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Connections

Connections define how Tediware communicates with your trading partners. Each connection specifies a protocol (SFTP, AS2, or API) and the credentials or configuration needed to exchange files. A single connection can serve one partner directly, or be shared across multiple partners using VAN routing.

Connection Types

SFTP

SFTP connections use SSH-based file transfer. You provide a host, port, username, and either a password or SSH key. Tediware connects to the remote server to upload or download files as part of your flow processing.

If your trading partner firewalls their SFTP server, they will need to whitelist Tediware’s outgoing IP addresses: 16.54.110.1 and 99.79.30.151.

AS2

AS2 (Applicability Statement 2) is a secure, HTTP-based protocol designed for EDI document exchange. AS2 connections use digital certificates for encryption and signing, providing non-repudiation via MDN (Message Disposition Notification) receipts.

API

API connections allow Tediware to send processed data to HTTP endpoints via webhooks or REST calls.

VAN Routing

A Value Added Network (VAN) is a third-party service that acts as a central hub for EDI file exchange. Instead of maintaining a separate connection to each trading partner, you connect to the VAN, and the VAN routes files between you and your partners.

When you enable VAN Routing on a connection, Tediware automatically routes each inbound file to the correct partner by inspecting the ISA header in the EDI document. Specifically, it matches the sender and receiver identifiers (and their qualifiers) against the envelopes configured on your partners. This means multiple partners can share the same connection – Tediware determines which partner each file belongs to based on the EDI content itself.

To use VAN routing:

  1. Create a single connection pointing to your VAN
  2. Enable the VAN Routing checkbox on the connection
  3. Assign that connection to each partner that communicates through the VAN
  4. Ensure each partner has its Internal Envelope and External Envelope configured with the correct ISA identifiers and qualifiers

When a file arrives, Tediware reads the ISA header and matches it against partner envelopes. If a match is found, the file is processed through that partner’s inbound flow. If no match is found – for example, because the sender ID does not correspond to any configured partner – the file is logged as a routing error and skipped.

VAN routing is available on SFTP, AS2, and Sandbox connections.

VAN routing is not the VAN add-on

These are two different things with similar names, and neither requires the other.

VAN Routing, the checkbox described above, is a free technical feature. It tells Tediware how to sort inbound files on a shared connection, whoever operates the other end. If you already hold an account with a VAN such as ECGrid, you connect to it with an ordinary SFTP connection and tick VAN Routing; there is no charge from Tediware beyond your plan’s usual per-transaction pricing.

The VAN add-on is a paid subscription for a connection to a value-added network, provisioned through Tediware. You need it when you want to reach partners over a VAN but do not have your own VAN account. It is billed separately from your plan; see the Billing page for pricing.

After you subscribe, Tediware sets the connection up on the network and creates it in your account for you: an SFTP connection with VAN Routing enabled. We email you when it is ready. You can rename and tag that connection and assign partners to it; the host, credentials, and directories are managed by Tediware, and it cannot be deleted from your account. To remove it, use Request removal on the Billing page, and we decommission the connection on the network before removing it and the add-on.

With the add-on active, you do not build SFTP or AS2 connections to your trading partners. Assign each partner to your VAN connection and set its interchange IDs. Sandbox, API, and webhook connections are unaffected. If a partner is not yet reachable on the network, open the partner and click Request connection.

You do not create connections to the network yourself. If you hold your own contract with the network provider and want to connect to that account, create the connection as usual and tick the box declaring your own contract; without it, the connection form refuses the provider’s host.

Creating a Connection

  1. Navigate to Partners and select a partner, or go to Connections directly
  2. Click New Connection
  3. Select the connection type (SFTP, AS2, or API)
  4. Fill in the required fields for your chosen type
  5. Optionally enable VAN Routing if this connection is shared across multiple partners
  6. Save the connection

Deleting a Connection

A connection assigned to a partner, or used by a node in a flow, cannot be deleted. Free it first: reassign the partner, and change the node’s connection or rebuild the flow.

AS2 Connections

AS2 connections require additional setup beyond basic connection details.

Certificates

AS2 uses four certificates organized into two pairs:

  • Local signing certificate – used by Tediware to sign outbound messages
  • Local encryption certificate – used by trading partners to encrypt messages they send to you
  • Partner signing certificate – used to verify signatures on messages received from the partner
  • Partner encryption certificate – used by Tediware to encrypt outbound messages to the partner

All four certificate slots must be assigned before you can activate an AS2 connection. Upload certificates from the connection detail page using the Certificates tab.

Certificates come in two types, and each carries a usage:

  • Local certificates are your own and must include a private key. Partner certificates belong to your trading partner and do not include a private key.
  • A certificate’s usage is Signing, Encryption, or Both. A single certificate set to Both can fill both the signing and encryption slots for its type (local or partner).

Certificate assignments cannot be changed while the connection is active.

Importing a Certificate

Import certificates from the Certificates tab. Each certificate has:

  • Name – a descriptive label, for example “Acme Corp Signing Certificate”.
  • Certificate Type – Local or Partner.
  • Usage – Signing, Encryption, or Both.
  • Certificate PEM – the certificate content in PEM format.
  • Private Key PEM – required for local certificates only.
  • Certificate Chain PEM – optional; include intermediate certificates if needed.

Tediware reads the certificate and displays its subject, issuer, expiration date, and SHA-256 fingerprint.

Certificate Expiration

Each certificate shows its expiration date. Tediware warns you when a certificate is within 30 days of expiring and marks certificates that have already expired. Replace certificates before they expire to avoid transmission failures.

AS2 Identifiers

Each party in an AS2 exchange has a unique AS2 ID. You will set:

  • Your AS2 ID – identifies Tediware in the exchange (often your company name or a code agreed with the partner)
  • Partner AS2 ID – identifies the trading partner

These identifiers must match exactly what each party expects.

Encryption, Signing, and MDN Settings

When you create an AS2 connection you also set how messages are secured and acknowledged. Coordinate these with your trading partner so both sides match:

  • Encryption Algorithm – AES128_CBC (default), AES192_CBC, AES256_CBC, AES128_GCM, or AES256_GCM.
  • Signing Algorithm – SHA256 (default), SHA1, SHA384, or SHA512.
  • MDN Response – how your partner acknowledges receipt: SYNC (default, immediate), ASYNC (deferred), or NONE.
  • Compression – ZLIB compression on outbound messages, disabled by default.

These fields are locked while the connection is active. Change them with the duplicate-and-replace flow under Replacing an Active Connection.

Activation

Once certificates and identifiers are configured:

  1. Click Activate on the connection detail page
  2. Tediware provisions the necessary infrastructure (this takes a few seconds)
  3. The status changes from Inactive to Active

While active, certain fields are locked and cannot be modified (AS2 IDs, partner URL, encryption/signing algorithms). To change these, duplicate the connection, configure the copy, then activate it as a replacement.

Replacing an Active Connection

If you need to update locked fields on an active AS2 connection:

  1. Duplicate the existing connection
  2. Modify the settings on the new copy
  3. Activate the new connection – you will be prompted to replace the old one
  4. Tediware automatically migrates flow references from the old connection to the new one

Deactivation

Click Deactivate to tear down the AS2 infrastructure for a connection. This returns it to an inactive state where all fields can be edited again.

Troubleshooting AS2

  • Activation fails – Ensure all four certificate slots are filled and your organization has the AS2 add-on enabled
  • Messages not arriving – Verify that the partner is sending to the correct AS2 URL and using the correct AS2 IDs
  • Signature or encryption errors – Confirm that the partner’s certificates match what you have uploaded, and vice versa

Using Connections in Flows

Connections are referenced by Input and Output nodes in your flows:

  • Input nodes monitor a connection for incoming files and feed them into the flow
  • Output nodes send processed results to a connection

A single connection can be used by multiple flows simultaneously. When VAN routing is enabled, a single inbound fetch can dispatch files to different partner flows based on their ISA identifiers.

Testing a Connection

From the connection detail page, click Test to verify a connection is set up correctly. The test runs in the background and the dialog shows live progress and a final success or failure verdict, with a link to the full logs.

For SFTP, the test connects, reads the inbound and outbound directories, and uploads a small test file to the outbound directory. Reading that file back and deleting it are best-effort, so a VAN mailbox that sweeps the outbound directory immediately (such as ECGrid) still passes. Because the test uploads a file, you may want to let your trading partner know before running it. An unreachable server fails the test quickly.

For AS2, the test verifies the AWS Transfer Family resources, S3 access, and that the assigned certificates are present and not expired. Nothing is sent to your trading partner. The connection must be activated before it can be tested.

Troubleshooting VAN Routing

  • Files are skipped with a routing error – The ISA sender or receiver identifiers in the file do not match any partner’s envelope configuration on this connection. Verify that the partner’s external envelope has the correct interchange ID and qualifier.
  • Files route to the wrong partner – Two partners may have overlapping envelope identifiers. Each partner on a VAN-routed connection must have a unique combination of sender ID, sender qualifier, receiver ID, and receiver qualifier.
  • Non-EDI files are skipped – VAN routing requires valid EDI files with an ISA header. Files that do not begin with “ISA” are logged as warnings and skipped.