Communications

This chapter provides an overview of the major features and configurations of the new EDI Exchange communication services that have been implemented with this release.

Two communication methods

Customers can choose between two communication management methods:

  • Customers can use a Communication Service Provider. The Communication Service Provider establishes and manages all the point-to-point connections with their trading partners.
  • Or they can self-manage their communications. An On-Premises Communication Agent is required to self-manage their communication connections. The capability to establish and manage their point-to-point connections is not available from the cloud and must be performed on-premises.

Choosing the communication method

Customers determine their communication method and service provider in one step.

On the Provider Configurations page, customers can select a provider from the authorized list of approved and certified Communication Service Providers or On Premises.

The list of certified Communication Service Providers represent those communication providers that have an established and certified multi-tenant connection with EDI Exchange in the Infor Cloud.

On Premises indicates self-managing communications using the On-Premises Communication Agent.

Communication Service Provider configuration

A Communication Service Provider requires the configuration of varies IDs that are used to receive EDI data from the trading partners.

On the Provider Resolver Configurations page, customers enter the Interchange Receiver ID and Group Receiver ID for their inbound EDI communication.

These IDs are used to resolve and identify the customer's tenant ID for inbound EDI data. The connection to their service provider is a multi-tenant connection. All tenants that use the same service provider to exchange their EDI data access a common connection point. This enables a quick setup for all involved parties.

Cloud configurations of the On-premises Communication Agent

The On-Premises Communication Agent uses an external trading partner code to identify the connection point and protocol that is used for the communication.

On the On-premises Partner Mappings page, customers must map the EDI Exchange trading partner code to an external trading partner code. This mapping ensures that outbound EDI is directed to the right connection using the correct communication method.

Requirements for the installation of the On-premises Communication Agent

The usage of the On-Premises Communication Agent implies these requirements:

  • The On-Premises Communication Agent is an optional component that must be licensed.
  • Customers must select the communication protocols that are required to connect to their trading partners such as AS/2 and OFTP/2. The license and the license key enable the purchased protocols.
  • Customers can then download the On-Premises Communication Agent from the Download Center. The downloaded image includes the On-Premises Communication Agent that securely interacts with EDI Exchange in the cloud by ION API. The image also contains Exchange Services. The installation wizard installs both of these components.
  • A dedicated VM or server for the On-Premises Communication Agent and a shared VM or server for the On-Premises Communication Agent should be considered. We recommend to use a dedicated server for each on-premises agent.
  • Customers can also choose the database to house their point-to-point communication configurations. They can choose MYSQL or MS SQL Server. MYSQL is provided with the solution. MS SQL Server requires a separate license.
  • Customers migrating from a previous version of EDI Exchange must export the existing communication configurations and import the communication configurations into the On-Premises Communication Agent. Customers must verify certificates and firewall rules. Each connection point must be tested.
  • The installation of the On-Premises Communication Agent requires a Windows server.
  • The On-Premises Communication Agent does not require any Infor OS components.
  • After the installation, the On-Premises Communication Agent must be registered as an authorized backend application within ION API in the cloud.

On-premises Communication Agent deployment

The deployment of the On-Premises Communication Agent includes the integration points AWS SQS and ION API. AWS SQS is a job queue that the cloud uses to inform the agent that a job is ready to be processed. The agent polls the SQS queue to recognize when it must request an EDI file to send. EDI files are transferred to and from the cloud through the ION API gateway. All requests are initiated by the agent, not by the ION API gateway.

Installation steps

There are three steps to install the On-Premises Communication Agent:

  • Retrieve the ION API credentials from the ION API gateway.
  • Retrieve the SQS URL information from the On-premises Client Configuration page in EDI Exchange.
  • Use the installation wizard to install the On-Premises Communication Agent.

Configuration of the ION API gateway

In ION API, the Available APIs page holds information about the EDI Exchange REST endpoints. These endpoints are automatically configured in ION API during the tenant provisioning process.

On the Authorized Apps page, the On-Premises Communication Agent must be configured as an authorized backend application within ION API. OAuth 2.0 is used as authentication here. The settings must be manually created and configured after a tenant is provisioned.

Save the endpoints and download the credential file. This information must be entered during the installation.

On-premises Communication Agent configurations

The On-premises Client Configuration page can be accessed from the Communications menu in EDI Exchange.

The configuration of the On-Premises Communication Agent is automatically generated as part of the tenant provisioning process.

The SQS URL is displayed in the Queue URL field. The SQS URL is a required information for the installation of the On-Premises Communication Agent.

On-premises Communication Agent installation wizard

The installer installs the On-Premises Communication Agent and Exchange Services.

The installation wizard prompts the user for the SQS URL and the ION API credentials.

After the installation, the Exchange Services communication engine must be configured to use the required point-to-point communications.

For details, see Infor EDI Exchange On-Premises Communication and Print Agent Configuration Guide.