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:
·
Securely
transfer files over public and private networks using encrypted file transfer
protocols.
·
Automate
file transfer processes between trading partners and exchanges including
detection and handling of failed file transfers.
·
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.
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.
