RE: Message Envelope Specification - Logical Addressing

[Dick Brooks <dick@8760.com>]

William wrote:

>It's not clear from the ebXML Message Envelope Specification v0-5.doc at
>http://www.ebxml.org/specdrafts/Envv0-5.pdf how to use logical business
>identifiers to route messages based on DUNS identifiers, EAN location
>identifiers, FEINs, etc.

>For example, a VAN may be used to route ebXML messages using solely the
>business IDs, insulating the sender from the busywork of maintaining
>trading partner URLs.  How would you use <FromURI>, <ToURI>, and
><ReplyToURI> to specify addressing by a DUNS?   How is that done with a
>Uniform Resource Identifier? Will the ebXML envelope provide explicit
>means of stating the type of identifier (e.g., DUNS, DUNS+4, EAN -
>basically all the sender and receiver types in the ISA and the UNB)?  Or
>will the address of some "resolver" have to be included in the URI?

As you've indicated, the packaging spec does not contain "identification
information" such as the "sender" and "recipient" of an ebXML message. The
ebXML header specification provides data elements (aka tags) for this
purpose, reference section 2.2 of ebXML Message Header Specification
v0-5.pdf.

The packaging spec specifies a "ebXML connection point" (e.g. ebxml handler
URL used in a http POST or e-mail address of an ebXML handler) where all
ebXML messages for a given recipient are supposed to be delivered. It is
anticipated that a TPA (paper or electronic) will define the relationships
"linking together" a company identifier (e.g. DUNS NUMBER) with a company's
"ebXML connection point" (e.g.
http://B2Bserver.company.com/cgi-bin/ebxmlhandler). Information from the TPA
will be stored in a repository (local, remote or both) and a discovery
process will be used to locate and retrieve the information.

I would anticipate a VAN using the "delivery information" from the ebXML
message header similarly to the ISA and UNB identification information.

Dick Brooks
http://www.8760.com/