EDI Mailbox form

The EDI Mailbox form enables you to add and edit an EDI mailbox. Each EDI mailbox corresponds to a trading partner/message type combination. You must add separate EDI mailboxes for inbound and outbound EDI messages for each trading partner.

To add or edit an EDI mailbox:

1. In the Mailbox Name field, enter a mailbox name.

Use a short and clear name.

2. In the Trading Partner drop-down list, select the trading partner with whom an EDI message will be exchanged using this mailbox.

If you open this form from the EDI Configuration view, then the Trading Partner drop-down list is not available since you have already selected the trading partner in the EDI Configuration view.

3. From the Complex drop-down list, select the complex for which the EDI mailbox is set up.

If you are logged in at a complex or a lower scope level, you can add EDI mailboxes only for the current complex.

4. From the Direction drop-down list, select Send if this is a mailbox for an outbound message (meaning, N4 extracts the data, maps it into an EDI message file, and sends it to the selected trading partner) or Receive if this is a mailbox for an inbound message.

Once saved, you cannot edit the direction for an EDI mailbox.

5. In the Directory field, enter the absolute path of the folder where the EDI messages will be stored locally for your site.

N4 automatically creates a folder on the local server using the absolute path entered in the Directory field.

You cannot set Directory to a root directory, such as C:/ in Windows.

6. From the Communication Type drop-down list, select a transfer method for the EDI messages sent to or received by the terminal:

• FTP: The message file is transferred using the standard file transfer protocol. To use this method, you specify the following additional information:

FTP Address: IP address or host name of the FTP server used to transfer EDI files. Also, if you are using a port other than the default (21) you would specify this at the end of the IP address, preceded by a colon ([IP address]:[Port Number]

For example, if the file path is 101.101.101.101/home/SPARCSN4/test/TST/IN, the IP address is 101.101.101.101. If you're using port 2001 instead of the default of 21, you would indicate the port as follows:  101.101.101.101:2001.

The port number specified in the FTP Address field must be configured on the FTP/SFTP server.

The FTP server host name is preferred because the host name does not change while the IP address can change.

The default port for the FTP communication type is 21.

FTP User Id: User ID for the FTP server.

FTP Password: Password for the FTP server. To confirm the FTP password, you must retype the same password in the second field.

FTP Folder: Absolute path of the folder on the FTP server where EDI message files are placed for transmission. For example, if the full file path is 101.101.101.101/home/SPARCSN4/test/TST/IN, the absolute path would be /home/SPARCSN4/test/TST/IN.

Binary Mode: Un-select the Binary Mode check box if you do not want N4 to switch the FTP file transfer mode from ASCII to binary. By default, the check box is selected for FTP. For all other communication types, the check box is disabled.

• SFTP: The message file is transferred using the secure file transfer protocol. To use this method, you must specify the same additional information, such as the IP address, port, user ID, password, and folder, as for FTP. N4 supports three SFTP libraries. For more information, see the N4 setting FRMCARINA051 (DEFAULT_SFTP_IMPLEMENTATION) in the N4 Reference Guide.

  You can also use SSH Key based authentication instead of username/password authentication. When you select the SFTP transfer method, N4 also enables the following fields in addition to the FTP Address, FTP User Id, FTP Password, and FTP Folder to provide the required information.

  To use this feature, ensure that SSH keys are already generated and configured in the external SSH server.

  • Private Key File - the private key file used to authenticate the user session with the external SSH server. You can import/export the private key file by clicking the arrow button in the Import Private Key File field. You can also export the file using the Export File button.

  • Pass Phrase - the pass phrase for the private key. N4 supports both encrypted and unencrypted keys, but it is highly recommended to use encrypted keys.

  • Known Hosts File - contains the public key of all the hosts that the N4 client can communicate using SSH. Navis recommends using the known host file. You can import/export the known hosts file by clicking the arrow button in the Import known hosts file field. You can also export the file using the Export File button.

To use SFTP, both the terminal and the trading partner must support the technology.

The default port for the SFTP communication type is 22.

• Email: N4 transfers the message file as an email attachment. The email address used is specified in the Email Address field.

If a scheduled EDI job runs but the mailbox is empty, N4 sends an email message stating that mailbox is empty.

You can use a comma-separated list to specify multiple email addresses when configuring an EDI mailbox with the direction Send.

When an EDI message file is sent as an attachment, it is moved to the archive folder on the local file server.

To transfer EDI by email, make sure you have configured the EDI configuration settings. See the EDI Settings form in the N4 client: Administration EDI EDI Configuration EDI Configuration view EDI Session form Settings tab EDI Setting form.

• SOAP: The message file is transferred using the simple object access protocol. For outgoing messages, N4 provides a Web Service for the EDI partner to dynamically request an outbound EDI extract. N4 returns the results of the extract in response to the Web Service request.

N4 only supports processing of outbound vessel extract EDI via web services API using SOAP communication type.

• NONE: The file communication is not controlled within N4.

Click Save.