This topic is related to the Base EDI adapter, which has been deprecated in BizTalk Server 2006 R2. The Base EDI adapter can be used in upgrade scenarios, but for new installations of BizTalk Server 2006 R2, use the native EDI and AS2 functionality. For more information, see BizTalk Server 2006 R2 EDI and AS2 Processing.
The Base EDI adapter consists of the send and receive handlers and the EDI subsystem. This adapter is unique among the BizTalk Server 2006 integrated adapters in that it is the only integrated adapter that is not designed to deliver documents to or from a system by using a particular delivery mechanism. All of the other BizTalk Server integrated adapters facilitate document transfer between BizTalk Server and other systems by using a delivery mechanism such as e-mail, the Windows file system, or Message Queuing. The Base EDI adapter is designed to facilitate only the processing of documents that use the EDI format.
What the Base EDI Adapter Provides
Many companies have made substantial investments in EDI over a period of years. Maintaining an EDI solution, however, can create problems such as:
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Value-added networks (VANs) are expensive to use for communication, but there is no viable alternative.
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Providers charge high maintenance fees.
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Existing EDI suppliers may stop supporting the software due to mergers, takeovers, closures, and so on.
The BizTalk Server 2006 Base EDI adapter has been developed to address these problems by providing the following:
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The ability to migrate from VANs to more cost-effective solutions such as AS2, which enables you to send encrypted data to your trading partner using HTTP
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Full support from Microsoft
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Full auditing and tracking in one place for all messaging and monitoring
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Interoperability with an unlimited number of trading partners
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Comprehensive repository of EDI document standards
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Automated parsing and serializing between EDI and XML
Supported EDI Standards
The Base EDI adapter supports the two most widely implemented EDI standards: X-12 and EDIFACT.
X-12 Standard
The X-12 standard is a messaging standard developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). ANSI X-12 is mainly used within the United States. An ANSI X-12 document is structured, so that it must always contain the following segments:
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ISA segment
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GS segment
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ST segment
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SE segment
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GE segment
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IEA segment
The ANSI releases several new editions of the X-12 standard each year.
EDIFACT Standard
EDIFACT stands for Electronic Data Interchange for Administrative Commerce and Transport. EDIFACT is a world-wide EDI standard that has been defined by the United Nations. EDIFACT, or its derivatives, is the mostly widely implemented EDI standard in the world.
An EDIFACT document is structured, so that it must always contain the following segments:
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UNA segment
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UNB segment
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UNG segment
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UNH segment
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UNT segment
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UNE segment
The United Nations releases several new editions of the EDIFACT standard each year. For information about EDIFACT standards supported by BizTalk Server 2006, see Supported EDIFACT Standards.
How the Base EDI Adapter Works with BizTalk Server
The following diagram illustrates the relationship between BizTalk Server and the Base EDI adapter.
Document Flow Through BizTalk Server
This section provides examples of the flow of a document through BizTalk Server and the EDI subsystem using three different scenarios: Inbound EDI to Outbound EDI, Inbound XML to Outbound EDI, and Inbound EDI to Outbound XML.
Inbound EDI to Outbound EDI
The following steps describe the flow of an inbound EDI document to an outbound EDI document:
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An EDI document is dropped into the folder monitored by the Base EDI adapter. The default location for this folder is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\BizTalk Server 2006\EDI\Subsystem\Documents\PickupEDI\. You can configure this location in the EDI adapter receive handler connector properties.
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The EDI subsystem picks up the document and parses it to determine the sender and receiver and to verify the syntax of the document type:
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For an X12 document, the sender and receiver URI values are read from the ISA elements of the inbound document. The sender is defined in the ISA05, ISA06, and GS02 elements. The receiver is defined in the ISA07, ISA08, and GS03 elements.
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These values are compared to the list of EDI URI values for the parties that have been created in the BizTalk Server Administration console.
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After the sender, receiver, and document type are verified, the EDI subsystem processes the document and translates it to XML. Then the EDI receive handler persists the document to the BizTalk MessageBox database. If no match is found for the sender and receiver, or if the document syntax is invalid, the EDI subsystem suspends the document.
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The BizTalk send ports that are associated with the receiving party subscribe to the document and pick up the document for outbound processing.
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A send port that processes the document uses a Transport Type of EDI, which is how the document is routed back to the EDI subsystem for processing.
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After the EDI subsystem processes the document, it sends the document to the location specified in the file system parameters for the send port.
Inbound XML to Outbound EDI
The following steps describe the flow of an inbound XML document to an outbound EDI document:
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An XML document is dropped into a location that is monitored by a receive location.
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The document is picked up by the receive location. The receive location is tied to a receive port.
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The document is persisted to the BizTalk MessageBox database and the subscribing send port picks up the document.
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The send port that processes the document uses a Transport Type of EDI, which is how the document is routed to the EDI subsystem for processing.
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After the EDI subsystem processes the document, it sends the document to the location specified in the file system parameters for the send port.
Inbound EDI to Outbound XML
The following steps describe the flow on an inbound EDI document to an outbound XML document:
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An EDI document is dropped into the folder monitored by the Base EDI adapter. The default location for this folder is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\BizTalk Server 2006\EDI\Subsystem\Documents\PickupEDI\. You can configure this location in the EDI adapter receive handler connector properties.
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The EDI subsystem picks up the document and parses it to determine the sender and receiver and to verify the syntax of the document type:
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For an X12 document, the sender and receiver URI values are read from the ISA elements of the inbound document. The sender is defined in the ISA05, ISA06, and GS02 elements. The receiver is defined in the ISA07, ISA08, and GS03 elements.
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These values are compared to the list of EDI URI values for the parties that have been created in the BizTalk Server Administration console.
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After the sender, receiver, and document type are verified, the EDI subsystem processes the document and translates it to XML. Then the EDI receive handler persists the document to the BizTalk MessageBox database. If no match is found for the sender and receiver, or if the document syntax is invalid, then the EDI subsystem suspends the document.
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The BizTalk send ports that are associated with the receiving party subscribe to the document and pick it up for outbound processing.
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A BizTalk send port processes the document and hands it off to the transport that it is configured to use. For outbound XML the send port uses the XMLTransmit pipeline.
See Also