Walkthrough (X12): Sending Batched EDI Interchanges

Article
07/07/2021

This walkthrough provides a set of step-by-step procedures that creates a solution for sending batched EDI interchanges from one party to another using BizTalk Server.

Prerequisites

You must be logged on as a member of the BizTalk Server Administrators or BizTalk Server B2B Operators group.

How the Solution Sends Batched EDI Interchanges

The solution will do the following:

The receive location receives an EDI interchange from a Party A.

Note

The events in this list may not occur in the order shown.
The receive pipeline converts the EDI format of the interchange to internal XML format. The receive pipeline determines that the interchange is to be batched. As a result, the BatchMarkerReceivePipeline component promotes the EDI.ToBeBatched==True and EDI.BatchId properties. It then drops the interchange into the MessageBox.
The Batching Orchestration retrieves the received interchange from the MessageBox, because it subscribes to the message based upon EDI.ToBeBatched==True and EDI.BatchId==%BatchID%.
The receive location receives a second EDI interchange from the same party that sent the first interchange.
The receive location processes the interchange as in step 2, and then drops the interchange into the MessageBox.
The Batching Orchestration retrieves the interchange as in step 3.
After the release criteria is met (release criteria defines how the interchanges have to be matched), the Batching Orchestration assembles the interchange containing all the interchanges, and then promotes the EDI.ToBeBatched==False, EDI.BatchName and EDI.DestinationPartyName context properties. It drops the batched interchange into the MessageBox.
The send port picks up the batched interchange by subscribing on the context properties EDI.ToBeBatched==False, EDI.BatchName and EDI.DestinationPartyName.
The send pipeline applies additional properties to the envelope of the batched interchange, and then sends the interchange to destination party, Party B.

Note

For more information, see Assembling a Batched EDI Interchange.

The following figure shows the architecture for this solution.

The Functionality in this Solution

For the purposes of this walkthrough, the following functionality will be enabled:

The solution is designed for interchanges using X12 encoding, not EDIFACT encoding.

Note

The configuration used for HIPAA and for EDIFACT encoding is closely parallel to that used for X12 encoding.
Technical or functional acknowledgments will not be returned in response to the interchange originally received or any batched interchange that is sent.

Note

For information about generating EDI acknowledgments, see Walkthrough (X12): Receiving EDI Interchanges and Sending Back an Acknowledgement.
This solution uses a one-way receive port and a static one-way send port. These ports will be configured with the FILE transport type.
EDI reporting will be enabled.
Transaction sets will be saved for viewing from the interchange status report.

Configuring and Testing the Walkthrough

The procedures required for this solution include the following:

Add the required message schema(s) to a BizTalk project, and then build and deploy the project, making the schema(s) available for use by BizTalk Server in processing the messages.
Update the polling interval for the SQL adapter in the BatchControlMessageReccvLoc receive location, so that the batching orchestration will be promptly activated when you click the Start button to send the control message that will activate a batching orchestration instance.
Create a receive port for BizTalk Server to receive the EDI X12-encoded .txt input messages from a party.
Create a party (trading partner) for both Party A and Party B.
Create a business profile each for both the trading partners.
Create an agreement between the two profiles by configuring the EDI properties for the message to be received. Configure the EDI properties for the batched message to be sent. For this solution, configure the agreements such that BizTalk Server will send a batch to Party B whenever two 850 interchanges are received.
Create a send port for BizTalk Server to send the batched EDI interchange to the trading partner. This send port will be a static one-way send port.
Associate the send port with the agreement that processes the interchanges and batches them.
Drop two test EDI interchanges into the local folder associated with the receive location, and verifying that BizTalk Server has dropped a batched interchange into the folder associated with the send port.

Configuring the Walkthrough

This section describes the procedures to configure the walkthrough.

To deploy the message schema

In Visual Studio, create or open a BizTalk project.

Note

This topic assumes that you have already added a reference from your application to the BizTalk EDI Application, which contains EDI schemas, pipelines, and orchestrations. If not, see Add a Reference to the BizTalk Server EDI Application.
Right-click your project, point to Add, and then click Existing Item. Move to \Program Files (x86)\Microsoft BizTalk Server <VERSION>XSD_Schema\EDI\X12\00401, and then double-click the schema corresponding to your test message.

Note

If the EDI schemas have not been unzipped into the \XSD_Schema\EDI folders, execute the MicrosoftEdiXSDTemplates.exe file in the \XSD_Schema\EDI folder to unzip the schemas into the default folder.

Note

For a test message, you can use the 850 sample message used for the EDI Interface Developer tutorial. This file is SamplePO.txt in \Program Files (x86)\Microsoft BizTalk Server <VERSION>SDK\EDI Interface Developer Tutorial\. If you do so, you must use the schema x12_00401_850.xsd located in \Program Files (x86)\Microsoft BizTalk Server <VERSION>SDK\EDI Interface Developer Tutorial\Inbound_EDI.
Set the assembly key file, and then build and deploy the assembly.

To update the polling interval

In BizTalk Server Administration Console, open the BizTalk Group, Applications, BizTalk EDI Application nodes, and Receive Locations nodes. Under the Receive Locations node, right-click BatchControlMessageRecvLoc, and then click Properties.
For the SQL transport type, click Configure.
In the SQL Transport Properties dialog box, set the polling interval to a smaller value. For example, you can change Polling Unit of Measure to Seconds, instead of minutes, to change the polling interval to 5 seconds.

Note

Changing the polling interval ensures that the batching orchestration will be promptly activated.
Click OK, and then click OK again.

To create a one-way receive port to receive the EDI messages to be batched

Create a local folder to receive the EDI messages to be batched.
In BizTalk Server Administration Console, right-click the Receive Ports node under the BizTalk Application 1 node, point to New, and then click One-way Receive Port.
Name the receive port, and then click Receive Locations in the console tree.
Click New.
Name the receive location, select FILE for Type, and then click Configure.
Enter a folder for Receive folder, and a mask for File Mask, such as *.txt.
Click OK.
For Receive pipeline, select EdiReceive.
Click OK, and then click OK again.
In the console tree, click Receive Locations. In the Receive Locations pane, right-click your receive location, and then click Enable.

To create a party and a business profile for Party A

Right-click the Parties node in the BizTalk Server Administration Console, point to New, and then click Party.
Enter a name for the party in the Name text box, and then click OK.

Note

By selecting the Local BizTalk processes messages received by the Party OR supports sending messages from this party check box, you can specify that the party being created is for the same organization that is also hosting BizTalk Server. Based on that, some properties will be enabled or disabled when you create an agreement. However, for this walkthrough, you can leave this check box selected.
Right-click the party name, point to New, and then click Business Profile.
In the Profile Properties dialog box, on the General page, enter PartyA_Profile in the Name text box.

Note

When you create a party, a profile is also created. You can rename and use that profile instead of creating a new one. To rename a profile, right-click the profile and select Properties. In the General page, specify a name for the profile.

To create a party and a business profile for Party B

Right-click the Parties node in the BizTalk Server Administration Console, point to New, and then click Party.
Enter a name for the party in the Name text box, and then click OK.

Note

By selecting the Local BizTalk processes messages received by the Party OR supports sending messages from this party check box, you can specify that the party being created is for the same organization that is also hosting BizTalk Server. Based on that, some properties will be enabled or disabled when you create an agreement. However, for this walkthrough, you can leave this check box selected.
Right-click the party name, point to New, and then click Business Profile.
In the Profile Properties dialog box, on the General page, enter PartyB_Profile in the Name text box.

Note

When you create a party, a profile is also created. You can rename and use that profile instead of creating a new one. To rename a profile, right-click the profile and select Properties. In the General page, specify a name for the profile.

To create an agreement between the two business profiles

Right-click PartyA_Profile, point to New, and then click Agreement.
In the General Properties page, for the Name text box, enter a name for the agreement.
From the Protocol drop-down list, select X12.
In the Second Partner section, from the Name drop-down list, select PartyB.
In the Second Partner section, from the Profile drop-down list, select PartyB_Profile.

You will notice that two new tabs get added next to the General tab. Each tab is for configuring a one-way agreement and each one-way agreement represents one complete transaction of message (including message transfer and acknowledgement transfer).
In the General tab, on the General Properties page, in the Common Host Settings section, select Turn ON reporting, and then select Store message payload for reporting.

Perform the following tasks on the PartyA->PartyB tab.

On the Identifiers page under the Interchange Settings section, enter values for the qualifier and identifier fields (ISA5, ISA6, ISA7, and ISA8) that correspond to the values for those header fields in your test message.

Note

BizTalk Server requires the qualifier and identifier fields for sender and receiver in order to perform agreement resolution. It will match the values of ISA5, ISA6, ISA7, and ISA8 in the interchange header with those in the properties of an agreement. BizTalk Server will also resolve the agreement by matching the sender qualifier and identifier (without the receiver qualifier and identifier). If BizTalk Server cannot resolve the agreement, it will use the fallback agreement properties.

Note

If you are using the SamplePO.txt file from the “EDI Interface Developer Tutorial” as your test message, set ISA5 to ZZ, ISA6 to THEM, ISA7 to ZZ, and ISA8 to US.
On the Validation page under the Interchange Settings section, make sure Check for duplicate ISA13 option is unchecked.

Note

Clearing the Check for duplicate ISA13 property enables you to receive multiple instances of the same message.
On the Charset and Separators page under the Interchange Settings section, select the CR LF option.
On the Batch Configuration page under the Interchange Settings section, do the following:
1. Click New Batch.
2. Under the Identification section, for Batch Name text, enter Batch1.
3. Under the Filter section, click the Filter button, and in the Batch Filter dialog box, do the following:
  1. Click the empty cell under the Property column and select BTS.ReceivePortName.
  2. Click the empty cell under the Operator column and select ==.
  3. Click the empty cell under the Value column and enter the name of the receive port you created earlier.
  4. Click OK.
4. Under the Release section, select the Maximum number of transaction sets in option, from the drop-down select Interchange, and in the text box enter the number of interchanges that will be batched. In this solution, you will be batching two interchanges, so in the text box, enter 2.
5. Under the Activation section, select Start immediately.

On the Envelopes page under the Transaction Set Settings section, enter values for all columns in the first line of the grid.

Use this	To do this
Default	Select Default. Note: When you select this row as the default, the values for GS1, GS2, GS3, GS7, and GS8 are used even if the values for Transaction Type, Version/Release, and Target namespace are not a match for the message.
Transaction Type	Select the message type of your test message, 850 - Purchase Order.
Version/Release	Enter the EDI version, 00401.
Target namespace	Select `http://schemas.microsoft.com/BizTalk/EDI/X12/2006`.
GS1	Verify that the message type of the test message is selected, PO - Purchase Order (850).
GS2	Enter a value for the Application sender, for example, Purchasing.
GS3	Enter a value for the Application receiver, for example, OrderControl.
GS4	Select the date format that you want. Note: You have to select the value in the drop-down list, not just click in the field to display the default. If you click in the field without selecting the value from the drop-down list, the value will not actually be selected.
GS5	Select the time format that you want.
GS7	Select X - Accredited Standards Committee X12.
GS8	Verify that the EDI version has been entered, 00401.

Note

BizTalk Server will set the values for GS01, GS02, GS03, GS04, GS05, GS07, and GS08 of the outbound acknowledgments based on the values entered for Transaction Type, Version/Release, and Target namespace. The send pipeline attempts to match the transaction set type, the X12 version, and the target namespace with the corresponding values in the header of the message. If successful, it uses the GS values associated with the Transaction Type, Version/Release, and Target namespace values.

Perform the following tasks on the PartyB->PartyA tab.

Note

In this walkthrough, we specify the required value in the tab so that an agreement can be successfully created. To successfully create an agreement, both one-way agreement tabs must have values defined for ISA5, ISA6, ISA7, and ISA8.
1. On the Identifiers page under the Interchange Settings section, enter values for the qualifier and identifier fields (ISA5, ISA6, ISA7, and ISA8) that correspond to the values for those header fields in your test message.
  
  Note
  
  If you are using the SamplePO.txt file from the “EDI Interface Developer Tutorial” as your test message, set ISA5 to ZZ, ISA6 to US, ISA7 to ZZ, and ISA8 to THEM.
Click Apply.
Click OK. The newly added agreement is listed in the Agreements section of the Parties and Business Profiles pane. The newly added agreement is enabled by default.

To create a static one-way send port to send the batched EDI interchange

Create a local folder to send the batched EDI message to.
In BizTalk Server Administration Console, right-click the Send Ports node under the BizTalk Application 1 node, point to New, and then click Static One-way Send Port.
In the Send Port Properties dialog box, name the send port.
In the Transport section, select FILE for Type, and then click Configure.
Enter a folder for Destination folder, and a File name, such as %MessageID%.txt.
Click OK.
In Send pipeline, select EdiSend.
In the console tree, select Filters. On the Filters page, do the following:
1. On the first line of the grid, select EDI.DestinationPartyName for Property, == for Operator, the name you selected for the party to send the batch to for Value, and And for Group by.
2. On the second line, select EDI.ToBeBatched for Property, == for Operator, and False for Value, and And for Group by.
3. On the third line, select EDI.BatchName for Property, == for Operator, and the name of the batch for Value.
Click OK.
In the console tree, click Send Ports. In the Send Ports pane, right-click your send port, and then click Start.

To associate the send port with the agreement created for batching

Right-click the agreement you created earlier and click Properties.
In the Agreement Properties dialog box, on the PartyA->PartyB tab, click Send Ports in the left pane.
On the Send Ports page under the Interchange Settings section, associate the send port that you created earlier. In the Send ports grid, under the Name column, click an empty cell, and from the drop-down list, select the send port.
Click OK.

Testing the Walkthrough

This section provides information on how to test the walkthrough.

To test the walkthrough

In Windows Explorer, open the local folder associated with the receive location, and drop a test EDI interchange into the folder.

Note

For a test message, you can use the 850 sample message used for the EDI Interface Developer tutorial. This file is SamplePO.txt in \Program Files (x86)\Microsoft BizTalk Server <VERSION>SDK\EDI Interface Developer Tutorial\. If you do so, you must use the schema x12_00401_850.xsd located in \Program Files (x86)\Microsoft BizTalk Server <VERSION>SDK\EDI Interface Developer Tutorial\Inbound_EDI.
Drop a second copy of the test EDI interchange into the folder.
Open the folder that you associated with the send port for interchanges, and open the batched interchange. Verify that the interchange contains one set of ISA and GS headers, and two transaction sets.