Minimal Lower Layer Protocol (MLLP) is a network protocol typically used with HL7 data.
In most cases, when HL7 2.x data is transmitted over the network it is done using MLLP.[1]
Characteristics
It transmits data encapsulated in TCP and has no assigned default port number. Typically, port 6660 is used.
A large portion of HL7 messaging is transported by Minimal Lower Layer Protocol (MLLP), also known as Lower Layer Protocol (LLP)[2] or Minimum Layer Protocol (MLP).[3] For transmitting via TCP/IP, header and trailer characters are added to the message to identify the beginning and ending of the message because TCP/IP is a continuous stream of bytes.[4] Hybrid Lower Layer Protocol (HLLP) is a variation of MLLP that includes a checksum to help verify message integrity. Amongst other software vendors, MLLP is supported by Microsoft,[5] Oracle,[6] Cleo.[7]
Security
MLLP contains no inherent security or encryption but relies on lower layer protocols such as Transport Layer Security (TLS) or IPsec for safeguarding Protected health information outside of a secure network.
Variants
The HL7 Implementation Support Guide also specifies a variant based on ANSI X3.29 to be used over RS-232, because the latter tends to suffer from flow control and error recovery issues.
References
- ^ Indrasiri, Kasun (2016). Beginning WSO2 ESB. SpringerLink Bücher. Berkeley, CA: Apress. p. 190. ISBN 978-1-4842-2343-7.
- ^ “LLP – Lower Layer Protocol”. iNTERFACEWARE.
- ^ “Minimum Layer Protocol”. LYNIATE. 13 January 2020.
- ^ Spronk, Rene. “Transport Specification: MLLP, Release 1” (PDF). hl7.org. Health Level Seven Inc. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
- ^ “MLLP Receive and Send Components”. MSDN.
- ^ “Oracle Application Server Integration B2B User’s Guide, Supported Protocols”. Oracle.
- ^ “Which Secure Managed File Transfer Protocol is Right for You?”. Cleo. Archived from the original on 2015-06-07. Retrieved 2015-01-23.
External links
- “Health Level Seven Implementation Support Guide: Appendix C – Lower Layer Protocols, section C.4” (PDF). HL7 International. pp. 306–308. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 5, 2003.