What is PEPPOL about?
PEPPOL 101
PEPPOL is about openness - thus removing barriers for domestic and cross-border e-commerce. PEPPOL is also about linking isolated islands of e-business communities into one where everyone can connect with anyone.
Listed below are some important properties of PEPPOL:
- Anyone can become a PEPPOL Access Point.
- The unique receiver discovery mechanism.
- No peering agreements needed and no roaming fees allowed between PEPPOL Access Points.
Learn more about PEPPOL in the Frequently Asked Questions section.
The components below are key in the transport infrastructure of PEPPOL:
- SML (Service Metadata Locator) – A DNS that returns the adress to the SMP that holds the metadata of a PEPPOL receiver. The SML is the only centrally operated component in the PEPPOL transport infrastructure. It is managed by OpenPEPPOL and operates out of Brussels by DG/DIGIT.
- SMP (Service Metadata Publisher) – Publishes metadata about a PEPPOL receiver and which Access Point is used to receive a certain document type.
- AP (Access Point) – connects with other PEPPOL Access Points to securely exchange files.
Typically, service providers offer both Access Point and SMP services. This means that these two components are distributed throughout the PEPPOL Network.