3 Supported Protocols

This chapter describes the standard B2B protocols supported by OracleAS Integration B2B.

This chapter contains the following topics:

• Overview of Supported Protocols

• Document Protocols

• Exchange Protocols

• Process Protocols

• Business Protocols

• Summary

3.1 Overview of Supported Protocols

Table 3-1 lists the protocols—the agreed-upon formats for transmitting data—and the protocol revisions that OracleAS Integration B2B supports, categorized by protocol type. The protocols are described in more detail in subsequent sections.

Table 3-1 B2B Protocols Supported in OracleAS Integration B2B

Protocol Type	Protocol and Revision
The document protocol defines the document type of the message payload, which is based on which standard (RosettaNet, EDI, and so on) you are using as part of the business logic.	RosettaNet (1.1 and 2.0) EDI X12 (all revisions) EDI EDIFACT (all revisions) Custom Document—customer-defined protocols Health Level 7 (HL7)
The exchange protocol defines the message exchange mechanism—how to exchange the documents defined by the document protocol. It defines the headers, acknowledgments, and packaging that puts the headers and payload together. It also defines the transport protocol and packaging protocol for the exchange.	RosettaNet Implementation Framework (RNIF 01.10, RNIF V02.00) Applicability Statement 2 (AS2) Generic (Generic 1.0) Minimum Lower Layer Protocol (MLLP) ebXML Messaging Service (ebMS)
transport protocol—defines the underlying transport and its properties	HTTP (HTTP 1.0, HTTP 1.1) HTTPS (HTTPS 1.0, HTTPS 1.1) Email (SMTP 1.0, IMAP 1.0) File (File 1.0) FTP (FTP 1.0) FTPS TCP/IP
packaging protocol—defines a packaging mechanism. Message security such as signing and encryption are often based on a specific packaging mechanism	MIME (MIME 1.0) S/MIME (S/MIME 2.0, S/MIME 3.0) SOAP XML digital signature (XMLDSig) XML encryption (XMLEncrypt)
The process protocol defines how you exchange messages, using the document protocol-based business document, and exchanging it based on the exchange protocol. It is the mechanism by which business actions and collaborations are associated with specific document types.	B2B

3.2 Document Protocols

The document protocol defines the document type of the message payload. Business protocols can have multiple document protocols. Document protocols follow the hierarchy shown in Figure 3-1.

Figure 3-1 Document Protocol Hierarchy

Description of "Figure 3-1 Document Protocol Hierarchy"

A document protocol can consist of multiple document protocol revisions. A document protocol revision can consist of multiple document types. A document type can consist of multiple document definitions, because you can start with one document definition and customize it for different trading partners. For document definition files, you can use the template library of the Windows-based OracleAS Integration B2B - Document Editor to create RosettaNet.xsd and .dtd files, EDI X12 and EDI EDIFACT.ecs files and HL7 files that you then import into the OracleAS Integration B2B user interface. You cannot use OracleAS Integration B2B - Document Editor to define custom documents. See "OracleAS Integration B2B - Document Editor Overview" for more information.

OracleAS Integration B2B supports the following document protocols. The document protocols are discussed in more detail in subsequent sections.

• RosettaNet

• EDI X12

• EDI EDIFACT

• Custom Documents (includes support for UCCnet)

• HL7

Using Document Protocols in OracleAS Integration B2B

To use the standard document protocols for RosettaNet, EDI X12, EDI EDIFACT, and UCCnet message exchanges, you must import them into OracleAS Integration B2B.

See "Importing Support for Collaborations, Transaction Sets, and UCCnet Standards" for details.

See Also:

• "Managing Document Protocols"

• "Page 2: Document Protocol Revision" and "Page 3: Document Type" for instructions on using OracleAS Integration B2B - Document Editor to import files when creating a business action

• "Page 3: Requesting Business Action" for instructions on using OracleAS Integration B2B - Document Editor to import files when creating a collaboration

• The online Help included with OracleAS Integration B2B - Document Editor for instructions on using the library templates to create .ecs, .dtd, and .xsd files

• , , and for examples of document protocols defined for the EDI X12 over Generic Exchange business protocol

• Figure 8-8 for an example of process protocol management tasks for the RosettaNet over RNIF business protocol

3.2.1 RosettaNet

OracleAS Integration B2B implements the nonproprietary, XML-based RosettaNet standards to exchange documents over the Internet. RosettaNet standards prescribe when information should be exchanged, acknowledged, or confirmed, and how messages in an exchange should be packaged and physically exchanged between trading partners. RosettaNet standards are specified through the use of the RosettaNet Partner Interface Process (PIP), RosettaNet Dictionaries, and RNIF, which are described in subsequent sections.

OracleAS Integration B2B supports message exchanges using the RosettaNet PIPs shown in Table 3-2 when you create a collaboration. See "Process Protocols" for more information about PIPs.

Table 3-2 RosettaNet PIPs Supported in OracleAS Integration B2B

PIP	Description	Version
0A1	Notification of Failure	V02.00.00
2A1	Distribute New Product Information	V02.00.00
2A9	Query Technical Product Information	V01.01.01
2A10	Distribute Design Engineering Information	V02.00.00
2A12	Distribute Product Master	V01.03.00
3A1	Request Quote	V02.01.00
3A4	Request Purchase Order	V02.03.00
3A6	Distribute Order Status	V02.02.00
3A7	Notify of Purchase Order Update	V02.03.00
3A8	Request Purchase Order Change	V01.03.00
3A9	Request Purchase Order Cancellation	V01.01.00
3B2	Notify of Advanced Shipment	V01.01.00
3B3	Distribute Shipment Status	R01.00.00
3B12	Request Shipping Order	V01.01.00
3B13	Notify of Shipping Order Confirmation	V01.01.00
3C1	Return Product	V01.00.00
3C3	Notify of Invoice	V01.01.00
3C4	Notify of Invoice Reject	V01.00.00
4A1	Notify of Strategic Forecast	V02.00.00
4A3	Notify of Threshold Release Forecast	V02.01.00
4A4	Notify of Planning Release Forecast	V03.00.00
4A5	Notify of Forecast Reply	V02.00.00
4B2	Notify of Shipment Receipt	V01.00.00
4C1	Distribute Inventory Report	V02.03.00
7B1	Distribute Work in Process	V01.00.00

You can see how a collaboration is created using PIP 3A4 in "Acme Server, Task 1: Creating the Collaboration" of tutorial 1.

See http://www.rosettanet.org for information about the RosettaNet consortium and its history, and for details about RosettaNet standards.

3.2.1.1 RosettaNet Dictionaries

The RosettaNet Business Dictionary provides a common vocabulary and a common set of properties to use in XML documents. For example, trading partners using the RosettaNet Business Dictionary might agree to use the term DRAM for memory chip. The RosettaNet Technical Dictionary is not supported in OracleAS Integration B2B.

3.2.1.2 RosettaNet Validation

RosettaNet validation compares the elements in RosettaNet XML-format business documents to the requirements specified in the RosettaNet Message Guideline specification to determine their validity. This specification defines requirements for details such as element datatypes, element lengths, element value lists, and element cardinality. PIPs that require RosettaNet dictionary validation are also validated when a dictionary is present.The minimum validation-level requirements on the sections of a RosettaNet XML-format business document are as follows. These requirements cover the preamble, delivery header, service header, and service content sections of a document. Documents not following one or more of these requirements are identified as invalid.

1. The XML-format business document requires compliance with its DTD.

2. Elements with datatypes, lengths, or both that are specified in the RosettaNet Message Guideline specification require validation against this specification.

3. An element's list of values specified in the entity instance list in the corresponding RosettaNet Message Guideline specification requires validation against this specification.

4. If the Message Guideline specification defines the cardinality specification of an element differently from the corresponding DTD specification, the Message Guideline specification takes precedence.

5. If a PIP requires dictionary validation, and a dictionary is included, the service content requires validation against the dictionary as a part of action performance.

6. Cross-tag validation is based on message guidelines.

3.2.2 EDI X12

OracleAS Integration B2B supports message exchanges using American National Standards Institute (ANSI) X12. These standards prescribe the formats, character sets, and data elements used in the exchange of documents such as purchase orders and invoices. You can use the X12 transaction sets shown in Table 3-3 when you create a business action.

Table 3-3 EDI X12 Transaction Sets Supported in OracleAS Integration B2B

Set	Description	Version
850	Purchase Order	4010
855	Purchase Order Acknowledgment	4010
997	Functional Acknowledgment	4010

You can see how a business action is created using the 850, 855, and 997 transactions in "Acme Server, Task 1: Creating the Business Actions" of tutorial 3.

See http://www.ansi.org for information about the organization that created and maintains the ANSI X12 standards.

3.2.3 EDI EDIFACT

OracleAS Integration B2B supports message exchanges using UN/EDIFACT, the United Nations Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport. These standards prescribe the formats, character sets, and data elements used in the exchange of documents such as purchase orders and invoices. You can use the EDI EDIFACT transaction sets shown in Table 3-4 when you create a business action.

Table 3-4 EDI EDIFACT Transaction Sets Supported in OracleAS Integration B2B

Set	Description	Version
ORDERS	Purchase Order Message	D98A
ORDRSP	Purchase Order Response Message	D98A
CONTRL	Syntax and Service Report Message	D3

You can see how a business action is created using the ORDERS, ORDRSP, and CONTRL transactions in "Acme Server, Task 1: Creating the Business Actions" of tutorial 2. See Chapter 14, "Batching and Debatching EDI Transaction Sets" for information about EDI batching support.

See http://www.unece.org for information about the organization that created and maintains the UN/EDIFACT standards.

3.2.4 Custom Documents

You can use the Custom Document protocol to create documents needed for proprietary transaction mechanisms. With the Custom Document option, you can create document definitions for XML and non-XML messages. With XML messages, you have the advantage of schema enforcement (.xsd). With non-XML messages, you can create trading partner agreements for specific message types.

To configure a custom document, you specify the rules to identify the incoming document. For XML documents, you specify an XPath expression and a value, which is the expected result of the expression. See "Configuring the XPath Expression for a Custom XML Document" for more information.

OracleAS Integration B2B provides support for UCCnet under the Custom Document option. UCCnet is a service that enables trading partners to exchange standards-compliant data in the retail and consumer goods industries. When you use Custom Document, the message contents are not translated or validated. You can use the UCCnet standards shown in Table 3-5 when you create a Custom Document protocol.

As with the other protocols, Custom Document has the following features available: authentication, authorization, nonrepudiation of origin and content, nonrepudiation of receipt, time to perform, time to acknowledge, and retry counts.

Table 3-5 UCCnet Standards Supported in OracleAS Integration B2B

Standard	Version
registerCommand	2.3.1
confirmCommand	2.3.1
linkCommand	2.3.1
checkComplianceCommand	2.3.1
documentCommand	2.3.1
documentIdentificationCommand	2.3.1
notificationStateCommand	2.3.1
queryCommand	2.3.1
registerLinkCommand	2.3.1
publicationCommand	2.3.1
publishCommand	2.3.1
catalogueItemMaintenanceCommand	2.3.1
priceCommand	2.3.1
validateCommand	2.3.1
registerOwnershipCommand	2.3.1
subscriptionCommand	2.3.1
notifyCommand'	2.3.1
response'	2.3.1

See http://www.uccnet.org for further descriptions of UCCnet standards

3.2.5 HL7

OracleAS Integration B2B implements the Health Level 7 (HL7) version 2.x standard to exchange documents containing health care information using the Generic exchange or MLLP exchange. When using HL7, the standard OracleAS Integration B2B features, such as validation, translation, automatic generation of outbound envelope headers, and acknowledgments, are available. HL7 BATCH and FILE envelopes are not supported in this release.

You can see how a business action is created using the HL7 over MLLP business protocol in "Acme Server, Task 1: Creating the Business Actions" of the health care tutorial.

See http://www.hl7.org for more information.

3.3 Exchange Protocols

The exchange protocol defines the headers, acknowledgments, and packaging that puts the headers and payload together (the message exchange mechanism). The exchange protocol also defines exchange-level security—signing and encryption—and transport protocols for the exchange.

OracleAS Integration B2B supports the following exchange protocols:

• RNIF

• AS2

• Generic

• MLLP

• ebMS

Exchange protocol guidelines are described in Table 3-6.

Table 3-6 Exchange Protocol Guidelines

Guideline	Description
Transport	Supports multiple transport protocols (such as secure HTTP and SMTP) for delivering business messages between trading partners
Packaging	Supports the multipurpose internet mail extensions (MIME) format
Authorization	Ensures that a message sender is authorized to send the subject message to the receiving partner
Authentication	Requires a message sender to digitally sign a message
Encryption	Ensures that messages transmitted can be seen only by the expected recipient, who is able to decrypt and extract the business data
Nonrepudiation	Provides absolute evidence that a specific action occurred. This ensures that an originating trading partner cannot deny having sent a message and a receiving partner cannot deny having received a message. The following nonrepudiation types are available: Nonrepudiation of origin requires a message sender to digitally sign a message. This protects against attempts by a sender to deny sending a message. The message recipient must store the message for an agreed-on period of time (typically three to seven years). Nonrepudiation of receipt requires a message recipient to send back a digitally-signed acknowledgment. The message recipient must store both the receipt and the original message for an agreed-on period of time (typically three to seven years). This protects against any attempt by a message recipient to deny receiving a message.

The transport protocol and packaging protocol are components of the exchange protocol. The following transport and packaging protocols are supported in OracleAS Integration B2B:

• Transport protocols

  • HTTP

  • HTTPS

  • Email

  • File

  • FTP

  • FTPS

  • TCP/IP

• Packaging protocols

  • MIME

  • S/MIME

  • SOAP

  • XMLDSig

  • XMLEncrypt

See the following for more information:

• Figure 1-1 for how the protocols fit into the OracleAS Integration B2B architecture

• "Viewing Exchange Protocols" for details about exchange protocols

3.3.1 RNIF

RNIF defines implementation guidelines for creating software applications that provide for the reliable transport of PIPs in XML-format business documents between trading partners. Guidelines are provided for transport, routing, packaging, security, signals, and trading partner agreements.

RNIF specifies the envelope or container format that remains constant when exchanging business documents (the payloads), whereas the document exchange choreography and the XML schemas vary based on which PIP and document type are used. The RNIF envelope format is also independent of the specific transfer protocol you use.

OracleAS Integration B2B supports RNIF revisions 1.1 and 2.0. RNIF 2.0 does not include the proprietary aspects of RNIF 1.1, and adds support for multiple transfer protocols, hub-based routing, attachments, payload encryption, and more.

See http://www.rosettanet.org for the white paper (in PDF) "RosettaNet Implementation Framework (RNIF) 2.0: Benefits of RNIF 2.0 and Comparison to RNIF 1.1" for a thorough discussion of the two versions

3.3.2 AS2

AS2 is a specification for using EDI over the Internet. AS2 provides S/MIME encryption and security over HTTP or HTTPS. AS2 works with non-EDI document types such as .xml, .txt, .doc, and .xls. AS2 is also called EDI over the Internet, or EDIINT AS2. AS2 interoperability is certified in OracleAS Integration B2B.

You can see how an EDI over the Internet (AS2) transaction is created in "Tutorial 3: Setting Up an EDI X12 over Internet (AS2) Transaction".

See Chapter 9, "Creating Trading Partners" for information about digital signatures, encryption, and signing credentials

3.3.3 Generic

Using the Generic option, you can send messages with or without security, using any of the transport protocols listed in Table 3-1. The Generic exchange protocol supports MIME and S/MIME, including S/MIME 3.0-based signing and encryption. There is no receipt acknowledgment support with the Generic exchange protocol (acknowledgment mode must be set to None on the Delivery Channel page of the Create Trading Partner wizard).

3.3.4 MLLP

Minimum Lower Layer Protocol (MLLP) is used with HL7 or Custom documents. When using this protocol, you can identify the remote trading partner at the MLLP exchange level by creating a new MLLP Trading Partner Identification Type, or you can identify the remote trading partner at the document level. See "Setting Up the Remote Trading Partner (GlobalChips)" for an example of creating an MLLP ID.

3.3.5 ebMS

Electronic business Extensible Markup Language (ebXML) Messaging Service (ebMS) is used to exchange XML documents. ebMS is built on a SOAP Web services message format. OracleAS Integration B2B implements ebMS 1.0 and 2.0 and uses the HTTP, HTTPS, and Email transport protocols and the SOAP packaging protocol. The ebMS protocol supports correlation between documents. OracleAS Integration B2B also supports XMLDSig, XML Encrypt, and gZip-based compression for large documents. ebMS interoperability is certified.

3.4 Process Protocols

The process protocol defines how documents are exchanged. OracleAS Integration B2B supports complex processes such the RosettaNet PIP or simple processes, such as exchanging a single EDI business action. OracleAS Integration B2B provides the B2B process protocol, which is included with all business protocols supported in OracleAS Integration B2B. The B2B process protocol defines the business actions (for EDI or Custom Document business protocols) and the collaborations (for the RosettaNet over RNIF business protocol) that are associated with specific document types.

See the following for more information:

• Figure 8-7, "Process Protocol Management Tasks for any EDI, HL7, or Custom Document Business Protocol" for an example of business actions defined for the B2B process protocol

• Figure 8-8, "Process Protocol Management Tasks for the RosettaNet over RNIF Business Protocol" for an example of collaborations defined for the B2B process protocol

3.4.1 PIPs

A PIP is an XML-based dialog that defines the business processes between trading partners. It defines the structure, sequence of steps, roles (buyer and seller) activities, data elements, values, and value types for each business document message exchanged between trading partners.

PIPs bundle the steps of the business process together. You can see this in "Tutorial 1: Setting Up a RosettaNet over the Internet Transaction", in which only a few steps are needed to associate the buyer and seller (trading partners) with the 3A4 collaboration.

Using PIP 3A4 as an example, you can see how a PIP defines a dialog between trading partners, as shown in Figure 3-2. The figure shows how the PIP 3A4 messages are exchanged between buyer and seller.

Figure 3-2 PIP 3A4 Message Exchange

Description of "Figure 3-2 PIP 3A4 Message Exchange"

A PIP sequence combines a cluster, segment, and type. The PIP sequence 3A4, for example, encodes the information shown in Table 3-7.

Table 3-7 PIP 3A4 Breakdown

Element	Description
3	Order manage cluster, which lets trading partners: Order catalog products Create custom orders Manage product distribution and delivery Support product returns and financial transactions
3A	Quote and order entry segment
3A4	Specific PIP type, which supports: Submittal of a purchase order by a buyer Submittal of an acceptance purchase order by a seller Ability of a buyer to cancel or change a purchase order based on the acknowledgment response

See the following for more information:

• Table 3-2 for a list of PIPs supported in OracleAS Integration B2B

• http://www.rosettanet.org for a complete list of PIP clusters and segments

3.5 Business Protocols

OracleAS Integration B2B provides business protocols, which bundle common message exchange options. The business protocols capture combinations needed to integrate typical B2B scenarios. Each business protocol combines a document protocol, an exchange protocol, and the B2B process protocol. OracleAS Integration B2B provides the following business protocols:

• Custom Document over Generic Exchange

• Custom Document over Internet

• Custom Document over MLLP Exchange

• Custom Document over ebMS

• EDI EDIFACT over Generic Exchange

• EDI EDIFACT over Internet

• EDI X12 over Generic Exchange

• EDI X12 over Internet

• HL7 over Generic Exchange

• HL7 over MLLP Exchange

• RosettaNet over RNIF

You can see this list by clicking Partners, then Protocols.

The business protocols are flexible. After you select a business protocol, you have choices as you define the operational capability and communication capabilities of the business protocol of the remote trading partner and the communication capabilities of the host trading partner.

See "Business Protocol Management Overview"

3.5.1 Mix and Match Protocols

OracleAS Integration B2B is flexible in how you mix and match protocols (described in Table 3-1) and in allowing you to create your own custom documents. For example, you can create the following:

• A custom XML document sent over HTTP or SMTP, with encryption and compression options

• An EDI transaction set sent using FTP, with encryption

• An EDI X12 transaction set sent over AS2, with signing, compression, and encryption options

• A RosettaNet document sent over RNIF 1.1 or RNIF 2.0, with signing

• A UCCnet document sent over AS2

See Chapter 8, "Managing Business Protocols" for the options that are available as you create business actions and collaborations for a business protocol.

3.6 Summary

This chapter describes the support OracleAS Integration B2B offers for standard B2B protocols such as RosettaNet, EDI X12, EDI EDIFACT, HL7, AS2, and UCCnet. The document, exchange, and process protocols are described, as well as the business protocol, which is a combination of the protocols. It also describes options for using Custom Documents to mix and match protocols.