Using a Channel to Construct a Message Flow
The use of iWay Service Manager is centered on a channel.
A channel is a container for all the iWay business components used
in an EDI message flow.
At a high level, a channel accepts input data via an inlet,
processes the data via a route, and outputs the resulting
data via an outlet. Another component in the process is an
e-Business Information Exchange (Ebix).
The following diagram shows the channel components available
in the construction of a message flow.
In the following diagram, the value n underneath a component
name indicates how many instances of that component you can have
in a channel configuration—zero, one, or more than one. For example,
n = 1 for Inlet means that you can have only one inlet on the channel.
Required components are in boldface type.
x
A channel consists of:
- An inlet, which defines
how a message enters a channel.
- A route, which defines
the path a message takes through a channel.
- Outlets, which define
how transformed messages leave a channel.
- An e-Business Information
Exchange (Ebix), which is a collection of metadata that defines
the structure of data.
iWay Service Manager provides a design-time repository called
the Registry, where you assemble and manage the components in a
channel.
An inlet can contain:
- A listener (required),
which is a protocol handler responsible for picking up an incoming
message on a channel.
- A decryptor, which
applies a decryption algorithm to an incoming message and verifies
the security of the message.
- A preparser, which
is a logical process that converts an incoming message into a document
that can be processed. The preparsed document then passes through
the standard transformation services to reach the designated processing
service.
A route can contain:
- An in transformer,
which is an exit sequence that applies to a message before processing
occurs.
- A reviewer, which
is either the first exit to receive a document after parsing (inbound),
or the last exit to receive a document prior to the actual emit operation
(outbound). These exits are intended for envelope handling but can
be used for any desired purpose.
- Validation rules,
which apply validation using the rules validation engine. Rules are
provided when the iWay Integration Solution for EDI is installed.
- A transform, which
is a transformation definition file that contains sets of rules, interpreted
and executed by a transformation engine. Transformation is the process by
which data is transformed from one structure/format to another.
- A process, which
is a stateless, lightweight, short-lived microflow that is executed by
iWay Service Manager on a message as it passes through the system.
Processes that are published using iWay Designer are available in
the Registry and can be bound to channels as routes.
- A process flow.
- An agent list.
- A service, which
is an executable Java procedure that handles the business logic
of a message.
- An adapter, which
refers to a target that represents a specific instance of a connection
to a back-end system.
- An out transformer,
which is an exit sequence that applies to a message after processing
occurs.
- A transform, which
is a transformation definition file that contains sets of rules,
interpreted and executed by a transformation engine. Transformation
is the process by which data is transformed from one structure/format
to another.
- Validation rules,
which apply validation using the rules validation engine. Rules are
provided when the iWay Integration Solution for EDI is installed.
- A reviewer, which
is either the first exit to receive a document after parsing (inbound),
or the last exit to receive a document prior to the actual emit
operation (outbound). These exits are intended for envelope handling
but can be used for any desired purpose.
- An outlet (optional),
which is responsible for all aspects of preparing a document for
emission and then emitting it.
- A preemitter, which
is a logical process that handles a document immediately before
transmission. Normally it converts an XML document into non-XML
format.
- An encryptor, which
can be called to encrypt an outgoing document.
- An emitter, which
is a transport protocol that sends a document to its recipient.
An outlet can contain:
- A preemitter.
- An encryptor.
- Multiple emitters.
For details on the preceding components, see the iWay Service
Manager User's Guide.