EBMS3

ebXML Messaging Services 3.0. The SOAP-native OASIS B2B messaging standard, of which AS4 is the lightweight profile.

Definition

ebMS3 (ebXML Messaging Services 3.0) is an OASIS Standard published in October 2007 (Core Features) and extended in 2009 (Advanced Features). It specifies a B2B messaging protocol based on SOAP 1.2 that addresses the following needs:

• Routing: the ebMS3 header carries From, To, ConversationId, Service, Action, enabling routing through Message Service Handler (MSH) intermediaries without breaking semantics.
• Security: XML Signature and XML Encryption at the SOAP envelope level (WS-Security 1.1), end-to-end independent of transport.
• Reliability: signed receipt returned by the receiver to the originator. If absent, the sender retries per the P-Mode (Processing Mode).
• Multi-hop: ebMS3 distinguishes "hop-by-hop" MSH (each router secures and signs its hop) from "end-to-end" (the final receiver is the signer). PEPPOL uses end-to-end mode.
• Unconstrained payload: ebMS3 carries any content — XML, JSON, PDF, EDIFACT — as multipart MIME inside the SOAP body.

Origin

ebMS3 grew out of the ebXML convergence project, a UN/CEFACT-OASIS joint effort launched in 1999. An initial ebMS 2.0 version appeared in 2002 (used by some European and Asian operators), then ebMS3 in 2007 marking the SOAP-native overhaul. The OASIS Standard ebMS3 v3 was published in 2007 (Core) and 2009 (Advanced). In 2013, the AS4 light profile distilled ebMS3 into a more deployable subset.

Example in context

The Dutch government uses ebMS3 in its Digipoort network to transmit tax and customs declarations. Norway and Sweden use it in their e-government portals. PEPPOL, since 2017, has normalised usage by mandating the AS4 profile (a strict subset of ebMS3) for all its Access Points.

Related terms

• AS4 — the lightweight ebMS3 profile.
• WS-Security — the shared security layer.
• OASIS — the editor.
• CEFACT — historical co-editor of ebXML.