IBM Information Exchange FTP (IBM IE FTP) Adapter

The IBM Information Exchange FTP adapter sends and collects documents from the IBM EDI services mailbox by using a TCP/IP FTP gateway.

The following table provides an overview of the IBM Information Exchange FTP (IBM IE FTP) adapter, which is used to communicate with the IBM Information Exchange network:

System name	IBM IE FTP adapter
Graphical Process Modeler (GPM) category	All Services
Description	The IBM IE FTP adapter is used to send and collect documents from the IBM EDI services mailbox using a TCP/IP FTP gateway.
Business usage	Used to exchange documents with a trading partner's IBM EDI services mailbox.
Usage example	An internal service invokes a business process that sends a trading document to a trading partner mailbox in the IBM VAN.
Preconfigured?	No
Requires third-party files?	None
Platform availability	All supported Sterling B2B Integrator platforms
Related adapters	FTP Client Adapter
Application requirements	None
Initiates business processes?	Yes, this adapter will initiate another business process in COLLECT mode.
Invocation	This adapter can be invoked by an internal service only.
Business process context considerations	You must be familiar with the internal service (workflow and business process parameters) that invoked this adapter. Workflow parameters are those values that were passed into the internal service. Business process parameters are those values specified within the business process code.
Returned status values	Returned status values: 0 – Success 1– Error
Restrictions	None
Persistence level	System default (Full)
Testing considerations	Create a test configuration of the adapter and create a business process to test with. See Business Process Example. The most frequent problems encountered are: Parameters are configured incorrectly. Adapter is not active. Response timeout. The IBM server may not always return the status code of the submission before the adapter timeout value is reached. When this happens, the business process is halted and a response timeout message is written to the Advanced Status. This may not mean that the submission has failed, however, because the IBM Server would have processed all the documents and sent them to their respective mailboxes before attempting to send back the response. When writing an On Error script, have the script check for the error message before deciding on whether to retry the submission. Also, set a long timeout value. Or, if possible, check with the trading partner to see if the document has been received.

Implementing the IBM IE FTP Adapter

To implement the IBM IE FTP adapter, complete the following tasks:

Activate your license for the IBM IE FTP adapter. See An Overview of Implementing Services.
Create an IBM IE FTP adapter configuration. See Creating a Service Configuration.
Configure the adapter. See Configuring the IBM IE FTP Adapter.
Create a business process that includes the IBM IE FTP adapter and enable it.
Test the business process and the adapter.
Run the business process.

Configuring the IBM IE FTP Adapter

To configure the IBM IE FTP adapter, you must specify field settings in Sterling B2B Integrator.

Sterling B2B Integrator Configuration

The following table describes the fields used to configure the IBM IE FTP adapter in Sterling B2B Integrator:

Field	Description
Name	Unique and meaningful name for the adapter configuration. Required.
Description	Meaningful description for the adapter configuration, for reference purposes. Required.
Select a Group	Group of services or adapters of the same type that can act as peers. A Service Group name is used in BPML in place of the Service Configuration name. Service Groups show up in the GPM as if they were Service Configurations. Select a Service Group to associate with this adapter. Valid values are: None – You do not want to include this configuration in a group at this time (default) Create New Group – You can enter a name for a new group in this field, which is then created along with this configuration. Select Group – If you have already created one or more groups for this service type, they are displayed in the list. Select a group from the list. See Using Service Groups.
Default IBM IE FTP Server	The host information for IBM IE FTP server. Valid value is a hostname or IP address. Default is myhost. Required.
Default IBM IE FTP Server Port	Port number of the IBM IE FTP server. This is typically port number 21, but it can be another number depending on the FTP server settings. Default is 21. Required.
User Name	User login name to connect to the IBM IE FTP server. Alphanumeric and case-sensitive. Default is euser. Required.
Password	Password used for authentication when connecting to the IBM IE FTP server. Case-sensitive. Default is ******. Required.
SMIME Encryption User Certificate	Not in use
SMIME Decryption Certificate (System Store):	Not in use
SSL	The SSL flag that determines SSL socket negotiation. Valid values are: SSL_IMPLICIT – Indicates that the FTP server expects and requires SSL to happen automatically at the time of connection. SSL_EXPLICIT – Indicates that the FTP client requests SSL and a secure connection is negotiated. SSL_NONE – Indicates that the connection will not use SSL. Required.
Clear Control Channel	Indicates if information that travels across the control channel should be clear. Valid values are Yes and No. Default is No. Required.
Key Certificate Passphrase	Not in use.
Cipher Strength	The level of encryption you would like to be applied to the data that flows through the socket connection. Valid values are: ALL WEAK STRONG (default) Optional.
Key Certificate (System Store)	Select from the list of PrivateKeys/Public Certificates that are signed by the trading partner trusted certificate authority. In process data, this parameter is displayed as an object ID. Required for client authentication.
CA Certificates	Select from the list of trusted certificate authority public certificates. In process data, this parameter is displayed as an object ID. Required for server authentication.
Select the operation	Specifies the type of operation to perform. Valid values are: COLLECT (default) SUBMIT Required.
Trading Partner	Specifies the trading partner mailbox to collect. Default is account.userid. Required for COLLECT.
Message Class	Specifies the message class to collect. Default is text. Required for COLLECT.
Business Process	Specifies the business process to invoke. Required for COLLECT.
Schedule Settings	Enables you to set up a schedule. Supporting scheduling options are presented based on the value specified here. Valid values are: Do not use schedule Run based on timer (default) Run daily Run based on day(s) of the week Run based on day(s) of the month Required for COLLECT.
Select the message type	Specifies the message type to send. If you select SUBMIT for the type of operation, you will be presented with this option. Valid values are: EDI message (default) Non-EDI message Required for SUBMIT.
Select the alias table type	Specifies the alias table type. If you select EDI for the message type, this field is displayed. You define the alias table to resolve EDI addresses. Valid values are: Private alias table – can only be accessed by the user (default). Global alias table – can be accessed by all users in the system. Organizational alias table – can be accessed by all users within the same organization. Required for SUBMIT EDI message.
Alias table name	Specifies the alias table name. Default is tablename. Required for SUBMIT EDI message.

Business Process Example

The following business process example illustrates how you can invoke an IBM IE FTP adapter configuration:

<process name="Test_bpml"> 
  <sequence name="optional"> 
    <operation name="Invoke an instance of IBM IE FTP adapter "> 
      <participant name="IBM_IE_FTP_adapter"/> 
       <output message="Xout"> 
        <assign to="." from="*"></assign> 
      </output> 
      <input message="Xin"> 
        <assign to="." from="*"></assign> 
      </input> 
    </operation> 
  </sequence> 
</process>