Overview

You use Enterprise Designer to set up the following:

• Environments containing external servers, such as for Oracle and LDAP (required) and whichever transport protocols you use (File, BatchFTP, HTTP, and so forth).

• One or more B2B Hosts configured with attribute definitions (metadata).

• B2B Host projects, where each B2B Host is mapped to an Environment and built. Building a B2B Host project accomplishes two things:

  • Populates the LDAP database with metadata for the B2B Host.

  • Creates an eXchangeService that communicates with the Oracle database. The eXchangeService is itself used to connect with key business processes (BPs) and Java Collaborations (JCDs).

• GUI projects — ePM and Tracker:

  • Building and deploying the ePM project creates an application, eXchange Partner Manager (ePM), that allows trading partner information to be viewing and updated via the Web.

  • Building and deploying the Tracker project creates another application (Message Tracker) that allows message data to be retained, retrieved, filtered, and viewed via the Web.

• Error-handling projects:

  Building and deploying the Sub_DLQ and Sub_ProcErrors projects is optional, but recommended. They take undeliverable messages (both “dead-letter” messages that cannot be parsed as well as poorly formed messages that do parse, but with errors) and write them into files for easy access and review.

• Deployment projects:

  Building and deploying a Deployment project connects the logic of your own business rules with the BPs and JCDs that constitute the core services of the B2B Suite (batching, delivery, error-handling, and so forth), through the mediation of the environment-specific eXchangeService.

Transaction Profiles

eXchange Integrator centers around the concept of a transaction profile for each trading partner relationship. Transaction profile information is stored on an LDAP-compliant directory server (usually called an LDAP server) through the following workflow:

• Metadata for a transaction profile is defined in Enterprise Designer in the B2B Host.

• Connecting the B2B Host to LDAP and building the B2B Host creates an eXchangeService and causes the metadata to be stored on LDAP.

• Connecting the ePM GUI application to LDAP and building/deploying the application allows eXchange Partner Manager (ePM) to communicate with LDAP.

• Values are eventually supplied using the eXchange Partner Manager (ePM) GUI, and activation of the trading partner produces transaction profiles stored on LDAP.

Using Enterprise Designer

You use Enterprise Designer to set up the B2B Host, connect it to LDAP, and build it. The B2B Host includes one or more sets of attribute definitions for protocol-related and transport parameters:

• Business protocol attribute definitions (BPADs) that contain business and enveloping attribute definitions (BADs and EADs).

• Delivery protocol attribute definitions (DPADs) contain messaging and packaging attribute definitions (MADs and PADs).

• Transport attribute definitions are called TADs.

The business protocol manager applications available for eXchange Integrator, such as X12 or HIPAA, come equipped with prebuilt BPADs. You can also create your own BPADs for custom business protocols. Similarly for transport: You can use either the standard TADs supplied with eXchange Integrator (HTTP, FTP, ...) or create custom ones that you set up yourself.

After the B2B Host is set up with all its attribute definitions, a connectivity map is created to connect it to an LDAP server that is also connected to the ePM GUI. In the same connectivity map, the B2B Host is connected to an Oracle Server that is also connected to a Message Tracker application. Building the connectivity map causes the metadata to be stored on the LDAP server, and also creates an external, an eXchange Service, in the same Environment that contains the Oracle and LDAP externals.

For business logic, many prebuilt business processes BPs are supplied with eXchange Integrator to handle such B2B functions as batching, tracking, and dialogs. All of these BPs can be customized if you want. In addition, the eXchange Protocol Designer can be used to design and configure custom BPs that you create.

BPs for inbound and/or outbound messages are dragged into a connectivity map, where they are represented as services. There, they are connected in usual fashion with externals (including the eXchangeService) and with other services. Activation of a corresponding Deployment Profile exposes the connectivity map’s components for processing by Logical Hosts. All information is stored to LDAP, thus making it available for viewing or modification by ePM.

B2B Host Procedures

The chapter provides information on the following procedures:

• Steps for creating a B2B Host and populating it with attribute definitions.

• Steps for configuring the external systems in the environment, including the B2B Configurator.

• Optional steps for creating and configuring custom attribute definitions.

• Steps for building a B2B Host connected to an LDAP external and an Oracle external, thus creating the eXchangeService.

• Steps for building and deploying projects for the GUI and for error-handling.