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Using EDI

Configuring Power.Enterprise!

This section explains how to install and configure BEA EDI Connect for WebLogic Integration (purchased separately) and the software associated with it:

- Installing BEA EDI Connect for WebLogic Integration

- Configuring Power.Enterprise!

- Configuring Trading Partners

- Mapping XML and EDI Data

- Connections and VAN Connectivity

- Configuring Exchange Profiles

Installing BEA EDI Connect for WebLogic Integration

BEA EDI Connect for WebLogic Integration, which is delivered as Power.Enterprise! software, comprises two packages that are installed separately: Power.Server! and Power.Client!. In addition, you may want to install Cleo A+ to manage VAN connectivity issues.

This section provides instructions for the following tasks:

- Getting Licenses

- Checking Installation Prerequisites

- Installing the Power.Server!

- Installing the Power.Client!

- Connecting to Get2Connect.Net

- Setting Up Asynchronous Communications

- Downloading Software Updates

- Updating EDI Document Descriptions

Getting Licenses

Regardless of how you obtain BEA EDI Connect for WebLogic Integration (purchased separately)—whether by downloading it or by installing it from a CD—you get your 30-day Power.Enterprise! 3.1 evaluation license from the BEA Web site at the following URL:

>     http://commerce.bea.com/downloads/weblogic_integration.jsp

A Power.Enterprise! production license is provided when you purchase BEA EDI Connect for WebLogic Integration. For more information, please contact your BEA sales representative.

In addition, you may download and install a 30-day trial of Cleo A+, for handling VAN connectivity. WebLogic Platform customers with current support agreements can convert their trial licenses for Cleo A+ software through BEA's Customer Support Web site:

>     http://support.bea.com/managed_content/third_party_product_support.jsp

Note: Use of this Web site requires registration.

Access to the Get2Connect.Net VAN is included with the BEA WebLogic Adapter for Power.Enterprise!. To use Get2Connect.Net, contact Peregrine Customer Support through their Web site at http://www.peregrine.com/.

Checking Installation Prerequisites

If you plan to install both Power.Server! and Power.Client! on the same machine, you must install them in separate directories:

- Power.Server! is the run-time server. Before you can install this package, your environment must meet the following prerequisites:

- Operating System: Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 SP6, Windows 2000 SP1, Sun Solaris 7, HP UX 11, or IBM AIX 4.3.3

- Java: Sun JRE/JDK 1.3 or later

- Memory: 512MB minimum, 1GB recommended

- Disk space: 100MB

- SQL Database: Power.Server! requires access to an SQL database. Power.Server! supports Oracle 8i, Microsoft SQL Server 2000, and IBM DB2 version 7.1. You must provide the hostname, connection port, database name, and login information for the database during installation.

- Power.Client! contains Power.Map! and Power.Manager!. Before you can install this package, your environment must meet the following prerequisites:

- Operating System: Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 SP4 or Windows 2000

- Java: Sun JRE/JDK 1.3 or later

- Memory: 256MB

- Disk space: 50MB

- Internet Explorer 5.0

- If your communications requirements include asynchronous connectivity, you can obtain Cleo A+ software and scripts for evaluation purposes from Cleo Communications at the following URL:

http://www.cleo.com/partnerpages/bea_trial.asp

Installing the Power.Server!

To install the Power.Server! software, you must fulfill the prerequisites listed in the previous sections of this document. For general information about installing Power.Server!, see Appendix A, Installing BEA EDI Connect for WebLogic Integration, in Installing BEA WebLogic Platform, at the following URL:

http://e-docs.bea.com/platform/docs70/install/apaedi.html

Installing the Power.Client!

To install the Power.Client! software (specifically Power.Map! and Power.Manager!), you must fulfill the prerequisites listed under Installing BEA EDI Connect for WebLogic Integration. For general information about installing the Power.Client! software, see Appendix A, "Installing BEA EDI Connect for WebLogic Integration," in Installing BEA WebLogic Platform, at the following URL:

http://e-docs.bea.com/platform/docs70/install/apaedi.html

Connecting to Get2Connect.Net

To use Get2Connect.Net, you must have the Power.Enterprise! software installed. You must also have a valid Product Serial Number (PSN) to register as a Get2Connect.Net trading partner. To get a valid PSN, contact BEA Customer Support.

Setting Up Asynchronous Communications

If your communications requirements include asynchronous connectivity, you can obtain Cleo A+ software and scripts for evaluation purposes from Cleo Communications at the following URL:

>     http://www.cleo.com/partnerpages/bea_trial.asp

Downloading Software Updates

Power.Enterprise! is designed to be updated with downloaded software patches from the BEA Customer Support Web site.

To install software patches for Power.Enterprise!:

1. From within Power.Manager! click Self Service, then click Software Update.

2. Click Step 1: Select Software. A Web browser is launched. It automatically connects to the BEA Customer Support Web page, which displayes a list of all software update files available for download. Instructions for installing these updates are included on the Web page.

Updating EDI Document Descriptions

The Power.Enterprise! product includes definitions for many standard EDI documents. BEA will also make new definition sets available through BEA Customer Support.

To install new standards downloaded from the BEA Customer Support Web site:

1. From within Power.Manager! click Self Service, then click Standards Update.

2. Click Step 1: Select Standards. A Web browser is launched. It automatically connects to the BEA Customer Support Web page, which displays a list of all EDI definition files available for download.

3. Select and download the EDI definition files that you require.

4. Put the downloaded files in the following directory:

   >     Power_Server_install_dir\downloads\metadata\

5. Stop and restart the Power.Server on which you have installed the definition file.

6. Remove the downloaded files from the following directory:

   >     Power_Server_install_dir\downloads\metadata\

7. To access document descriptions from within Power.Map!, check them out from the server.

Starting Power.Server!

This section provides instructions for:

- Starting Power.Server! on Windows

- Starting Power.Server! on UNIX

- Connecting to a Server for the First Time

Starting Power.Server! on Windows

To start Power.Server! on a Windows platform:

1. Choose Start Menu—>Programs—>Power.It—>Power.Server!.

2. Please allow ample time for the server to start: up to 10 seconds for some systems.

Starting Power.Server! on UNIX

To start Power.Server! on a UNIX platform:

1. Go to the following directory:

   >     Power_Server_Install_Dir/jre/bin

   In this pathname, Power_Server_Install_DIR is the directory in which you installed the Power.Server! software.

2. Execute the following command:

   >     rmiregistry

   The RMI Registry on Port 1099 is started.

3. Go to the following directory:

   >     Power_Server_Install_Dir/bin

4. Execute the following command:

   >     start_server.sh

   The Power.Server! software is started.

Note: You can verify that the server has started successfully by checking the contents of the Power_Server_Install_Dir/logs/powerserver.log file for the line Translation server started on date, where date reflects the date and time at which you started the server.

Connecting to a Server for the First Time

Before you can log in to Power.Manager! or Power.Map!, you must create a Power.Server! connection. Subsequently, you can use the same procedure to connect to other instances of Power.Server!. With several connections you can manage multiple instances of Power.Server! from a single console. All connection data is persistent: once you create a connection, it will be available every time you start Power.Manager!.

To create a connection:

1. Log in to Power.Manager! or Power.Map by choosing
   Start Menu—>Programs—>Power.It. Select the appropriate application. To create a server connection, Power.Server! must be running on the machine to which you want to connect.

   Figure 4-1 Power.Manager! Server Connection Dialog Box

2. Click Add to add a new Power.Server! connection.

   Figure 4-2 Power.Manager! Add New Server Dialog Box

3. Enter the Server Hostname and Server Control Port of the Power.Server! you are adding. Click Add. A list of defined instances of Power.Server! is displayed.

4. From the list of defined connections, select the instance of Power.Server! to which you want to connect. Click Connect. The Power.Manager! Server Connection dialog box is displayed.

   Figure 4-3 Power.Manager! Server Connection Dialog Box

Configuring Power.Enterprise!

Power.Enterprise! allows you to configure multiple connections to the BEA WebLogic Adapter for Power.Enterprise!. Each connection is defined as a separate RMI connection, through which data can be either sent to or received from Power.Enterprise!. All other configuration parameters required by Power.Enterprise! are designed to define trading partners, maps, external connections, and exchange profiles.

When initially configuring Power.Enterprise!, be sure to configure the following entities in the order shown:

- Trading partners

- Maps

- Connections

- Exchange profiles

Configuring Trading Partners

To use EDI Integration with WebLogic Integration, you must enter your trading partner data into both Power.Enterprise! and WebLogic Integration. No mechanism exists for moving trading partner data either to or from Power.Enterprise!. Therefore any trading partner data registered with WebLogic Integration must also be entered into Power.Enterprise!.

You must create a Power.Enterprise! trading partner profile for every trading partner involved in your transactions, including your own company.

To create a new trading partner:

1. Start Power.Manager!. A list of defined instances of Power.Server! is displayed.

2. Select the instance of Power.Server! to which you want to connect. (If no Power.Server! connections are defined, see Connecting to a Server for the First Time.) The Power.Manager!: Server Connection dialog box is displayed.

   Figure 4-4 Power.Manager! Server Connection Dialog Box

3. Click Connect. The Power.Manager! main window is displayed.

   Figure 4-5 Power.Manager!

4. To set up a trading partner's company profile, choose Partners—>Company Profiles. The Company Profiles window is displayed.

   Figure 4-6 Company Profiles List

5. Click New Company. Enter the required information about your trading partner.

For more information about creating and maintaining trading partners, see Chapter 4 of the Power.Manager! User Reference Manual.

Mapping XML and EDI Data

One of the primary goals of Power.Enterprise! is to enable you to manage the translation of messages from a standard data format into a standard EDI message format. To do so, you must create maps between the data format you have selected and the corresponding EDI message. These maps are unidirectional: they operate only in one direction. Thus, if you need to be able to translate data back and forth between a particular XML message format and a specific EDI message format, you must create two maps: one for outbound transformation (XML to EDI) and one for inbound transformation (EDI to XML).

Fortunately, creating such maps is not a difficult task. Power.Map! can understand a variety of standard document definitions, including flat files, database tables, XML, and all the major EDI formats (X12, EDIFACT, and TRADACOMS). As used within Power.Map!, a document definition is an element-by-element description of a document, its structure, and the data carried within it. Thus, you can use standard document definitions to outline your maps, then simply connect the individual data elements between two document definitions using a drag-and-drop interface.

Figure 4-7 Power.Map! Main Window

For more information about creating maps, see Power.Map! User Reference Manual.

You may work on maps without being connected to an instance of Power.Server!. If you try to use any repository commands, however, the Server Connection dialog box is displayed, requiring you to connect to a server instance so the repository command can be run. To define a server connection, see Connecting to a Server for the First Time.

At any time, you can save a copy of the map you have created on your local system. Choose File—>Save, then enter a descriptive name for the map file in the dialog box. The map is stored as a JAR file.

Before you can use a map in production, you must promote it to your server. To send a map to your server, select the Finish tab, then click Promote at the bottom of the tab. If you are not already connected to the server, you must establish a connection before you can promote the map.

Connections and VAN Connectivity

Connections define how message traffic is delivered, both into and out of the Power.Server!. Before you can use the BEA WebLogic Adapter for Power.Enterprise!, you must configure a minimum of four connections:

- Source RMI connection that receives messages from the BEA WebLogic Adapter for Power.Enterprise!

- Target RMI connection that sends messages from the Power.Server! to the BEA WebLogic Adapter for Power.Enterprise!

- Target connection that sends messages from the Power.Server! to your trading partner

- Source connection that receives messages from your trading partner

Two of these connections, the source and target RMI connections, are used to communicate with BEA WebLogic Integration. These two connections are used by all EDI transactions.

Creating RMI Connections

To set up the source and target RMI connections:

1. From within Power.Manager!, select Connections. A window in which a list of connections can be shown is displayed.

   Figure 4-8 Power.Manager! Connections List

2. Create a source RMI connection. To begin, click Add New. The Create New Connection dialog box is displayed.

   Figure 4-9 Create New Connection Dialog Box

3. Set the name to BEASource, the Transport to RMI, and the Direction to Source. Click OK. The Connection Properties dialog box is displayed.

   Figure 4-10 Inbound RMI Properties

4. Set Status to Active and Envelope Recognition BDD to XMLEnvelope. Click OK.

5. Create an outbound RMI connection. To begin, click Add New. The Create New Connection dialog box is displayed.

6. Set the name to BEATarget, the Transport to RMI, and the Direction to Target. Click OK. The Connection Properties dialog box is displayed.

   Figure 4-11 Outbound RMI Properties

7. Set Status to Active, Target to localhost, and Service Name to edi. Click OK.

Creating Trading Partner Connections

The other two connections, the inbound and outbound trading partner connections, are specific to each trading partner. Therefore, you must define a unique pair of connections for each trading partner. When you set up each pair, you must select the transport that you and your trading partner will use. We recommend the following transport options:

- HTTP: A standard HTTP/HTTPS transport protocol for exchanging EDI messages with your trading partner

- File: Option that writes the EDI message to a file, or reads the message from a file. You are responsible for providing a transport mechanism from this point in the process.

- FTP: Option that uses an FTP server to exchange messages with your trading partner.

- Get2Connect: A VAN operated by Peregrine Systems. Connectivity to this VAN is included with the Power.Enterprise! software, but you must contact Peregrine Systems to sign up to use the Get2Connect VAN.

- Cleo A+ : Use this option if you intend to connect via a VAN that requires asynchronous communications. For more information, see VAN and Network Connectivity, in Architecture.

Other connection options are also available. For details about all options, see Chapter 3 of the Power.Manager! User Reference Manual.

Configuring Exchange Profiles

The exchange profile specifies how a trading partner exchanges messages through Power.Server!. Because Power.Server! is an EDI gateway, it is not the final point of receipt for a message. An exchange profile describes how Power.Server! receives a message, transforms it, and sends it to its destination. For example, an exchange profile might define the receipt of an EDI message from a trading partner, its transformation into an XML message, and its delivery to the BEA WebLogic Adapter for Power.Enterprise!.

Exchange profiles cannot be created unless certain prerequisite information has been defined. Specifically, you must have created and promoted to the server your exchange maps, your trading partner profile, and both the source and target connections. (The source and target connections post messages to Power.Server! and receive messages from Power.Server!, respectively.) For example, to create an exchange profile that allows you to send a message to your trading partner, you need the following:

- XML-to-EDI-transaction map for the EDI message you plan to send

- Your trading partner profile

- BEAOutbound RMI connection you created in Connections and VAN Connectivity

- Outbound connector to your trading partner

Other information is also required. For details, see Chapter 4 of the Power.Manager! User Reference Manual. For examples of both inbound and outbound exchange profiles, see EDI Sample, in this document.