:

  • Identification Information - Set the ID, and select encryption, signing, and MDN signing certificates. No other identification information is needed for your company because all inbound listen communication is managed by the Runtime’s shared web server.

  • Default Partner Send Settings - Specify the URL and select SSL certificates as defaults for trading partners configured to use default AS2 communication settings. Additionally, specify the default authentication type — None or Basic — and, for Basic authentication, the default credentials. You can also specify whether the sender verifies the hostname.

caution

Only local certificates are eligible for importing as the default client SSL certificate.

  • Default Partner Identification Information - Specify the AS2 ID and select encryption, signing, MDN signing, and client SSL certificates as defaults for trading partners configured to use default AS2 communication settings. The SSL certificate is used only with trading partners that require client authentication in addition to the standard SSL certificate handshake.

The option to reject duplicate messages by default is also available—associated with that option is a setting for the number of messages to check for duplicate IDs.

The IP filtering option is also available—associated with that option is a list of IP addresses, ranges, and patterns from which access is allowed.

caution

Only local certificates are eligible for importing as the default encryption, signing, or MDN signing certificate.

  • Default Partner Listen Options - The option is available to enforce Basic authentication on endpoints configured to use Basic authentication.

  • Message Disposition Notification (MDN) Options - Define message and MDN options for all outbound communication to your trading partner.

  • Data Processing Options - Add, delete, or reorder the processing steps.

For a paired trading partner configured to use custom AS2 communication settings or AS2 settings in a Communication Channel component, the default partner send and identification settings are overridden.

note

If you want trading partners that use AS2 to use Execution workers, set the Default AS2 Workload property on the Attachment Quotas tab in the Cloud Management page (Manage > Cloud Management) to Low_Latency_Debug.

Disk communication method

To use the Disk communication method with trading partners, configure:

  • Get Options - Define default connection directory and disk get operation settings.

  • Send Options - Define default connection directory and disk send operation settings.

For a paired trading partner configured to use custom Disk Get and/or Send settings, or Disk settings in a Communication Channel component, the default settings are overridden.

FTP communication method

To use FTP communication with trading partners, configure:

  • Settings - Define default host connection and log-in credentials.

  • Get Options - Define default FTP Get operation settings.

  • Send Options - Define default FTP Send operation settings.

For a paired trading partner configured to use custom general, Get, and/or Send FTP settings, or FTP settings in a Communication Channel component, the default settings are overridden.

HTTP communication method

To use HTTP communication with trading partners, configure:

  • Settings - Define default host connection and log-in credentials.

  • SSL Options - Define default options related to SSL authorization and certificate usage.

  • Advanced - Define default options for connection timneout, read timeout, and cookie scope.

  • Listen Options - Define the default operation and credentials.

  • Get Options - Define default HTTP Get operation settings.

  • Send Options - Define default HTTP Send operation settings.

For a paired trading partner configured to use custom HTTP communication, Listen, Get, and/or Send settings, or HTTP settings in a Communication Channel component, the default settings are overridden.

JMS V2 (Early Access) communication method

To use the JMS V2 (Early Access) communication method, configuring the following settings:

Connection

  • Test Connection - Test the JMS connection by selecting the runtime that you want to use with the connector and then click Next to start the test

  • JMS Version - The JMS version used by the connector to connect to the service

  • Server Type - The JMS vendor. Use Generic JNDI if your preferred server type is not available

  • Use Authentication - When checked, authentication is required to establish the connection to the service and the following fields appear:

    • Username - The username for logging into your JMS service account
    • Password - The password for logging into your JMS service account

  • Connection Factory JNDI Lookup - The Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI) name of the connection factory

  • Initial Context Factory - The fully qualified class name of the factory class that creates the initial context

  • Provider URL - The URL for the service provider

  • JMS Properties - Use the Add Property button to add custom configuration properties that are used when connecting to the JMS service. You can encrypt properties to secure sensitive information.

  • Use Connection Pool - When checked, connection pooling is enabled. This might increase performance by using resources more efficiently. Enabling connection pooling exposes the following options:

    • Pool Maximum Connections - The maximum number of connections allowed in the pool at any time. Setting this value to 0 indicates an unbounded number of connections. You will receive an error if you attempt to exceed the maximum.
    • Pool Minimum Connections - The minimum number of connections allowed in the pool at any time. This number must be less than or equal to the Pool Maximum Connections setting
    • Pool Maximum Idle Time - The length of time in milliseconds that a connection can remain open in an idle state
    • Pool Maximum Wait Time - The length of time in milliseconds to wait for a connection from the pool
    • Pool Exhausted Action - Whether to wait for a connection or immediately fail when a connection pool becomes exhausted

Listen Options

  • Delivery Policy - The delivery policy specifies how to handle the receipt and acknowledgment of messages. At least once acknowledges message receipt after successfully processing the message. At most once acknowledges message receipt before processing the message.

  • Use Transactions - When checked, transactional mode is enabled

  • Message Selector - The selector expression to filter the messages based on their properties

  • Durable Subscription (only for Topics) - When checked, the server returns every non-expired message to the named subscription, including those published while the subscriber was inactive.

    • Subscription Name - The unique ID with which Durable Subscription will be identified

  • Maximum Concurrent Executions - The maximum number of process executions that are allowed to run simultaneously in a single runtime container

  • Singleton Listener - If checked, the Listen operation will start in a single node for multi-node runtimes, with only one instance of the singleton operation per container. If unchecked, the listener will be started in all available nodes by default.

  • Client ID - A unique identifier for topic subscriptions

  • Destination - The destination from where to retrieve that messages

  • Data Processing Options - The data processing steps are completed in the order specified after receiving the data before standards processing occurs.

Get Options

  • Use Transactions - When checked, transactional mode is enabled

  • Message Selector - The selector expression to filter the messages based on their properties

  • Durable Subscription (only for Topics) - When checked, the server returns every non-expired message to the named subscription, including those published while the subscriber was inactive.

    • Subscription Name - The unique ID with which Durable Subscription will be identified

  • Client ID - A unique identifier for topic subscriptions

  • Receive Mode - Specifies how the connector fetches messages from JMS. Select one of the following options:

    • No Wait - Retrieve a single message already available in the destination
    • Limited Number of Messages - Configure the number of messages the connector fetches before returning them in the Number of Messages field
    • Limited Number of Messages with Timeout - Configure the number of messages to be fetched and the number of milliseconds the connector waits before returning them in the Maximum Number of Messages and Receive Timeout fields
    • Unlimited Number of Messages with Timeout - Configure the number of milliseconds the connector fetches messages before returning them in the Receive Timeout field

  • Destination - The destination from where to retrieve that messages

  • Data Processing Options - The data processing steps are completed in the order specified after receiving the data before standards processing occurs.

Send Options

  • Use Transactions - When checked, transactional mode is enabled and the following option is exposed:

    • Transaction Batch Size - The number of messages to be sent within a transactional batch

  • Correlation ID - The correlation ID for the message. A correlation ID is a message header field used to link one message to another.

  • Message Type - The value to which to set the JMS message type, for example, Bytes, Text, Stream, Map.

  • Priority - The priority level for this message

  • Reply To - The Destination object to which a reply to this message should be sent

  • Time to Live - The length of time in milliseconds from its dispatch time that a produced message should be retained by the message system. The value must be greater than or equal to zero. Zero indicates that the message does not expire.

  • Client ID - A unique identifier for topic subscriptions

  • Destination - The destination from where to retrieve messages

  • Destination Type - The destination type (used with Oracle AQ server): Text Message, Text Message (XML), Map Message, or Byte Message

  • Custom Properties - Add properties values with their specified name into the message

  • Data Processing Options - The data processing steps are completed in the order specified after receiving the data before standards processing occurs.

MLLP communication method

Use the MLLP Client connector communication for sending to HL7 or X12 trading partners; use the MLLP Server connector for listening. There are no Listen settings because all inbound listen communication is managed at the Runtime level. Configure the following MLLP Send settings:

  • Host
  • Port
  • Send Timeout
  • Receive Timeout
  • Max Retry
  • Fail on Timeout
  • Use Persistent Connections
  • Use Trusted SSL Certificate
  • Use Client SSL Authorization

OFTP2 communication method

To use the OFTP2 communication method, configure the following settings:

My Company

  • Identification Information - Define ODETTE credentials and local certificates.
  • OFTP2 Server Settings - Managed by the runtime's shared server. Configure by navigating to Runtime Management > OFTP2 Server.

The following sections are default settings that you can use for other partners that are in the same Start step or Trading Partner step that use OFTP2:

  • Default Partner Connection Settings - Define destination settings, encryption, and authentication settings.
  • Default Security Options - Define signing and encryption settings.
  • Default Send Options - Define virtual file and compression settings.

Trading Partner

  • Identification Information - Define ODETTE credentials and local certificates.
  • Connection Settings - Define destination server, encryption, and authentication settings.
  • Security Options - Define signing and encryption settings.
  • Send Options - Define virtual file and compression settings.

SFTP communication method

To use the SFTP communication method with trading partners, configure:

  • Connection - Define default remote directory, host connection, and log in credentials, and configure file protection.
  • Advanced configuration - Algorithms applied to the JSch session during client connection negotiation.
  • SFTP Custom Configuration - Define key value pairs to override default configurations in the JSch library.
  • Get Options - Define default SFTP Get operation settings.
  • Send Options - Define default SFTP Send operation settings.

SFTP (Legacy) communication method

To use the SFTP (Legacy) communication method with trading partners, configure:

  • Settings - Define default host connection and log-in credentials, and configure file protection.

  • SSH Options - Define default options related to local and Known Host key usage.

  • Get Options - Define default SFTP Get operation settings.

  • Send Options - Define default SFTP Send operation settings.

For a paired trading partner configured to use custom general, Get, and/or Send SFTP communication settings, or SFTP settings in a Communication Channel component, the default settings are overridden.

“Partners that I trade with” settings

In the Communication Settings list, the following selections are available:

  • Use All Defaults - This partner uses the settings configured in whichever My Company that it is paired with on a Start or Trading Partner step.

  • Configure Specific Settings - The settings are used whenever this partner appears in a Start or Trading Partner step for the specified communication method.

  • Use Shared Communication - This partner uses the settings configured in the selected Connection, which is a Communication Channel component.

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