Although the HL7 Standard is defined in terms of the client-server (remote operation) model, its standards are equally applicable to file transfers. One or more messages may be encoded according to the Encoding Rules, grouped in a file and transferred using external media, FTAM, FTP, Kermit, or any other file transfer protocol. Responses may be grouped in a file and similarly transmitted. Chapter 2 provides the general mechanisms for the batch transmittal of HL7 messages.