AS4Server Component

Properties Methods Events Configuration Settings Errors

The AS4Server component implements an AS4 / ebHandler.

Syntax

nsoftware.InEDI.As4server

Remarks

The AS4Server component implements server-side processing of AS4 messages. It may be used to receive files form a client (push), respond to a client's request for files (pull), and also handles generating and verifying receipts.

The component is designed to be easily integrated into a HTTP server, such as ASP.NET, but may also be used outside of a web server. The examples below assume the component is used within an environment where there is an HTTP context.

To begin, when a request is received first call ReadRequest. This reads the AS4 request from the current HttpContext. Alternatively the request data may be passed directly to the component by specifying calling SetRequestStream. After calling ReadRequest the following properties may be checked:

The first step after calling ReadRequest is to determine if the client is sending files (push) or requesting files (pull). To determine this check the value of AgreementRef and MPC. For instance:

if (server.AgreementRef == "" && server.MPC != "")
{
  //The client is requesting files from the specified MPC
  //No other relevant properties are populated
}
else //AgreementRef is not empty, and MPC is empty
{
  //The client is sending files. AgreementRef is populated with the agreement reference.
  //AS4From, AS4To, ConversationId, etc are populated
}

Determining if the request contains an asynchronous receipt from a previous transmission may also be done at this time by checking the IncomingReceipt property. If it is populated a receipt is present. To verify the receipt set AsyncReceiptInfoDir to the directory where information about the message was originally stored and call VerifyReceipt. If the receipt is signed SignerCert must also be set. See the section below and also SendFiles for more details.

Once information about the request is determined the component may then be configured to respond appropriately depending on the operation.

Receiving Files and Sending a Receipt

When receiving files first check the AgreementRef, AS4From, and AS4To properties to determine who is sending the files and with what previously agreed upon configuration. Once this is known, if the request is signed and encrypted set Certificate to the decryption certificate and SignerCert to the public certificate used for signature verification. IncomingDirectory may optionally be set to automatically store the incoming files.

//Process incoming files and send a signed receipt

server.ReadRequest();

//Inspect values from the request in order to load appropriate certificates etc.
//Console.WriteLine(server.AgreementRef);
//Console.WriteLine(server.AS4From.Id);
//Console.WriteLine(server.AS4To.Id);)

server.IncomingDirectory = "..\\MyFiles";
 
//Our private certificate. Used to decrypt the incoming file
server.Certificate = new Certificate(CertStoreTypes.cstPFXFile, Path.Combine(Request.PhysicalApplicationPath, "..\\files\\CompanyB.pfx"), "password", "*")

//Partner's public certificate. Used to verify the signature on the incoming message and files.
server.SignerCert = new Certificate(Path.Combine(Request.PhysicalApplicationPath, "..\\files\\CompanyA.cer"));

server.ParseRequest();

server.ReceiptReplyMode = As4serverReceiptReplyModes.rrmSync;

//Our private certificate. Used to sign the receipt.
server.SigningCert = new Certificate(CertStoreTypes.cstPFXFile, Path.Combine(Request.PhysicalApplicationPath, "..\\files\\CompanyB.pfx"), "password", "*")

server.SendResponse(); //Sends the receipt

Receiving Files and Sending an Asynchronous Receipt

Receipts may be sent in the response (synchronous) or at a later time (asynchronous). If the agreement specifies that the receipt be sent asynchronously the following steps may be taken to send the receipt.

After calling ReadRequest the ReceiptReplyMode may be set to indicate the receipt will be returned asynchronously. After calling ParseRequest call SendAckResponse to send back a HTTP 200 OK to the client. The receipt may then be returned later.

To send an asynchronous receipt AS4Client may be used. This can be sent to the partner's web site, or bundled with a later response (depending on the agreement made between the parties). In the example below AS4Client is used to send the receipt to the other party's web site.

//Process incoming files and send an asynchronous receipt

server.ReadRequest();

//Inspect values from the request in order to load appropriate certificates etc.
//Console.WriteLine(server.AgreementRef);
//Console.WriteLine(server.AS4From.Id);
//Console.WriteLine(server.AS4To.Id);)

server.IncomingDirectory = "..\\MyFiles";
 
//Our private certificate. Used to decrypt the incoming file
server.Certificate = new Certificate(CertStoreTypes.cstPFXFile, Path.Combine(Request.PhysicalApplicationPath, "..\\files\\CompanyB.pfx"), "password", "*")

//Partner's public certificate. Used to verify the signature on the incoming message and files.
server.SignerCert = new Certificate(Path.Combine(Request.PhysicalApplicationPath, "..\\files\\CompanyA.cer"));

server.ParseRequest();

server.ReceiptReplyMode = As4serverReceiptReplyModes.rrmAsync;

//Our private certificate. Used to sign the receipt.
server.SigningCert = new Certificate(CertStoreTypes.cstPFXFile, Path.Combine(Request.PhysicalApplicationPath, "..\\files\\CompanyB.pfx"), "password", "*")

server.SendAckResponse(); //Sends an ack, but not the receipt

At this point Receipt is populated with the receipt to be sent. Store the Receipt's Content and RefToMessageId values for use when sending the receipt later. Sending a receipt can be done with AS4Client.

//Send an asynchronous receipt
client.URL = ""http://www.company.com:9090/msh"";
client.Receipt = new EBReceipt(server.Receipt.RefToMessageId, server.Receipt.Content);
client.ReceiptReplyMode = As4clientReceiptReplyModes.rrmAsync;
client.SendReceipt();

Sending Files

To process a request to send files first check the MPC property. This holds the Message Partition Channel (MPC) from which the client would like to receive files. Next, set AgreementRef, AS4From, AS4To. Check IncomingReceipt to determine if the request has a bundled receipt. If it does VerifyReceipt can be called to verify the receipt.

Note: If the client requests files from the default MPC then MPC may be empty. See MessageType for details.

If the client makes use of UsernameToken authentication the TokenAuthentication event will fire when processing the request.

To send files back to the client simply set EDIData to the files you wish to send. When SendResponse is called the files will be sent back to the client.

//Process a request to send files (pull)

//Holds information from the original send so that receipts can be verified later
server.AsyncReceiptInfoDir = Path.Combine(Request.PhysicalApplicationPath, "..\\temp\\ReceiptInfoDir")

server.Profile = As4serverProfiles.ebpfENTSOG;
server.ReadRequest();

//The receipt may be signed depending upon the AgreementRef
server.SignerCert = new Certificate(Path.Combine(Request.PhysicalApplicationPath, "..\\files\\CompanyA.cer"));

//If the request has a bundled receipt verify it first
if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(server.IncomingReceipt.Content))
{
  server.VerifyReceipt();
}

//If the request is a pull request (MPC is set)
if (server.AgreementRef == "" && server.MPC != "")
{
  server.AgreementRef = "http://agreements.company.com/pull_files";
  server.AS4From.Id = "org:holodeckb2b:example:company:B";
  server.AS4From.Role = "Sender";

  server.AS4To.Id = "org:holodeckb2b:example:company:A";
  server.AS4To.Role = "Receiver";

  server.ReceiptReplyMode = As4serverReceiptReplyModes.rrmAsync;

  //Our private certificate. Used to sign the message and files.
  server.SigningCert = new Certificate(CertStoreTypes.cstPFXFile, Path.Combine(Request.PhysicalApplicationPath, "..\\files\\CompanyB.pfx"), "password", "*");

  //Partner's public certificate. Used to encrypt files. 
  server.RecipientCerts.Add(new Certificate(Path.Combine(Request.PhysicalApplicationPath, "..\\files\\CompanyA.cer")));

  EBData data = new EBData();
  data.EDIType = "text/xml";
  data.Data = "<test>Hello AS4 World!</test>";
  server.EDIData.Add(data);

  server.SendResponse();
}

Processing Receipts

Any incoming request may potentially include a receipt. The request may be a receipt by itself, or it may be bundled with another type of request (send/receive). When initially sending files AsyncReceiptInfoDir may be set to store data about the original message on disk for use when verifying the receipt. If this is not desired manually store the OriginalSOAPMessage and OriginalSOAPMessageId instead.

To detect if an incoming request contains a receipt simply check the IncomingReceipt property's Content field. If it is populated the request includes a receipt. Set AsyncReceiptInfoDir to the same location as when the file was originally sent. Or alternatively set OriginalSOAPMessage and OriginalSOAPMessageId properties to the original values.

If the receipt is signed set SignerCert to the public certificate which will be used to verify the signature. Lastly call VerifyReceipt. This will perform any signature verification and verify the receipt content as well, matching it to the original message values.

server.ReadRequest();

//The receipt may be signed depending upon the AgreementRef
server.SignerCert = new Certificate(Path.Combine(Request.PhysicalApplicationPath, "..\\files\\CompanyA.cer"));

//If the request contains a receipt verify it
if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(server.IncomingReceipt.Content))
{
  server.VerifyReceipt();
}

Property List

The following is the full list of the properties of the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.


AgreementRef	The agreement reference.
AS4From	Defines information about the originating party.
AS4To	Defines information about the responding party.
AsyncReceiptInfoDir	A directory to hold information used for asynchronous receipt verification.
Certificate	The certificate with private key used for decryption.
ConversationId	The Conversation Id of the message.
EDIData	The EDI data.
EncryptionAlgorithm	The algorithm used to encrypt the EDI data.
Errors	A collection of errors.
IncomingDirectory	The directory to which incoming files are saved.
IncomingReceipt	The receipt included with the request.
LogDirectory	The path to a directory for logging.
LogFile	The log file written.
MessageId	The unique Id of the message.
MessageProperties	A collection of message properties.
MPC	The MPC (Message Partition Channel) from which files are requested.
OriginalSOAPMessage	The original SOAP message used to verify the receipt.
OriginalSOAPMessageId	The original SOAP message Id used to verify the receipt.
Profile	The AS4 profile.
Receipt	The receipt of a message.
ReceiptReplyMode	The expected receipt reply mode.
RecipientCerts	The public certificate used to encrypt files when sending.
RefToMessageId	Specifies the RefToMessageId in the message.
Request	The HTTP request to be processed.
RequestHeaders	The HTTP headers in the AS4 request.
RequestHeadersString	The HTTP headers in the AS4 request.
Service	The service which acts on the message.
ServiceAction	The action within a service that acts on the message.
ServiceType	The type of service.
SignatureAlgorithm	Signature algorithm to be used in the message.
SignerCert	The public certificate used to verify signatures.
SigningCert	The certificate with private key used to sign messages and files.

Method List

The following is the full list of the methods of the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.


Config	Sets or retrieves a configuration setting .
DoEvents	Processes events from the internal message queue.
Interrupt	Interrupt the current method.
ParseRequest	Parses and processes the message.
ReadRequest	Reads the AS4 request.
Reset	Resets the state of the control.
SendAckResponse	Sends an acknowledgement of the request only.
SendResponse	This method sends the response over the current HTTP context.
SetRequestStream	Sets the stream from which the component will read the AS4 request.
VerifyReceipt	Verifies a received receipt.

Event List

The following is the full list of the events fired by the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.


Error	Information about errors during data delivery.
Log	Provides logging information.
RecipientInfo	Fired for each recipient certificate of the encrypted message.
SignerCertInfo	Fired during verification of the signed message.
TokenAuthentication	Fired when the client makes use of UsernameToken authentication.

Configuration Settings

The following is a list of configuration settings for the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.


AllowWarnings	Whether warnings are interpreted as fatal errors.
AgreementRefType	The type of AgreementRef.
AgreementRefPMode	AgreementRef PMode of message.
AttachXMLFiles	Whether to send XML files as attachments or within the SOAP body.
CloseStreamAfterProcessing	Whether to close the input or output stream after processing.
CompressXMLPayloads	Whether to compress XML data.
DetectDuplicates	Whether to detect duplicate messages when receiving.
EBPrefix	Specifies the prefix to use for messaging.
EDIDataPartId[i]	Specified the part Id at the given index.
EncryptionSecurityTokenFormat	The format to use for the security token when encryption.
SigningSecurityTokenFormat	The format to use for the security token when signing.
FilenameProperty	Defines a part property to hold the filename.
IdRight	A custom Id for the right side of the MessageId.
FromIdCount	The number of Ids for the party specified by AS4From.
FromId[i]	The Id of the party specified by AS4From.
FromIdType[i]	The Id type of the party specified by AS4From.
LogLevel	The level of information to log.
LogOptions	The information to be written to log files.
MessageType	Indicates the type of message received.
MGF1HashAlgorithm	The MGF1 hash algorithm used when encrypting a key.
RequireEncryption	Whether encryption is required when processing received messages.
RequireSignature	Whether a signature is required when processing received messages.
NormalizeIssuerSubject	Whether to normalize the certificate subject within the X509Data element.
RSAHashAlgorithm	The RSA hash algorithm used when encrypting a key.
OAEPParams	The hex encoded OAEP parameters to be used when encrypting a key.
ToIdCount	The number of Ids for the party specified by AS4To.
ToId[i]	The Id of the party specified by AS4To.
ToIdType[i]	The Id type of the party specified by AS4To.
TransformReceipt	Whether to canonicalize the received receipt.
AcceptEncoding	Used to tell the server which types of content encodings the client supports.
AllowHTTPCompression	This property enables HTTP compression for receiving data.
AllowIdenticalRedirectURL	Allow redirects to the same URL.
Append	Whether to append data to LocalFile.
Authorization	The Authorization string to be sent to the server.
BytesTransferred	Contains the number of bytes transferred in the response data.
EncodeURL	If set to true the URL will be encoded by the component.
FollowRedirects	Determines what happens when the server issues a redirect.
GetOn302Redirect	If set to true the component will perform a GET on the new location.
HTTPVersion	The version of HTTP used by the component.
IfModifiedSince	A date determining the maximum age of the desired document.
KeepAlive	Determines whether the HTTP connection is closed after completion of the request.
MaxRedirectAttempts	Limits the number of redirects that are followed in a request.
OtherHeaders	Other headers as determined by the user (optional).
ProxyAuthorization	The authorization string to be sent to the proxy server.
ProxyAuthScheme	The authorization scheme to be used for the proxy.
ProxyPassword	A password if authentication is to be used for the proxy.
ProxyPort	Port for the proxy server (default 80).
ProxyServer	Name or IP address of a proxy server (optional).
ProxyUser	A user name if authentication is to be used for the proxy.
TransferredDataLimit	The maximum number of incoming bytes to be stored by the component.
TransferredHeaders	The full set of headers as received from the server.
UseChunkedEncoding	Enables or Disables HTTP chunked encoding for transfers.
ChunkSize	Specifies the chunk size in bytes when using chunked encoding.
UserAgent	Information about the user agent (browser).
KerberosSPN	The Service Principal Name for the Kerberos Domain Controller.
ConnectionTimeout	Sets a separate timeout value for establishing a connection.
FirewallAutoDetect	Tells the component whether or not to automatically detect and use firewall system settings, if available.
FirewallHost	Name or IP address of firewall (optional).
FirewallPassword	Password to be used if authentication is to be used when connecting through the firewall.
FirewallPort	The TCP port for the FirewallHost;.
FirewallType	Determines the type of firewall to connect through.
FirewallUser	A user name if authentication is to be used connecting through a firewall.
KeepAliveTime	The inactivity time in milliseconds before a TCP keep-alive packet is sent.
KeepAliveInterval	The retry interval, in milliseconds, to be used when a TCP keep-alive packet is sent and no response is received.
Linger	When set to True, connections are terminated gracefully.
LingerTime	Time in seconds to have the connection linger.
LocalHost	The name of the local host through which connections are initiated or accepted.
LocalPort	The TCP port in the local host where the component binds.
MaxLineLength	The maximum amount of data to accumulate when no EOL is found.
MaxTransferRate	The transfer rate limit in bytes per second.
RecordLength	The length of received data records.
TCPKeepAlive	Determines whether or not the keep alive socket option is enabled.
UseIPv6	Whether to use IPv6.
TcpNoDelay	Whether or not to delay when sending packets.
ReuseSSLSession	Determines if the SSL session is reused.
SSLCipherStrength	The minimum cipher strength used for bulk encryption.
SSLEnabledProtocols	Used to enable/disable the supported security protocols.
SSLProvider	The name of the security provider to use.
SSLSecurityFlags	Flags that control certificate verification.
OpenSSLCADir	The path to a directory containing CA certificates.
OpenSSLCAFile	Name of the file containing the list of CA's trusted by your application.
OpenSSLCipherList	A string that controls the ciphers to be used by SSL.
OpenSSLPrngSeedData	The data to seed the pseudo random number generator (PRNG).
AbsoluteTimeout	Determines whether timeouts are inactivity timeouts or absolute timeouts.
FirewallData	Used to send extra data to the firewall.
InBufferSize	The size in bytes of the incoming queue of the socket.
OutBufferSize	The size in bytes of the outgoing queue of the socket.
CodePage	The system code page used for Unicode to Multibyte translations.