EFT Server provides an AS2 Partner Access wizard to assist you in configuring the AS2 outbound and inbound connections. This wizard is accessible from the AS2 Inbound and AS2 Outbound partner configuration tabs and the AS2 Send File to host Action dialog box (in Event Rules). Once completed, the data in the wizard populates the relevant fields on the AS2 Outbound and AS2 Inbound tab and the AS2 Send File to host Action dialog box. The procedures below describe how to use the wizard to configure outbound and inbound AS2 partners. You can also configure the account manually on the AS2 Inbound and AS2 Outbound tabs for each partner.
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If you plan to execute a command
upon success or failure of AS2 transactions, define
the command before configuring your partner access; or you can
go back later and edit the AS2 partner manually after you have defined
the command. |
To configure outbound AS2 partners using the wizard
In EFT Administrator, connect to EFT Server and click the Server tab.
Do one of the following:
In an Event Rule, after adding the AS2 send file to host action to a Rule, click select. The AS2 Send File dialog box appears.
In the left pane, click the user account that you want to configure, then in the right pane, click the AS2 Outbound tab.
Click Setup Wizard. The AS2 Partner Access Wizard appears.
Click Next. The partner's connection information page appears.
Specify the partner's AS2 connection information provided to you by your partner. (Some large organizations post their AS2 connection information online, such as the Vendor Directory at http://www.ec-bp.biz/joomla/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,100/.)
In the AS2 host address or domain area, specify the following connection information:
protocol (http or https)
host address or domain
port
In the AS2 remote path area, specify the remote inbox or mailbox and provide the Username and Password to access the inbox/mailbox.
If you will connect to the partner through a proxy, click Proxy to define the proxy's connection information.
Click Next. The partner AS2 certificates page appears.
In the Your AS2 certificate public key box, the certificate that you specified when you created the Site appears. It is not editable in this wizard, but you can edit it on the Site's Connection Options tab.
In the Your partner's AS2 certificate public key box,
type the path or click the open icon 
to select your partner's public key file.
Click Next. The AS2 identifier page appears.
In the Your AS2 ID box, your globally defined ID appears. You can keep this default or define a different ID for this partner.
In the Your partner’s AS2 ID box, specify this partner's ID.
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AS2-From and AS2-To form a pair for identifying the sending and receiving partnership. That is, they form a composite key for identifying the parties involved in the data exchange. |
(Optional) In the Message Subject box, specify the text that is to appear in the subject line of AS2 messages to/from this partner.
In the Content type box, click the down arrow to specify the type of messages to be sent to/from this partner.
Application
EDIFACT
XML
Mutually defined EDI
Binary (default)- e.g., executables, word processing files, database, spreadsheet, and multimedia files
Plaintext - e.g., text and HTML files
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For information about the various content types, refer to RFC 2046 at http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2046.txt. |
Click Next. The message and receipt options page appears.
In the Message option area, specify whether the AS2 message should be encrypted, signed, and/or compressed.
In the Receipt options area, click the down
arrow to specify whether to send a Signed receipt (Message Disposition
Notification (MDN)), an unsigned receipt, or no receipt.
The MDN serves as a receipt, guaranteeing the transaction was successful.
The receipt can also be signed, and you can specify whether to return
the receipt immediately (synchronous MDN) or later (asynchronous MDN)
if the remote server must post-process the message prior to acknowledging
the received data.
If you clicked Signed or Unsigned, specify whether to send the receipt in the same session (synchronous) or independently of the session (asynchronous).
Click Next. The message retry and timeout options page appears.
(Optional) EFT Server can attempt to resubmit failed messages in case of network outage or other temporary (transitive) errors. EFT Server will resend the same message, payload, and AS2 Message ID. Specify the following retry and timeout values as needed:
Message send timeout (seconds). The range is 0-600; 0 = no timeout; the default value = 60 seconds.
Message retry attempts. The range is 0-9999; (0 = no retry); the default value = 3 retries.
Delay between retries (seconds). The range is 0-9999; (0 = no wait); the default value = 30 seconds.
Asynchronous receipt timeout (minutes). The range is 0-999,999; (0 = no timeout); the default value = 7200 minutes (5 days).
Click Next. The commands and notifications page appears.
(Optional) EFT Server can execute predefined commands (such as launch a script) or send an e-mail notification upon successful or failed transactions (after all retries have been exhausted or failed to receive the MDN receipt after the specified wait time). Select one or more of the following check boxes, then click Edit to configure the e-mail notification or specify the Command to use.
Send e-mail notification on transaction success
Send e-mail notification on transaction failure
Run command on transaction success
Run command on transaction failure
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Refer to AS2 Transaction Success and Failure Notifications for more information. |
Click Next. The folder monitor page appears.
Specify the folder to monitor (i.e., the "hot folder"). As files are added to the folder, they will be transferred to the remote host.
Monitor hot folder - Browse or type the UNC path to the folder.
Select the Delete source after successful offload check box to delete the source files after the files in the hot folder are sent and the MDN is received and verified.
Specify the file extensions to include or exclude in transfers.
Include mask - Specify the file extensions to include in transfers. Leave the box blank to include any file type that is not in the Exclude mask box.
Exclude mask - Specify the file extensions to exclude from transfers. Leave the box blank to exclude any file type that is not in the Include mask box.
For example:
To allow transfer of only PDF files and no other file type, in the Include mask box, type *.PDF and leave Exclude mask blank. ("allow only PDF files and no other file types")
To prevent VBS files from being transferred, leave the Include mask box blank and type, *.vbs and in the Exclude mask box. ("allow any type of file except vbs")
AS2 Outbound partner configuration is complete. Click
Test to send a test file to the
AS2 host.
If the test fails, run the AS2 Partner
Access wizard again to verify your settings. Ensure that your partner-provided
information (AS2 ID, certificate, host info) is accurate and that your
partner has configured your account correctly on the remote server. If
necessary, refer to Troubleshooting
AS2 Connections.
The information provided in the wizard is updated in the account's AS2 Outbound tab. To make further adjustments to the partner's configuration, you can edit the AS2 Outbound tab directly.
To configure an outbound proxy for this partner, refer to Configuring an AS2 Outbound Proxy.
To configure inbound AS2 partners using the wizard
In EFT Administrator, connect to EFT Server and click the Server tab.
Do one of the following:
In an Event Rule, after adding the AS2 send file to host action to a Rule, click select. The AS2 Send File dialog box appears.
In the left pane, click the user account that you want to configure, then in the right pane, click the AS2 Outbound tab.
Click Setup Wizard. The AS2 Partner Access Wizard appears.
Click Next. The AS2 certificates page appears.
In the Your AS2 certificate public key box, the certificate that you specified when you created the Site appears. It is not editable in this wizard, but you can edit it on the Site's Connection Options tab.
In the Your partner's AS2 certificate public key box, type the path or click the browse icon to select your partner's public key file.
Click Next. The AS2 identifier page appears.
In the Your AS2 ID box, your globally defined ID appears. You can keep this ID or define a different ID for this partner. (Refer to Enabling the AS2 Inbound Listener Service for the procedure for specifying your AS2 ID.)
In the Your partner’s AS2 ID box, specify this partner's ID (provided to you by the partner that you are defining).
Click Next. The tolerance options page appears.
(Optional) When a duplicate message ID is identical in all regards to a previous message, including a duplicate payload, EFT Server will ignore it and reject the transaction. You can tell EFT Server to Accept or Reject duplicate message IDs with unique contents, unique message IDs with duplicate contents, and mismatched AS2-From or AS2-To identifiers. For each option, the default is to Reject the transaction. Specify whether to Accept or Reject messages in each of the following instances:
Duplicate Message ID with different content
Duplicate content with different Message ID
Mismatch AS2-From identifier
Mismatch AS2-To identifier
Click Next. The resend options page appears.
(Optional) Specify whether EFT Server will attempt to resend failed asynchronous MDN in case of network outage or other temporary (transitive) errors.
Message send timeout (seconds). Range: 0-600; (0 = no timeout); the default value = 60 seconds
Message retry attempts. Range: 0-999; (0 = no retry); the default value = 3 retries.
Delay between retries (seconds). Range: 0-600; (0 = no wait); the default value = 30 seconds.
Click Next. The commands and notifications page appears.
(Optional) EFT Server can run predefined commands (such as launch a script) or send an e-mail notification upon successful or failed transactions (after all retries have been exhausted or failed to receive the MDN receipt after the specified wait time). Select one or more of the following check boxes, then click Edit to configure the e-mail notification or specify the Command to use.
Send e-mail notification on transaction success
Send e-mail notification on transaction failure
Run command on transaction success
Run command on transaction failure
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Refer to AS2 Transaction Success and Failure Notifications for more information. |
Click Next. The optional post receipts page appears.
(Optional) In the Move received file(s) to path box, specify a location to move received files, including local, shared, or UNC path names. (Leave blank to not move the file.)
In the Rename file(s)
using mask box, provide a name for the file, if you want to change
it. (The variable %FS.FILE_NAME%
appears in the box by default.)
You can keep the existing filename or use EFT Server’s extensive
variable selection
to rename the file, and add pre- or post-pending dates, times, and other
information. For example, if you want to add the date and time to the
filename, you would provide the following variables in the Rename
file(s) using mask box:
%FS.FILE_NAME%_%EVENT.DATESTAMP%_%EVENT.TIMESTAMP%
Now that you have completed the AS2 inbound partner configuration wizard, you should contact your partner and ask them to connect and transfer a test file. Refer to Troubleshooting AS2 Connections for details.
The information provided in the wizard is updated in the account's AS2 Inbound tab. To make further adjustments to the partner's configuration, you can edit the AS2 Inbound tab directly.
