AS4Server Component

Properties Methods Events Configuration Settings Errors

The AS4Server component implements an AS4 / ebHandler.

Syntax

nsoftware.IPWorksEDI.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's Content field. 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	Fired with log information while processing a message.
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.


AgreementRefPMode	AgreementRef PMode of message.
AgreementRefType	The type of AgreementRef.
AllowWarnings	Whether warnings are interpreted as fatal errors.
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.
ContentTransferEncoding	The content encoding of the payload 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.
FilenameProperty	Defines a part property to hold the filename.
ForceSigningCert	Whether to force only the SigningCert to be used for signing.
FromId[i]	The Id of the party specified by AS4From.
FromIdCount	The number of Ids for the party specified by AS4From.
FromIdType[i]	The Id type of the party specified by AS4From.
IdRight	A custom Id for the right side of the MessageId.
KeyEncryptionAlgorithm	The algorithm used to encrypt the key.
LogLevel	The level of information to log.
LogOptions	The information to be written to log files.
MessageType	Indicates the type of message received.
NormalizeIssuerSubject	Whether to normalize the certificate subject within the X509Data element.
OAEPMGF1HashAlgorithm	The MGF1 hash algorithm used when encrypting a key.
OAEPParams	The hex encoded OAEP parameters to be used when encrypting a key.
OAEPRSAHashAlgorithm	The RSA hash algorithm used when encrypting a key.
ReferenceHashAlgorithm	The hash algorithm used to has the data specified in the reference of a signature.
RequireEncryption	Whether encryption is required when processing received messages.
RequireSignature	Whether a signature is required when processing received messages.
ResponseBody	The body for the AS4 response message.
ResponseFile	A file from which to read the response.
ResponseHeaders	The headers for the AS4 response message.
ResponseToFile	Creates the AS4 response message on disk.
ResponseToString	Creates the AS4 response message in memory.
SignerCACert	The CA certificates that issued the signer certificate.
SigningSecurityTokenFormat	The format to use for the security token when signing.
TempPath	Where temporary files are optionally written.
ToId[i]	The Id of the party specified by AS4To.
ToIdCount	The number of Ids for the party specified by AS4To.
ToIdType[i]	The Id type of the party specified by AS4To.
TransformReceipt	Whether to canonicalize the received receipt.
WriteLogFilesToEvent	Whether to log the contents of the LogFiles in the Log event.
AcceptEncoding	Used to tell the server which types of content encodings the client supports.
AllowHTTPCompression	This property enables HTTP compression for receiving data.
AllowHTTPFallback	Whether HTTP/2 connections are permitted to fallback to HTTP/1.1.
AllowNTLMFallback	Whether to allow fallback from Negotiate to NTLM when authenticating.
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.
ChunkSize	Specifies the chunk size in bytes when using chunked encoding.
CompressHTTPRequest	Set to true to compress the body of a PUT or POST request.
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.
HTTP2HeadersWithoutIndexing	HTTP2 headers that should not update the dynamic header table with incremental indexing.
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.
KerberosSPN	The Service Principal Name for the Kerberos Domain Controller.
LogLevel	The level of detail that is logged.
MaxHeaders	Instructs component to save the amount of headers specified that are returned by the server after a Header event has been fired.
MaxHTTPCookies	Instructs component to save the amount of cookies specified that are returned by the server when a SetCookie event is fired.
MaxRedirectAttempts	Limits the number of redirects that are followed in a request.
NegotiatedHTTPVersion	The negotiated HTTP version.
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.
SentHeaders	The full set of headers as sent by the client.
StatusLine	The first line of the last response from the server.
TransferredData	The contents of the last response from the server.
TransferredDataLimit	The maximum number of incoming bytes to be stored by the component.
TransferredHeaders	The full set of headers as received from the server.
TransferredRequest	The full request as sent by the client.
UseChunkedEncoding	Enables or Disables HTTP chunked encoding for transfers.
UseIDNs	Whether to encode hostnames to internationalized domain names.
UsePlatformDeflate	Whether to use the platform implementation to decompress compressed responses.
UsePlatformHTTPClient	Whether or not to use the platform HTTP client.
UserAgent	Information about the user agent (browser).
CloseStreamAfterTransfer	If true, the component will close the upload or download stream after the transfer.
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).
FirewallListener	If true, the component binds to a SOCKS firewall as a server (IPPort only).
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.
KeepAliveInterval	The retry interval, in milliseconds, to be used when a TCP keep-alive packet is sent and no response is received.
KeepAliveTime	The inactivity time in milliseconds before a TCP keep-alive packet is sent.
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 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.
ProxyExceptionsList	A semicolon separated list of hosts and IPs to bypass when using a proxy.
TCPKeepAlive	Determines whether or not the keep alive socket option is enabled.
TcpNoDelay	Whether or not to delay when sending packets.
UseIPv6	Whether to use IPv6.
UseNTLMv2	Whether to use NTLM V2.
CACertFilePaths	The paths to CA certificate files when using Mono on Unix/Linux.
LogSSLPackets	Controls whether SSL packets are logged when using the internal security API.
ReuseSSLSession	Determines if the SSL session is reused.
SSLCACerts	A newline separated list of CA certificate to use during SSL client authentication.
SSLCheckCRL	Whether to check the Certificate Revocation List for the server certificate.
SSLCipherStrength	The minimum cipher strength used for bulk encryption.
SSLEnabledCipherSuites	The cipher suite to be used in an SSL negotiation.
SSLEnabledProtocols	Used to enable/disable the supported security protocols.
SSLEnableRenegotiation	Whether the renegotiation_info SSL extension is supported.
SSLIncludeCertChain	Whether the entire certificate chain is included in the SSLServerAuthentication event.
SSLNegotiatedCipher	Returns the negotiated ciphersuite.
SSLNegotiatedCipherStrength	Returns the negotiated ciphersuite strength.
SSLNegotiatedCipherSuite	Returns the negotiated ciphersuite.
SSLNegotiatedKeyExchange	Returns the negotiated key exchange algorithm.
SSLNegotiatedKeyExchangeStrength	Returns the negotiated key exchange algorithm strength.
SSLNegotiatedVersion	Returns the negotiated protocol version.
SSLProvider	The name of the security provider to use.
SSLSecurityFlags	Flags that control certificate verification.
SSLServerCACerts	A newline separated list of CA certificate to use during SSL server certificate validation.
TLS12SignatureAlgorithms	Defines the allowed TLS 1.2 signature algorithms when UseInternalSecurityAPI is True.
TLS12SupportedGroups	The supported groups for ECC.
TLS13KeyShareGroups	The groups for which to pregenerate key shares.
TLS13SignatureAlgorithms	The allowed certificate signature algorithms.
TLS13SupportedGroups	The supported groups for (EC)DHE key exchange.
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.
BuildInfo	Information about the product's build.
GUIAvailable	Tells the component whether or not a message loop is available for processing events.
LicenseInfo	Information about the current license.
UseInternalSecurityAPI	Tells the component whether or not to use the system security libraries or an internal implementation.