Import Service

How the Import Service Works

The Import service exercises the same functionality as the Import Resources option in the Resource Manager, with one exception—the service has no user interaction, so the service does not ask for confirmation of options. When using the Import service, all available resources are imported, and all imported versions are set as the defaults, where applicable.

You create a security context for an installable bundle, which can prevent unauthorized users from creating or updating resources.

The Import service works with the Security Context utility in the application. The utility is called securityContext.sh (for Unix) or securityContext.cmd (for Windows). It is located in the bin directory of your Sterling B2B Integrator installation.

For more information about creating a security context, see Using the Security Context Utility.

Implementing the Import Service

Configuring the Import Service Configuration

To configure the Import service, you must specify settings for the following fields in Sterling B2B Integrator:

Output from Business Process to Service

The following table describes the output from the business process to the Import service:

Using the Security Context Utility

There are three actions you can perform with the security context command: list, get, and set. The security context command file is located in the bin directory of your Sterling B2B Integrator installation.

Example

In the following example, the Kimata company's system administrator, Jill, creates a security context called MaxxMart for an exported resource bundle just received from their trading partner, MaxxMart. Jill sets the identity for this context to dec19 (date it was received from the trading partner). MaxxMart also sent Jill the passphrase that they created for the resource bundle: bubblegum.

install_dir\bin>securityContext.sh set MaxxMart dec19 bubblegum

In the second example, Jill wants to find out what security contexts are on her Sterling B2B Integrator system, and uses the list_context action to find out. There are three contexts on the system: MaxxMart, Taylor, and Zapf.

install_dir\bin>securityContext.sh list_context 
Contexts: 
MaxxMart,Taylor,Zapf

In the third example, Jill wants to know what the passphrase is for the security context named Taylor that has an identity of jan20. She uses the get action and finds that the passphrase is thunder.

install_dir\bin>securityContext.sh get Taylor jan20 
Taylor,jan20,thunder

Business Process Example 1

The following example illustrates using the Import service in a business process to import a resource file called dec19 from Company_x:

<process name="ImportService"> 
  <sequence> 
    <operation> 
      <participant name="ImportService"/> 
      <output message="Xout"> 
         <assign to="Context">company_x</assign> 
         <assign to="Identity">dec19</assign>  
        	<assign to="." from="*"></assign> 
      </output> 
      <input message="Xin"> 
        	<assign to="." from="*"></assign> 
      </input> 
    </operation> 
  </sequence> 
</process> 

Business Process Example 2

The following example illustrates using the Import service in a business process to import a resource file called april1 from RomansFloorsAndMore, using the Keep Existing Control Numbers option (specifying that for existing envelopes and control numbers, control number values in the import file will not be imported, and i)f a version of an envelope or control number being imported already exists in the system, the import process will overwrite the value specified in the import file with the existing control number value for that envelope or control number:

<process name="ImportServiceWithKeepExistingControlNumbers"> 
<sequence> 
    <operation> 
      <participant name="ImportService"/> 
      <output message="Xout"> 
	<assign     to="Context">RomansFloorsAndMore</assign> 
	<assign to="Identity">april1</assign>
	<assign to="KeepExistingControlNumbers">True</assign>
	<assign to="." from="*"></assign> 
      </output> 
      <input message="Xin"> 
        	<assign to="." from="*"></assign> 
      </input> 
    </operation> 
  </sequence> 
</process> 

Viewing the Import Service Status Report

Once you have imported resources using the Import service in a business process, it is a good idea to check that all resources were imported successfully. Also, you may need to use the report for troubleshooting if the service and business process fail. You can view the status report from the Business Process Detail page.

The following is a sample status report for an import bundle. There is one error for a resource that could not be imported (transport account password):

Name: UpdateTPInfo     Instance ID:1053     Service Name: 
  Import Service Status report on 2004-03-12 14:45:19.16 for service: 
  Import Packaging :: packaging_1079119091618 :: update :: SUCCESS :: 
Resource successfully imported. 
Identity :: MaxxMart :: update :: SUCCESS :: Resource successfully imported. 
Transport :: HTTP Transport :: create :: Message :: Error decrypting 
transport
account password...value will be stored as it was in import file. 
Transport :: HTTP Transport :: update :: SUCCESS :: Resource successfully 
imported. 
Document Exchange :: MaxxMart Doc
Exchange :: update :: SUCCESS :: Resource successfully imported. 
Delivery Channel :: ABCD :: update :: SUCCESS :: Resource successfully imported. 
Profile :: MaxxMart1 :: update :: SUCCESS :: Resource successfully imported. 
End of report 
ImportService stayed in queue 7  ms