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AS2

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AS2 (Applicability Statement 2) is a specification about how to transport data securely and reliably over the Internet. It is described in detail in RFC 4130.

Data can consist of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) messages but may be of any other message type. AS2 specifies how to connect, deliver, validate and acknowledge data. AS2 creates an envelope for a message which is then sent securely over the Internet. Security is achieved by using digital certificates and encryption.

An implementation of AS2 involves two machines, a client and a server, communicating with each other over the Internet. On the operating system level, the AS2 client may be a server, too, offering its communication services to application software. The client sends data to the server, e.g. a trading partner. On receipt of the message the receiving application sends an acknowledgment or MDN (Message Disposition Notification) back to the sender.

Advantages

  • Elimination or reduction of Value-added network (VAN) costs
  • Designed to push data securely and reliably over the Internet
  • Fast and reliable connectivity
  • Encryption ensures that only the sender and receiver can view the data
  • Digital signatures ensure authentication: only messages from authorized senders are accepted
  • Hash algorithm ensures integrity by detecting whether the document was altered during transmission
  • Drummond Certification supports a level of confidence for the interoperability of the disparate software tools available for connectivity.

Disadvantages

  • Costs of a static IP address, permanent Internet connection, firewall and relevant expertise
  • Cannot pull data
  • File restart is optional.
  • Costs of AS2 software
  • Need to manage the certificates used for secure connections
  • Only works over TCP/IP networks

AS2 Technical Overview

  • AS2 provides an ‘envelope’ for the data, which is sent over the Internet using standard protocols.
  • Data is transmitted using the HTTP POST request
  • Data transmission is over TCP/IP, with or without SSL, to a static IP address
  • Data can be transmitted signed and encrypted
  • Non-repudiation

See also

  • OFTP - an alternative protocol for transferring data over the Internet, X.25 and ISDN networks

Open Source Implementations

Providers

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