Sterling Information Broker Adapter

The Sterling Information Broker adapter exchange business documents electronically between you and your trading partners.

The following table provides an overview of the Sterling Information Broker adapter:

Category Description
System name SIB_ADAPTER
Graphical Process Modeler (GPM) categories All Services, Applications > IBM® > Sterling Information Broker
Description Enables you and your trading partners to exchange business documents (such as purchase orders and invoices) electronically. The Sterling Information Broker adapter provides a single point of connection for business exchanges with many trading partners, regardless of the type of communications protocol or data format. The Sterling Information Broker adapter is a bridge between the many systems and technologies used by various members of the business community:
  • A bridge between communications protocols, including legacy-based protocols and Internet-based protocols.
  • A bridge between business standards, including translations between traditional electronic data interchange (EDI) standards and emerging Internet standards.
  • A bridge between e-commerce exchanges, including connections to other VANs and connections between traditional VANs and Web-based e-marketplaces.
Preconfigured? No
Requires third-party files? No
Platform availability All supported Sterling B2B Integrator platforms
Related services No
Application requirements No
Initiates business processes? No
Invocation Runs as part of a business process.

How the Sterling Information Broker Adapter Works

For example, consider the following scenario. A buyer uses FTP protocol and wants to send purchase orders to two suppliers. One supplier resides on XYZ VAN and uses bisynchronous protocol. The other supplier resides on the Internet and uses AS1. The buyer connects once to the Sterling Information Broker, transmits the documents through FTP protocol, and the Sterling Information Broker takes care of the rest. One document is routed to XYZ VAN using bisynchronous protocol. The other document is delivered over the Internet by using AS1. The process happens in reverse when the two suppliers return purchase order acknowledgments to the buyer.

The Sterling Information Broker adapter enables Sterling B2B Integrator to communicate with the Sterling Information Broker network by using the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). The Sterling Information Broker adapter issues a PUT request to the Sterling Information Broker network to send the document.

The Sterling Information Broker adapter can send documents to and receive documents from the Sterling Information Broker network, and can start from only a business process.

Implementing the Sterling Information Broker Adapter

To implement the Sterling Information Broker adapter, complete the following tasks:
  1. Activate your license for the Sterling Information Broker adapter.
  2. Create a Sterling Information Broker adapter configuration.
  3. Configure the adapter.
  4. Set CACert or Keycert in the GPM. For information, see Before Using the Sterling Information Broker Adapter in a Business Process.
  5. Create and enable a business process that includes the Sterling Information Broker adapter.
  6. Test the business process and the adapter.
  7. Run the business process.

Configuring the Sterling Information Broker Adapter

To configure the Sterling Information Broker Adapter, you must specify field settings in Sterling B2B Integrator and in the Graphical Process Modeler (GPM).

Sterling B2B Integrator Configuration

The following table describes the fields used to configure the Sterling Information Broker adapter in Sterling B2B Integrator:

Field Description
Add Click the plus sign to add a new remote user. Optional. The configuration can be created without adding any remote users.
Username Name of the remote user. Required.
Password Password for the remote user. Optional.
Passphrase Passphrase associated with the remote user. Optional. Used only for SSL client authentication.

GPM Configuration

The following table describes the fields used to configure the Sterling Information Broker adapter in the GPM:

Field Description
Config Name of the service configuration.
xport-ftp-asciiExt A list of one or more file extensions, separated by colons (:) that will change the transfer mode to ascii. The default transfer mode is ASCII but if that is changed to BINARY or AUTO, this field can be used to list file extensions that require ASCII transfer. Example value .txt:.text:.html
xport-ftp-conntype Connection type that specifies how data connections are made. Valid values are:ACTIVE – Sets the server to make the connection. PASSIVE – Sets the adapter to make the connection.
xport-ftp-dataport Valid port number provided by your network administrator that is not restricted by the firewall. Valid value is any valid data port number not being used by another application running on the system. Valid format is # (number), #.#, a range of numbers, or any of the three formats together.
xport-ftp-dir Directory name or mailbox ID of an external trading partner.
xport-ftp-document Document name to receive. Used only in the GET xport-ftp-mode.
xport-ftp-host IP address or host name of the external trading partner host system. Valid values are valid IP addresses and host names.
xport-ftp-mode Command used to determine the data flow. Valid values are PUT and GET.
  • PUT – Send data from Sterling B2B Integrator to the network.
  • GET – Get data from the network.
xport-ftp-port Port number of the Sterling Information Broker network. Valid value is a valid 2-digit port number.
xport-ftp-transferMode Select the transfer mode to use. Valid values are:
  • ASCII
  • BINARY
  • AUTO
Default is ASCII.
xport-tp-authfile Authentication file containing the user name, password, and passphrase. You must specify the complete path of the authentication file. This field is valid if the SSL option is MUST. Valid value is the file name. Optional.
xport-tp-cakeycert-id File name that contains the trusted certificate authority public certificate for Sterling B2B Integrator to use with this adapter. Optional.
xport-tp-cipher Level of encryption Sterling B2B Integrator is to apply to the data that flows through the socket connection. Valid values are STRONG (default), WEAK, and ALL. Optional.
xport-tp-cIntdelay Number of seconds the adapter will wait before trying again to connect to the Sterling Information Broker network. Optional.
xport-tp-cIntretries Number of times the adapter will try to connect to the Sterling Information Broker network. Optional.
xport-tp-ctlport Valid port number provided by your network administrator that is not restricted by the firewall. Valid value is any valid data port number not being used by another application running on the system. Valid format is # (number), #.#, a range of numbers, or any of the three formats together.
xport-tp-keycert-id File name that contains the private key and public certificate, which is signed by the network trusted certificate authority. Valid value is a valid file name. Optional.
xport-tp-proxyauth Information needed to navigate through firewalls. Valid value is an 8-character alphanumeric string. Optional.
xport-tp-proxyretry Number of times the adapter will try to connect to the proxy gateway. Optional.
xport-tp-resptimeout Number of seconds given for the network to respond to the request before the connection attempt times out. Valid values are 1-59 for seconds and # *60 for minutes to hours. Optional.
xport-tp-ssloption SSL flag that turns on the SSL socket negotiation. Valid values are SSL-NONE and SSL_MUST. Optional.
xport-tp-user Remote account user name. Can be used to override name set in Sterling B2B Integrator interface configuration.

Before Using the Sterling Information Broker Adapter in a Business Process

If the FTP server that is communicating with Sterling B2B Integrator uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) communication, the CA certificate object ID or system certificate object ID (CACert or Keycert) must be saved before the Sterling Information Broker adapter can be used in a business process.

To set CACert or Keycert in the GPM:
  1. Do you want to set CACert or Keycert?
    • To set CACert, from the Trading Partner menu, select Digital Certificates > CA.
    • To set Keycert, from the Trading Partner menu, select Digital Certificates > System.
  2. Search for the appropriate certificate name, using the Search or List function.
  3. In the Digital Certificates page, right-click anywhere in the gray area, and select View Source from the menu.

    Notepad opens. If notepad does not open, right-click again, select refresh, and repeat step 3.

  4. From the Search menu, select Find.
  5. In the Find what field, type the name of the certificate as it appears in the list of search results returned in Sterling B2B Integrator.

    The certificate name is highlighted.

  6. One or two lines above the certificate name, look for a value similar to this:

    &id=host:4695a6:eca597dbfd:-8000&

    Between the two ampersands (&) are the object ID.

  7. Copy the object ID.
  8. Open the GPM, and select the appropriate adapter configuration.
  9. Right-click the adapter icon, and select Properties.
  10. In the Service Editor, specify whether you are setting CACert or Keycert:
    • If you are setting CACert, paste the object ID in the xport-tp-cakeycert-id field.
    • If you are setting Keycert, paste the object ID in the xport-tp-keycert-id field.
      Note: Separate multiple certificates with a comma (,).

Example Business Processes

The following example retrieves information from a Sterling Information Broker mailbox: 

<process name = "SibGet">
 <operation name="SIB_ADAPTER">
    <participant name="SIBTest"/>
    <output message="SIB_ADAPTERInputMessage">
     <assign to="xport-ftp-host">ftp.host.companyx.com</assign>
     <assign to="xport-ftp-mode">GET</assign>
     <assign to="xport-ftp-port">21</assign>
     <assign to="xport-ftp-document">Document.Name</assign>
     <assign to="." from="*"></assign>
   </output>
    <input message="inmsg">
     <assign to="." from="*"></assign>
   </input>
  </operation> 
</process>

The following example sends information to a Sterling Information Broker mailbox:

<process name = "SibPut"> 
   <operation name="SIB_ADAPTER">
     <participant name="SIBTest"/>
      <output message="SIB_ADAPTERInputMessage">
       <assign to="xport-ftp-host">ftp.host.companyx.com</assign>
       <assign to="xport-ftp-mode">PUT</assign>
       <assign to="xport-ftp-port">21</assign>
       <assign to="." from="*"></assign>
     </output>
      <input message="inmsg">
       <assign to="." from="*"></assign>
     </input>
    </operation> 
</process>