Transmissions and Receipts
An AS2 partnership has separate incoming and outgoing transmissions. The folders show the files available to your workflow; message logs and Message Disposition Notifications (MDNs) establish what happened during the exchange. A successful AS2 delivery does not establish that the receiving business application imported the file.
AS2 Folders
Once you have configured AS2, a new top-level folder named as2_home appears in your Files.com site.
The as2_home folder contains a folder for each of your AS2 Identities, and each AS2 Identity folder contains a folder for each of your AS2 trading partners. For example, if your AS2 Identity is ME and your trading partner's AS2 Identity is THEM, the folder structure is:
/as2_home/ME/THEM/inbox
/as2_home/ME/THEM/outbox
/as2_home/ME/THEM/sent
Files sent to you via AS2 by your trading partner appear in the inbox folder.
Files placed into the outbox folder are sent via AS2 to your trading partner. After a file is successfully sent, Files.com automatically moves it from the outbox folder to the sent folder.
Incoming File Names
When a trading partner sends a file whose name already exists in its inbox, your site's Overwrite Behavior setting determines whether the existing file is replaced or the new file is renamed. Choose the behavior before accepting deliveries that reuse filenames, so a later delivery is handled as your workflow expects.
To preserve separate deliveries under names that identify when they arrived, configure the inbox folder's Rename Uploaded Files setting to include a timestamp. This gives downstream processing a way to distinguish files that the partner sends with the same name.
Transmission Information
The AS2 Logs show details of incoming and outgoing AS2 transmissions. Incoming and outgoing messages are listed separately, and each table can be configured to specify which columns are displayed.
| Column Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Date/Time | Shows the date and time of the transmission. |
| Status | Shows the outcome of the transmission. |
| File Size | Shows the size of the transmitted file. |
| File Name | Shows the name of the transmitted file, if available. |
| Sender ID | Shows the AS2 Identifier of the sender. |
| Receiver ID | Shows the AS2 Identifier of the receiver. |
| HTTP Response Code | Shows the HTTP Response Code of the AS2 transmission, which can be useful in troubleshooting AS2 setup and configuration issues. An HTTP success response alone does not establish AS2 success; also review the MDN and AS2 processing results. Other HTTP codes can help identify transport or endpoint errors. |
| HTTP Response Headers | Shows the HTTP Response Headers of the AS2 transmission, which can be useful in troubleshooting AS2 setup and configuration issues. The important headers used by AS2 are Content-Type, MIME-Version, Message-ID, AS2-From, AS2-To, and AS2-Version. |
| File Contents | Provides a link to open and view the file contents, if available. |
| MDN Exists | Specifies if a Message Disposition Notification is available for this transmission. |
| AS2 Processing | Provides information about the outcomes of the various AS2 processing steps that were performed. |
| MDN Contents | Provides a link to open and view the Message Disposition Notification, if available. |
| Transmission Duration | Shows the estimated duration of the transmission, if available. |
Message Disposition Notifications (MDNs)
A Message Disposition Notification (MDN) is a digital receipt, returned by the receiver of the AS2 payload (message), to provide confirmation of delivery to the sender.
The MDN can return a successful delivery notification or a failure outcome. A failed MDN typically contains details about why the delivery failed.
For successfully processed incoming messages, Files.com returns a signed MDN containing a Message Integrity Check (MIC) in the Received-Content-MIC field. The MIC lets the sending partner compare the received content with what they sent. Files.com includes it for signed and unsigned messages, with or without S/MIME message encryption.
A valid MDN signature lets the sender verify that the receipt came from the receiving AS2 identity. Together with the MIC, it provides evidence of the content received, which helps trading partners reconcile delivery records. It does not mean that the original message was signed or that its signature was validated. The partner's incoming signature validation level controls that separate check.
MDNs are optional in the AS2 protocol, but they are widely adopted and often required by trading partners. You can view incoming and outgoing MDNs in the AS2 Logs.
Viewing Receipts
You can view Message Disposition Notifications in the MDN Contents column of the incoming messages and outgoing messages sections of the AS2 Logs.
The AS2 incoming messages table shows MDNs that Files.com generated in response to inbound AS2 transmissions from your trading partners.
The AS2 outgoing messages table shows MDNs that your trading partners generated in response to outbound AS2 transmissions from Files.com.
The MDN Exists column indicates whether a Message Disposition Notification is available for that transmission.
Message Retention
The system retains all AS2 messages, including their full payloads and debugging details, for 90 days by default. You can adjust this duration in the Message Retention Timeframe setting.
This retention setting applies globally to your entire site and includes both inbound and outbound AS2 messages. It controls how long message logs and message content remain available before they are automatically removed.
AS2 Data Residency
Retained AS2 message data is stored in the United States, regardless of the storage region configured for the rest of your site. This covers the AS2 message logs, the message payloads, and the transmitted file contents, and it applies even when the transmitted file is not otherwise stored in Files.com. Files.com's AS2 logging infrastructure runs in the United States, and there is no setting to change where AS2 data is stored.