HIGH VOLUME TRANSFER SERVICE (HVTS)

HIGH VOLUME TRANSFER SERVICE (HVTS)

Electronic data interchange (EDI) is an electronic communication system that provides standards for exchanging data via any electronic means. By adhering to the same standard, two different companies, even in two different countries, can electronically exchange documents (such as purchase orders, invoices, shipping notices, and many others). EDI has existed for more than 30 years, and there are many EDI standards (including X12, EDIFACT, ODETTE, etc.), some of which address the needs of specific industries or regions. It also refers specifically to a family of standards.

In 1996, the National Institute of Standards and Technology defined electronic data interchange as "the computer-to-computer interchange of strictly formatted messages that represent documents other than monetary instruments. EDI implies a sequence of messages between two parties, either of whom may serve as originator or recipient. The formatted data representing the documents may be transmitted from originator to recipient via telecommunications or physically transported on electronic storage media." It distinguishes mere electronic communication or data exchange, specifying that "in EDI, the usual processing of received messages is by computer only. Human intervention in the processing of a received message is typically intended only for error conditions, for quality review, and for special situations. For example, the transmission of binary or textual data is not EDI as defined here unless the data are treated as one or more data elements of an EDI message and are not normally intended for human interpretation as part of online data processing."

The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard network protocol used to transfer computer files from one host to another host over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet.

FTP is built on a client-server architecture and uses separate control and data connections between the client and the server. FTP users may authenticate themselves using a clear-text sign-in protocol, normally in the form of a username and password, but can connect anonymously if the server is configured to allow it. For secure transmission that protects the username and password, and encrypts the content, FTP is often secured with SSL  /TLS (FTPS). SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) is sometimes also used instead, but is technologically different.

The first FTP client applications were command-line applications developed before operating systems had graphical user interfaces, and are still shipped with most Windows, Unix, and Linux operating system Many FTP clients and automation utilities have since been developed for desktops, servers, mobile devices, and hardware, and FTP has been incorporated into productivity applications, such as Web page editors.

FAX SERVICE

Fax (short for facsimile), sometimes called tele copying or telefax, is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device. The original document is scanned with a fax machine (or a telecopier), which processes the contents (text or images) as a single fixed graphic image, converting it into a bitmap, and then transmitting it through the telephone system. The receiving fax machine reconverts the coded image, printing a paper copy. For many decades before digital technology became widespread, the scanned data was transmitted as analogue.

Managed file transfer ("MFT") refers to software or a service that manages the secure transfer of data from one computer to another through a network (e.g., the Internet). MFT software is marketed to corporate enterprises as an alternative to using ad-hoc file transfer solutions, such as FTP, HTTP and others.

Typically, MFT offers a higher level of security and control than FTP. Features include reporting (e.g., notification of successful file transfers), non-repudiation, auditability, global visibility, automation of file transfer-related activities and processes, end-to-end security, and performance metrics/monitoring.

MFT applications are available as both on-premises licensed software packages and software-as-a-service ("SaaS"). Some are specially designed for enterprise use while others are for sale to individual consumers. A few enterprise-focused SaaS MFT providers also manage the additions of new trading partners, which can free up a lot of IT (information technology) resources.

MFT applications are characterized by having all or most of the following features:

·         Support multiple file transfer protocols including FTP/S, OFTP, SFTP, SCP, AS2, and HTTP/S.

·         Securely transfer files over public and private networks using encrypted file transfer protocols.

·         Securely store files using multiple data encryption methods

·         Automate file transfer processes between trading partners and exchanges including detection and handling of failed file transfers.

·         Authenticate users against existing user repositories such as LDAP and Active Directory

·         Integrate to existing applications using documented API

·         Generate detailed reports on user and file transfer activity.

WCF

Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) is a framework for building service-oriented applications. Using WCF, you can send data as asynchronous messages from one service endpoint to another. A service endpoint can be part of a continuously available service hosted by IIS, or it can be a service hosted in an application. An endpoint can be a client of a service that requests data from a service endpoint. The messages can be as simple as a single character or word sent as XML, or as complex as a stream of binary data. A few sample scenarios include:

• A secure service to process business transactions.
• A service that supplies current data to others, such as a traffic report or other monitoring service.
• A chat service that allows two people to communicate or exchange data in real time.
• A dashboard application that polls one or more services for data and presents it in a logical presentation.
• Exposing a workflow implemented using Windows Workflow Foundation as a WCF service.
• A Silverlight application to poll a service for the latest data feeds.

While creating such applications was possible prior to the existence of WCF, WCF makes the development of endpoints easier than ever. In summary, WCF is designed to offer a manageable approach to creating Web services and Web service clients.

Features of WCF

WCF Integration with Other Microsoft Technologies

WCF is a flexible platform. Because of this extreme flexibility, WCF is also used in several other Microsoft products. By understanding the basics of WCF, you have an immediate advantage if you also use any of these products.

The first technology to pair with WCF was the Windows Workflow Foundation (WF). Workflows simplify application development by encapsulating steps in the workflow as “activities.” In the first version of Windows Workflow Foundation, a developer had to create a host for the workflow. The next version of Windows Workflow Foundation was integrated with WCF. That allowed any workflow to be easily hosted in a WCF service; you can do this by automatically choosing the WF/WCF a project type in Visual Studio 2012.

Microsoft BizTalk Server R2 also utilizes WCF as a communication technology. BizTalk is designed to receive and transform data from one standardized format to another. Messages must be delivered to its central message box where the message can be transformed using either a strict mapping or by using one of the BizTalk features such as its workflow engine. BizTalk can now use the WCF Line of Business (LOB) adapter to deliver messages to the message box.

Microsoft Silverlight is a platform for creating interoperable, rich Web applications that allow developers to create media-intensive Web sites (such as streaming video). Beginning with version 2, Silverlight has incorporated WCF as a communication technology to connect Silverlight applications to WCF endpoints.

Microsoft .NET Services is a cloud computing initiative that uses WCF for building Internet-enabled applications. Use .NET Services to create WCF services that operate across trust boundaries.

The hosting features of Windows Server AppFabric application server is specifically built for deploying and managing applications that use WCF for communication. The hosting features includes rich tooling and configuration options specifically designed for WCF-enabled applications.

Electronic mail, most commonly referred to as email or e-mail since ca. 1993, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the same time, in common with instant messaging. Today's email systems are based on a store-and-forward model. Emailservers accept, forward, deliver, and store messages. Neither the users nor their computers are required to be online simultaneously; they need connect only briefly, typically to a mail server, for as long as it takes to send or receive messages.

Historically, the term electronic mail was used generically for any electronic document transmission. For example, several writers in the early 1970s used the term to describe fax document transmission. As a result, it is difficult to find the first citation for the use of the term with the more specific meaning it has today.

An Internet email message consists of three components, the message envelope, the message header, and the message body. The message header contains control information, including, minimally, an originator's email address and one or more recipient addresses. Usually descriptive information is also added, such as a subject header field and a message submission date/time stamp.

Originally a text-only (ASCII) communications medium, Internet email was extended to carry, e.g. text in other character sets, multi-media content attachments, a process standardized in RFC 2045 through 2049. Collectively, these RFCs have come to be called Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME). Subsequent RFC's have proposed standards for internationalized email addresses using UTF-8.

Electronic mail predates the inception of the Internet and was in fact a crucial tool in creating it, but the history of modern, global Internet email services reaches back to the early ARPANET. Standards for encoding email messages were proposed as early as 1973 (RFC 561). Conversion from ARPANET to the Internet in the early 1980s produced the core of the current services. An email sent in the early 1970s looks quite similar to a basic text message sent on the Internet today.

Email is an information and communications technology. It uses technology to communicate a digital message over the Internet. Users use email differently, based on how they think about it. There are many software platforms available to send and receive. Popular email platforms include Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, Outlook, and many others.

Network-based email was initially exchanged on the ARPANET in extensions to the File Transfer Protocol (FTP), but is now carried by the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), first published as Internet standard 10 (RFC 821) in 1982. In the process of transporting email messages between systems, SMTP communicates delivery parameters using a message envelope separate from the message (header and body) itself.