RFC 1865 (rfc1865) - Page 2 of 41

EDI Meets the Internet Frequently Asked Questions about Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) on the Internet

RFC 1865                 EDI Meets the Internet             January 1996


   2.9.  Where can I get general information about the Internet?  .    8
   3. Getting Connected To The Internet ...........................    9
   3.1.  What do I need to get to use the Internet?  ..............    9
   3.2.  What software is used to support electronic mail?  .......    9
   3.3.  What types of client-server or server-server
         protocols exist on the Internet?  ........................   10
   3.4.  What methods exist to broadcast information across
         the Internet?  ...........................................   12
   3.5.  What are the ways to connect to the Internet ?  ..........   13
   4. Organizational Issues .......................................   15
   4.1.  Why is the way we currently do EDI so limiting to its
         growth?  ..................................................  15
   4.2.  My organization has an internal automated system for
         processing requisitions and issuing purchase orders, but it
         does not create the X12 formatted EDI transactions; what
         should we do ?  ...........................................  16
   4.3.  My organization already has a dial-in bulletin board
         service (BBS) where we post transactions; should we
         keep it? ..................................................  16
   4.4.  My organization currently has a Trading Partner
         Agreement with each trading partner we're currently
         doing business with. Can we keep them ?  ..................  16
   4.5.  It would be nice to get more trading partners and/or
         more competition, but I'm worried about getting too many
         transactions to be able to handle them.  Has this been a
         problem ?  ................................................  17
   4.6.  Does this mean that I'll receive more messages ?  .........  17
   4.7.  If we see a transaction posted on VAN, how do we
         respond in electronic format ?  ...........................  18
   4.8.  My organization has an established bilateral
         relationship (such as an existing contract.  Can we
         send these transactions via the Internet ?  ...............  18
   5. The Role Of Value Added Networks ............................   18
   5.1.  What is a VAN?  ................... .......................  18
   5.2.  What is an Internet Service Provider (ISP)?  ..............  19
   5.3.  How might an ISP be used for EDI?  ........................  19
   5.4.  Doesn't EDI presume the services of companies called
         Value Added Networks (VANs)?  .............................  19
   5.5.  If I can use X12 protocol and my VAN to send
         transactions, what is the benefit of using
         the Internet?  ............................................  20
   5.6.  Can we expect VANs to offer connections to other VANs
         via the Internet?  ........................................  20
   5.7.  How can I use the Internet directly for exchanging EDI
         messages without going through a VAN?  ....................  20
   5.8.  Can the ISA 06 or 08 identify any entity other than the
         'end' Trading Partners (i.e. a routing entity) ?  .........  21




Houser, et al                Informational