Introduction
Portbase offers various protocols for exchanging messages between your internal system and the Port Community System (PCS). This article explains how to send and retrieve messages via the AS2 protocol.
You can find an overview of the other protocols here
Before you start
This article assumes that:
- Your organisation already has an AS2 connection, or our colleagues from Integration Services have contacted you to set this up. No connection yet? Then first read this article about how to request a system interface.
- As a technical administrator, you are responsible for creating and managing system interfaces, and you have access to the System interfaces (EDIFACT/XML) application in the PCS. No access yet? Then see this article about how to gain access to the application.
Managing interfaces
You manage your AS2 and sFTP interfaces via the PCS-service System interfaces (EDIFACT/XML). You can find this in the Port Community System (PCS).
Preparing the interface
In the system interface portal, you will see an overview of existing interfaces. Using the Details option (on the right), you can view more details and settings about this interface. This is the place to configure your interface or to authorise your software supplier for management.
URL and connection details from Portbase for the new interface
In the first block Where do I need to connect? you will find the Portbase details to set up the new interface in your AS2 client software. Using the options Encryption certificate and Signing certificate you can download the certificates from Portbase. Portbase only supports synchronous MDN.
Add AS2-profile
In the second block, you add one or more AS2-profiles. An AS2-profile contains the connection details of your organisation's AS2 server. Only one profile per connection can be active at a time.
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Select Add AS2-profile to add a profile to the interface.
- Enter the details in the profile to connect with your organisation.
- Select Add AS2-profile to save all settings.
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The added AS2-profile is now visible in the details of the interface but has not yet been activated.
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Select the three-dot menu in the profile to see the options for the profile. Select Activate for outgoing here to activate the profile. You can see whether a profile is active at the Outgoing active field. If the connection is active, it will show true, and if inactive, false.
We support multiple profiles for an interface, but only one can be active per connection. When deleting an active profile, another profile will not automatically be made active.
Add certificate
On this screen, you add the certificates for signing and encrypting the AS2 messages. It is not mandatory to use different certificates for these purposes. We support importing certificates in .pem format, and you can use either an individual certificate or a certificate chain.
Select Add certificate to open the Certificate dialogue.
In the Add certificate dialogue, select the purpose of the certificate and select which certificate you want to use for this purpose. For each purpose, you must confirm the selection of a certificate via the Certificaat toevoegen button. You cannot configure both purposes (encryption and signing) at once in this dialogue.
Testing the interface
The interface is now set up and ready to test. Check whether you can connect from your AS2 client to the Portbase AS2 server via the new interface and contact Portbase to review the connection from Portbase to your AS2 server.
If you have any questions about your AS2 system interface with Portbase, please contact us at integration@portbase.com