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  3. Configuring and Managing Message Flows

  4. Creating Inbound Message Flows

Creating Inbound Message Flows

Create inbound message flows to receive messages from partners, including messages that go through third-party connections. When you create an inbound message flow, you can validate and transform the inbound messages and then send them to your backend applications.

Anypoint Partner Manager routes inbound messages based on matching identifiers configured for the partner.

Before you create your first message flow, configure your payload storage API.

To create an inbound message flow:

  1. From the Partner Manager sidebar, select Message Flows.

  2. Click New message flow > Receive from partner.

  3. Either select an existing partner from the list or select New to create a new partner, as described in Create a Partner.

  4. Configure the receiving endpoint.

  5. Configure the source message type.

  6. Import the translation map.

  7. Configure the target message type.

  8. Configure the target endpoint.

  9. Verify that the message flow is complete.

Configure the Receiving Endpoint

The receiving endpoint (Receive from Partners endpoint) in an inbound message flow receives the messages that your partners send, either directly or via third-party connections. To configure a receiving endpoint, you can either select an existing endpoint owned by the host, partner, or third-party connection, or you can create a new endpoint.

Partner Manager supports the AS2, FTP, HTTP, HTTPS, and SFTP formats for the receiving endpoint in an inbound message flow.

To configure the receiving endpoint:

  1. In the message flow, expand the Receiving endpoint section and click Select.

  2. In the Select an endpoint: Receive from <partner> window, do either of the following:

    • Select an existing Receive from Partners endpoint and click Select.

    • Click New to create a new Receive from Partners endpoint, as described in Creating Endpoints.

      If you select an endpoint owned by a third-party connection, the messages go through that connection.

      After you select an endpoint, it is added to the message flow.

If the protocol of the receiving endpoint is AS2, perform these additional steps:

  1. Select the AS2 sender from the dropdown menu and then select either of the following:

    • The partner’s name, to enable your organization to receive the AS2 messages directly from the partner for whom the message flow is created

    • The name of a third-party connection, to enable your organization to receive the partner’s AS2 messages via a third-party connection, such as a VAN or 3PL

      The AS2 identifier and certificate of the selected third-party connection are used for validating the AS2 messages.

  2. If there is no valid certificate in the associated profile, import one from the partner or from the third-party connection sending the AS2 message.

Configure the Source Message Type

The source message type (Receive from Partners message type) in an inbound message flow defines the structure of the messages that Partner Manager receives from a partner or third-party connection. Partner Manager supports the CSV, EDIFACT, JSON, X12, and XML formats for source message types in an inbound message flow.

To configure the source message type:

  1. In the message flow, expand the Source message section and click Select.

  2. In the Select message type window, do either of the following:

    • Select an existing Receive from Partners message type and click Select.

    • Click New to create a new Receive from Partners message type, as described in Creating Message Types.

    The message type and its validation settings are added to the message flow.

If the source message type is X12 or EDIFACT and your partner expects your organization to return functional acknowledgments, perform these additional steps:

  1. In the Acknowledgement section, select the checkbox next to Send 997 functional acknowledgement (X12) or Send CONTRL functional acknowledgement (EDIFACT).

  2. Click Select.

  3. In the Select an endpoint: Send acknowledgement to <partner> window, do either of the following:

    • Select the endpoint to receive the acknowledgment messages from your partner and click Select.

    • Click New to create a new endpoint, as described in Creating Endpoints.

    The acknowledgment is added to the message flow.

Import the Translation Map

A translation map in an inbound message flow transforms your inbound message format to your organization’s enterprise application format. Create a translation map by using DataWeave. For more information, see Translation Maps.

To import the translation map:

  1. In the message flow, expand the Map section.

  2. Click Import > Choose file.

  3. Navigate to the DataWeave map you want to use and click Open.

  4. Click Upload mapping.

    The translation map is added to the message flow.

In the translation map you develop for an inbound message flow, you can access source message attributes, which makes them available in the message payload. The attributes that you can access depend on the protocol of the source endpoint. For more information, see Accessing Source Message Attributes.

Configure the Target Message Type

The target message type (Target at Host message type) in an inbound message flow defines the structure of the messages that Partner Manager sends to the backend applications. Partner Manager supports the CSV, JSON, and XML formats for the target message type in an inbound message flow.

To configure the target message type:

  1. In the message flow, expand the Target at <host> section.

  2. In the Message Type section, click Select.

  3. In the Select message type window, do either of the following:

    • Select an existing Target at Host message type and click Select.

    • Click New to create a new Target at Host message type.

  4. Click Save.

Configure the Target Endpoint

The target endpoint (Target at Host Endpoint) in an inbound message flow receives the transformed messages on the backend applications. Partner Manager supports the FTP, HTTP, HTTPS, and SFTP formats for the target endpoint in an inbound message flow.

To configure the target endpoint:

  1. In the message flow, expand the Target at <host> section.

  2. In the Target at <host> section, expand the Endpoint section and click Select.

  3. In the Select an endpoint: Target to <host> window, do either of the following:

    • Select an existing Target at Host endpoint and click Select.

    • Click New to create a new Target at Host endpoint, as described in Creating Endpoints.

    After you select an endpoint, it is added to the message flow.

Verify That the Message Flow Is Complete

Partner Manager dynamically validates the message flow configuration elements for completeness and displays a green checkmark if all of the message flow building blocks are complete. After you verify the message flow configuration, you can deploy and test the message flow.

See Also