The following figure shows the components of B2B Data Exchange and how they interact:

When you install B2B Data Exchange, you provide the information to connect to a database for the Data Exchange Repository. The installer connects to the database and creates the tables and views required for the repository.

The Data Exchange Server reads the metadata from the Data Exchange Repository for information on how to process documents. It determines the parameters required for a workflow based on the information saved in the repository.

B2B Data Exchange uses the Data Transformation Engine to convert documents from one format to another. You can include Unstructured Data transformations in the PowerCenter workflows you build to process Data Exchange documents.

The B2B Data Exchange endpoints determine where the Data Exchange Server reads the documents to be processed and writes the documents after processing. Documents can consist of text files in a file system or messages in a queue. For more information about endpoints, see the

B2B Data Exchange Operator Guide

.