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Administering B2B

Basic Configuration Tasks

This section provides an overview of the tasks and procedures required to configure BEA WebLogic Integration for trading exchange, supply chain management, and collaborative commerce applications. It includes the following topics:

- Overview of WebLogic Integration B2B Console

- Getting Help

- Configuring the B2B Engine

- Configuring Trading Partners

- Configuring Conversation Definitions

- Configuring Collaboration Agreements

The detailed information required to perform the tasks outlined in this section is provided in the B2B Console online help. For information about accessing the help, see Getting Help.

For example configuration scenarios, see Configuration Requirements.

Advanced features, such as configuring extended properties for a trading partner, configuring logic plug-ins, and using XPath expressions to control the flow of XOCP business messages, are discussed in Advanced Configuration Tasks.

Overview of WebLogic Integration B2B Console

The WebLogic Integration B2B Console is used to:

- Configure B2B engine preferences, security, and proxy settings

- Configure trading partners, conversation definitions, collaboration agreements, business protocol definitions, and logic plug-ins

- Export and import the entire repository or a selected subset of its elements

- Monitor the B2B engine, trading partner sessions, conversations, and collaboration agreements

Once you have started WebLogic Integration as described in Getting Started in Starting, Stopping, and Customizing BEA WebLogic Integration, you can access the B2B Console by navigating to the following URL:

http://host:7001/b2bconsole

Here host is the computer name or IP address of the system that is running WebLogic Integration, and 7001 is the WebLogic Server listen port configured for the domain. Specify localhost or 127.0.0.1 if the server is running on the local computer.

The B2B Console home page is displayed as shown in the following figure.

Figure 2-1 WebLogic Integration B2B Console

Like the navigation tree in the WebLogic Server Administration Console, the navigation tree in the left pane of the B2B Console contains a list of B2B Console pages with links that let you open those pages in the right pane.

The items displayed in the navigation tree and the tabs available on specific B2B Console pages are controlled by the following options on the Preferences tab:

- Display advanced configuration controls
  By default, the Display advanced configuration controls option is disabled on the B2B Preferences tab. When this option is selected, logic plug-ins are displayed in the navigation tree, and the Advanced tab is displayed when a trading partner is selected. Advanced features are discussed in Advanced Configuration Tasks.

- Display entities on the navigation tree
  By default, the Display entities on the navigation tree option is not selected on the B2B Preferences tab. When this option is selected, the entities defined for your application (including trading partners, conversation definitions, collaboration agreements, business protocols, and logic plug-ins) are available for selection from the navigation tree, as shown in the following figure.

For information about these options, see "Setting Preferences" in the Online Help for the WebLogic Integration B2B Console.

Figure 2-2 Navigation Tree

The B2B Console navigation tree and the pages available from it are summarized in the following figures.

Figure 2-3 WebLogic Integration B2B Console

Figure 2-4 WebLogic Integration B2B Console

Getting Help

You can get context-sensitive help at any time by clicking the question mark in the upper right corner of any B2B Console page, as shown in the following figure.

Figure 2-5 Getting Help

The Online Help for the WebLogic Integration B2B Console document is also included in the WebLogic Integration product documentation.

Configuring the B2B Engine

When you select B2B from the navigation tree, the B2B engine page is displayed. This page, in turn, displays a set of three tabs (Configuration, Monitoring, and Notes), each of which offers a set of nested tabs. These tabs enable you to do the following tasks:

- Configuration tab—View or modify the B2B engine configuration in various ways, including by importing or exporting configured trading partners, conversation definitions, collaboration agreements, logic plug-ins, business protocols, and repository data

- Monitoring tab—Track the progress of the B2B engine, and shut down or restart it

- Notes—Add information specific to your B2B engine

When you first access the B2B engine page, the Configuration tab is displayed with the nested General tab selected, as shown in the following figure.

Figure 2-6 Configuration Tab in the B2B Engine Page

Using the nested tabs accessed from the Configuration tab, you can set parameters for the following items:

- General attributes—This tab allows you add a description to the B2B engine, and to set parameters related to large message support.

- Security—This tab allows you to define basic security for the B2B engine.

- Proxy—This tab allows you to define a proxy server.

- Import—This tab allows you to import B2B configuration data from an XML file.

- Export—This tab allows you to specify the parameters of an export.

- Preferences—This tab allows you to specify the default character set for data entered through the B2B Console. For additional information about using alternate character sets, see "Using an Alternate Character Set" in Customizing WebLogic Integration in Starting, Stopping, and Customizing BEA WebLogic Integration.

The detailed information required for these configuration tasks is provided in the B2B Console online help. See Getting Help.

Note: Certain constraints apply to the modification of some B2B engine parameters. See Update Considerations, before making changes to your configuration.

Configuring Trading Partners

If the individual trading partner that you want to configure is listed in the navigation tree, you can invoke the configuration page for it by selecting its name in the tree. If a list of available trading partners is not displayed in the navigation tree, select the Trading Partners node.

When you select the Trading Partners node from the navigation tree, the Trading Partners page is displayed in the right pane. This page shows a list of the currently defined trading partners, along with options for selecting, searching for, or removing an existing trading partner, and creating a new one.

Figure 2-7 Trading Partners Page

When you select either Create a new Trading Partner or an existing trading partner, a configuration page for the specified trading partner is displayed. The first time you access this page for the specified trading partner, the Configuration tab is displayed with the nested General tab selected.

Figure 2-8 Individual Trading Partner Page

The tabs on this page allow you to:

- View or modify the trading partner configuration

- Monitor the trading partner sessions and delivery channels

- Add notes to the trading partner configuration

- Perform advanced configuration tasks:

- Associate XPath expressions with the trading partner to control the flow of business messages

- Define extended properties required by your application or used in XPath expressions

Note: As noted in Figure 2-4, the Advanced tab is displayed only if the Display advanced configuration controls option is selected on the B2B Preferences tab. For a discussion of these advanced features, see Advanced Configuration Tasks.

Configuring a trading partner involves setting parameters for the following items:

- Basic identifying information

- Trading partner party IDs

- Trading partner security certificates

- Trading partner document exchanges

- Trading partner transports

- Trading partner delivery channels

The detailed information required for these configuration tasks is provided in the B2B Console online help. See Getting Help.

Note: Certain constraints apply to the modification of some trading partner parameters. See Update Considerations, before making changes to your configuration.

Note About Adding or Importing Trading Partners

In general, it is not necessary to shut down and restart either the B2B engine or WebLogic Server when you add or import trading partners. You must shut down the B2B engine and WebLogic Server, however, under the following circumstances:

- You are importing a complete B2B configuration.

- The trading partner is using WebLogic Integration - Business Connect and SSL with self-signed certificates.

- The trading partner is using SSL certificates with a Certificate Authority that is not already have configured as a trusted Certificate Authority. In this situation, you need to reconfigure WebLogic Server to add the new trusted Certificate Authority and then restart both WebLogic Server and the B2B engine.

Configuring Conversation Definitions

If the individual conversation definition that you want to configure is listed in the navigation tree, you can invoke the configuration page for it by selecting its name in the tree. If a list of available conversation definitions is not displayed in the navigation tree, select the Conversation node.

When you select the Conversation node from the navigation tree, the Conversations page is displayed in the right pane. This page shows a list of the currently defined conversations, along with options for selecting, searching for, or removing an existing conversation, and creating a new one.

Figure 2-9 Conversations Page

When you select either Create a new Conversation Definition or an existing conversation definition, a configuration page for the specified conversation definition is displayed. The first time you access this page for a specified conversation definition, the Configuration tab is displayed with the nested General tab selected.

Figure 2-10 Individual Conversation Definition Page

The tabs on this page allow you to:

- View or modify the conversation definition configuration

- Monitor conversations

- Add notes to the conversation definition configuration

Configuring a conversation definition involves the following tasks:

- Configuring basic identifying information

- Defining the conversation roles, and assigning a business process management (BPM) workflow template and organization to the role

The detailed information required for these configuration tasks is provided in the B2B Console online help. See Getting Help.

Note: Certain constraints apply to the modification of some conversation definition parameters. See Update Considerations, before making changes to your configuration.

Configuring Collaboration Agreements

If the individual collaboration agreement that you want to configure is listed in the navigation tree, you can invoke the configuration page for it by selecting its name in the tree. If a list of available collaboration agreements is not displayed in the navigation tree, select the Collaboration Agreements node.

When you select the Collaboration Agreements node from the navigation tree, the Collaboration Agreement page is displayed in the right pane. This page shows a list of the currently defined configuration agreements, along with options for selecting, searching for, or removing an existing collaboration agreement, and creating a new one.

Figure 2-11 Collaboration Agreements Page

When you select either Create a new Collaboration Agreement or an existing collaboration agreement, a configuration page for the specified configuration agreement is displayed. The first time you access this page for the specified trading partner, the Configuration tab is displayed with the nested General tab selected.

Figure 2-12 Individual Collaboration Agreement Page

The tabs on this page allow you to:

- View or modify the collaboration agreement configuration

- Add notes to the collaboration agreement configuration

Configuring a collaboration agreement involves defining the following:

- Basic identifying information

- Collaboration agreement parties

The detailed information required for these configuration tasks is provided in the B2B Console online help. See Getting Help.

Note: Certain constraints apply to the modification of some collaboration agreement parameters. See Update Considerations, before making changes to your configuration.