MSDN Magazine - August 2008 - (Page 62)

For example, assume that the following ISA segment showed up in the Header of a document: ISA*00* *00* *01* BASECOMP12 *ZZ*TRADPART1 * 070407*1555*U*00401*000000025*0*T*>~ The sixth segment (ISA06) has the value of BASECOMP12, while the eighth segment (ISA08) has the value TRADPART1. Remember that segments are delimited by asterisk (*) characters. Here, the third and fifth segments are empty. Whether trading partners use AS2 or a VAN, BizTalk can act as the single internal EDI solution. Trading partners can be configured as interchange senders or receivers. In this case, BizTalk compares the segments against how parties have been configured and finds that these values correspond to the configuration of trading partner 1 set up as a receiver (see Figure 5). Since the document has been matched to a party, the rest of the document now can be validated against the schemas associated with that trading partner. Documents found to be invalid are processed in one way, while valid documents are sent on to be processed by other EDI components. Transporting EDI Documents Documents can be sent to trading partners via any protocol, including SMTP, File, FTP, HTTP, and many others. However, EDI Figure 5 Trading Partner Configured 62 msdn magazine standards support only VANs and AS2. VANs ensure that documents are valid, that they are routed to the appropriate recipients, and that there is a record of the transaction. AS2 is the technology that allows for the secure transmission of documents directly between trading partners using S/MIME over HTTP/HTTPS. There are robust features in BizTalk Server that enable either standard to be incorporated into a solution so that, whether trading partners want to use AS2 or the VAN, BizTalk can act as the single internal EDI solution. While BizTalk Server 2006 R2 can eliminate the need for VANs, many trading partners continue to do their business over these networks. BizTalk facilitates the transmission of documents to and from VANs through the use of FTP and secure FTP. Interacting with VANs via BizTalk may require the use of a thirdparty adapter, as many VANs require secure FTP. There are some limitations with the standard FTP adapter that may prevent its use in environments such as these. (Often the SYST FTP command is required by VANs, but the standard BizTalk adapter does not support this.) Regardless of the adapter used, however, the idea of connecting to the VAN is a simple process of interacting with an FTP server. EDI documents being shipped to trading partners via the VAN are uploaded via FTP, and EDI documents being retrieved from trading partners are downloaded via FTP. BizTalk is responsible only for the successful delivery and receipt of EDI documents, never for the actual delivery of the document to the trading partner—the VAN takes care of this. It is the duty of an administrator to check the status of documents on the VAN through the use of tools provided specifically for that purpose. When looking at FTP and VAN communication with EDI in BizTalk, much of the value that the VAN provides, such as document validation, document tracking, and document delivery, is now available within BizTalk itself. In AS2 solutions, BizTalk is the “value-added network,” providing all of the functionality without the costs associated with the VAN. AS2 allows trading partners to interact directly with one another over secure HTTP. When an AS2 implementation is used in an EDI implementation, the port is exposed to the public via the standard HTTP adapter with AS2 properties set on the EDI party, or via a third-party BizTalk adapter. Either way, the core idea is the same: enable a secure transmission and validate the document. The secure transmission is handled through certificates, and the validation of the document is handled through AS2, party, and schema configuration in BizTalk. An example of a party configured to allow for AS2 transmission over the standard BizTalk HTTP adapter is shown in Figure 6. In this case, AS2 properties are set on the party and act as an extension to BizTalk EDI

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of MSDN Magazine - August 2008

MSDN Magazine - August 2008 Toolbox CLR Inside Out Basic Instincts Cutting Edge Patterns in Practice Data 2.0 - Expose And Consume Data In A Web Services World Biztalk EDI - Build A Robust EDI Solution With BizTalk Server Silverlight - Create Animations With XAML And Expression Blend Write On! - Create Web Apps You Can Draw On With Silverlight 2 Wicked Code - Craft Custom Controls For Silverlight 2 Team System Foundations Windows With C++ Concurrent Affairs Going Places { End Bracket }

MSDN Magazine - August 2008

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