MLLPServer Class

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The MLLPServer class implements the server side of the Minimal Lower Layer Protocol.

Syntax

class ipworksedi.MLLPServer

Remarks

The MLLPServer class is used to exchange HL7 data with one or more connected MLLP clients.

Setting up MLLPServer to Listen for Client Connections

The first step in using the MLLPServer class is to configure it to listen for MLLP client connections. Start by setting the local_port property to the desired listening port. For multi-homed devices, also set the local_host property to the address of the network interface the MLLPServer class should listen on.

Next, optionally enable TLS/SSL with the ssl_enabled and ssl_cert properties (MLLPServer supports client authentication with the ssl_authenticate_clients property).

Finally, set the listening property to True to begin listening for client connections.

Connecting Example

mllpServer.LocalHost = "localhost";
mllpServer.LocalPort = 7777;

// The following two lines are only necessary if using TLS/SSL.
mllpServer.SSLEnabled = true;
mllpServer.SSLCert = new Certificate(CertStoreTypes.cstPFXFile, "..\\path\\to\\cert.pfx", "password", "*");

mllpServer.Listening = true;

At this point the on_connection_request event will fire anytime a client wishes to connect (connection requests are accepted by default), and the on_connected event will fire each time a client successfully connects.

While clients are connected, the server may interact with them by using their oftp_connection_connection_id to interact with the class's properties.

Receiving Data

The MLLPServer class will automatically receive HL7 data sent from each client, and will automatically send acknowledgements back.

When the MLLPServer class is receiving data, immediately before data transfer begins the on_start_transfer event fires. During data transfer, one or more on_transfer events will fire. When data transfer is complete, the on_end_transfer event fires. Any errors during data delivery will cause the on_error event to fire.

Immediately before the server acknowledgement is sent the on_ack_out event fires. The Accept parameter of this event is used to determine the type of acknowledgement (ACK or NAK) to send back to the client.

HL7 data received by the MLLPServer class will be stored in one of the following ways:

• If an output file path has been set to the output_filename property, the data is written to that file.
• Otherwise, the data is stored in the output_data property.

Sending Data

The MLLPServer class may also send data to MLLP clients. First, specify the data to send by doing one of the following:

• Set the input_filename property to the path of a file with HL7 data.
• Set the HL7 data directly to the input_data property.

Once the data has been specified, simply call the send method with the appropriate connection Id to send the HL7 data to the associated client. Once the client has received the data, it will respond with an acknowledgement, causing the class's on_ack_in event to fire.

Sending Data Example

mllpServer.Connections[connectionId].InputData = "HL7Data";
mllpServer.Send(connectionId);