This is a printable page that lists the questions and answers for Business Exchange Services Internet transfer .

Return to the FAQs question page.

How do I subscribe to Business Exchange Services Internet transfer?

Contact Us for ordering information:
[Return to questions]

How much does it cost to subscribe?

The costs to subscribe depends on the billing relationships that you set up with your trading partners. Depending on what the sender and receiver have agreed to pay, all message transfer charges may be paid by the sender, all charges paid by the receiver, or the charges split between the sender and receiver.

For more information about defining billing relationships between Information Exchange users and Internet transfer users, refer to Chapter 3 of the Information Exchange Charges Reference.

Contact Us for more information on pricing for your company's needs:
[Return to questions]

For more information about defining billing relationships with Information Exchange users, refer to Chapter 3 of the Information Exchange Charges Reference.

To have billing relationships set up, please Contact Us.

  [Return to questions]

Business Exchange Services Internet transfer allows you to exchange data and documents in a security-rich environment over the Internet with other Internet users, Information Exchange users, and Value Added Network (VAN) users.  [Return to questions]

What kind of documents can I send with this service?

You can send EDI, XML, and application data.  Following are the types supported:

• EDI:    X12 and EDIFACT
   
• XML:  BizTalk, ICE, RosettaNet, xCBL (CBL Invoice and CBL PO), cXML, ebXML, and your company's document type that has sender and receiver XPointer information already registered with Business Exchange Services Internet transfer.
  
  Note: The inbound XML data sent from Information Exchange to Business Exchange Services Internet transfer will be handled as binary data.
   
•  Application data:  text, binary, and proprietary format. [Return to questions]

What are the protocols that I can use?

You can use either Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol/Secure (HTTPS), or Secure File Transport Protocol (FTP/S). Business Exchange Services Internet transfer supports the EDIINT AS1and AS2 interoperability specifications.  [Return to questions]

What kind of client software do I need to access Business Exchange Services Internet transfer?

How do I register my trading partners?

Contact Us for ordering information:  
[Return to questions]

Consider using SMTP e-mail if:

• You want a batch, asynchronous type of communication. (With SMTP, the data arrives through SMTP servers connecting your site and GXS.)
• You have an EDIINT AS1 certified software application. (AS1 certified clients support digital signatures and non-repudiation, and most can integrate easily with you back-end systems.)
• You know your file sizes are within the limits of your e-mail system.

Consider using HTTP if:

• You want an interactive, synchronous type of communication. (With HTTP, the data arrives instantly.)
• You want a client (for example, Cyclone Interchange Solo) that can be set up quickly, supports digital signatures and non-repudiation, and can integrate with your back-end systems.
• You have an EDIINT AS2 certified software application.
• You are working with large files.
• You have a persistent connection to the Internet. 

Consider using HTTPs if:

• You want all of the benefits of HTTP, plus an additional layer of security. Utilizing HTTP over Secure Socket Layers (SSL) provides additional security by securing the connection, however, the offset is reduced performance and throughput due to an additional layer of encryption.

Consider using FTP/S if:

• You want a batch, asynchronous type of communication that is faster than SMTP.
• You want a low-cost client or already have one of the supported clients.
• You are working with large files.
• You do not have a persistent connection to the Internet. [Return to questi

Where do I get the certificate?

If you are using Cyclone software, you can generate and exchange self-signed certificates through the Cyclone products.  Otherwise, the service supports certificates conforming to the X.509 standard.  Third-party certificates from VeriSign and Microsoft Windows 2000 certificate services have been tested.  [Return to questions]

How do I register my company's certificate?

Send your certificate by e-mail to edihelp@us.ibm.com and it will be imported into the Internet data and document exchange service.  In return, you will receive a certificate that must be imported into the client application that you are using for file transport.  Please refer to the user's guide or support services for your specific client application for assistance with importing a certificate
[Return to questions]

What do I do if I have changed the certificate?

Contact Us, and begin the certificate exchange process as described in the question and answer "How do I register my company's certificate?" above.
[Return to questions]

Is there a limit to the file size that I can send?

There is a 5 MB file size limitation when using the SMTP protocol and a 100 MB file size limitation when using the HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP/S protocols.   [Return to questions]

No. For security purposes, Business Exchange Services Internet transfer does not allow the transfer of unsecured documents over the public Internet.  [Return to questions]

I am an Information Exchange user.  What do I need to do to exchange X12 or EDIFACT files with a trading partner using Business Exchange Services Internet transfer?

For complete details, see the Technical Bulletin Communications between Information Exchange and Business Exchange Services Internet transfer Users.
[Return to questions]

Business Exchange Services Internet transfer assigns a uniquely generated name for the file name (example: Unknown). The file name will not include a file extension.
[Return to questions]

When I send an X12 file with an extension of .x12 and or EDIFACT file with an extension of .edf to VAN trading partners, will the file extension be preserved?

When you send documents to a VAN, all the extensions will be renamed to .edi.  For example, if you send a document with an extension of .x12, the receiver will receive the document with the .edi extension. Information Exchange is also a VAN, but it preserves the original file extension.  [Return to questions]

For X12 EDI data files, will the binary segment and the security segment be supported in Business Exchange Services Internet transfer?

For X12 support, binary segments like BIN, S1S, S2S, S3S, and S4S are not currently supported.  [Return to questions]

I am a Cyclone Solo user.  Should I use IP addresses or DNS names when using Business Exchange Services Internet transfer?

Business Exchange Services Internet transfer supports either IP addresses or Domain Name System (DNS) names for servers.  DNS names are recommended so that if an address changes, no changes to your setup are required.  However, if a DNS is temporarily unavailable, you will not be able to connect to the service immediately. 
[Return to questions]

The following Information Exchange interfaces have been tested for Business Exchange Services Internet transfer:

Expedite Base MVS, Version 4.5
Expedite CICS, Version 4.5
Expedite AS400, Version 4.5
Expedite Base for DOS, Version 4.4.1
Expedite Base for Windows, Version 4.6.1
Expedite for Windows, Version 6.2
Expedite Direct, Version 2.1
Information Exchange/FTP, v3r0mo.t Sender system; 3.300t
Expedite Async, Version 1.1
Expedite PC, Asynchronous U.S. Series 1, Version 3.1 [Return to questions]