1. Introduction
Zigbee is widely used in smart home, commercial and industrial applications. To ensure interoperability between Zigbee devices, the CSA has established a certification process that involves rigorous testing.
Depending on the scope of the certification, 2 types of certification are defined:
- Platform Certification
- Zigbee Compliant Platform (FFD/RFD)
- End Product Certification
- Zigbee 3.0 Certified Product (FFD/RFD)
- Zigbee Smart Energy Product (FFD/RFD)
2. Zigbee Certification Process
To obtain a Zigbee certification, companies must follow a general set of steps. First, they must join the Zigbee Alliance. Next, they must select the type of certification they wish to pursue, such as Zigbee Platform Certification or End Product Certification, and prepare the product for certification by ensuring that it meets the necessary hardware, software, and functional requirements. If the company wishes, they can also conduct an in-house pre-certification to identify and address any issues before submitting the product for testing. Once the product is ready, the company must select an authorized test house and submit the product for testing. If the product fails any of the tests, the company must address the issues and resubmit the product for testing. Once the product passes all the tests, the company will receive the appropriate certification, such as the Zigbee Certified logo.
3. Zigbee Platform Certification
Zigbee Platform Certification is a process that certifies the compliance of a specific hardware or software platform with the CSA standards and requirements for interoperability with other Zigbee devices. The certification process involves rigorous testing of the product's hardware, software, and functionality to ensure that it can communicate effectively with other Zigbee devices and operate within a Zigbee network. This certification is typically obtained by manufacturers of chips and software stacks.
| Zigbee Platform Certification Process |
|---|
Depending on device type (FFD/RFD), dedicated tests set applies.
Green Power Proxy tests (GPP) may be run as part of Zigbee Platform certification to ensure that the platform or device can support GPP functionality and can communicate with low-power devices using GPP.
802.15.4 MAC & PHY certification has to be performed before running Zigbee Compliant Platform certification tests.
4. End Product Certification
Is a process that certifies the compliance of a final product or device that incorporates Zigbee technology with the CSA standards and requirements. This certification is typically obtained by manufacturers of consumer/ commercial products that use Zigbee technology, such as smart home devices or lighting systems.
4.1. Zigbee 3.0 Certification
This certification intends to check Zigbee End Product interoperability & application middleware (ZCL cluster library / BDB)
Depending on device type (FFD/RFD), dedicated BDB tests set applies.
Zigbee Green Proxy cluster (GPP) is mandatory to get Zigbee 3.0 certificate in FFD device case.
Zigbee Compliant platform certification has to be performed before running Zigbee 3.0 certification tests.
Prior sending the product for testing, Zigbee 3.0 Test Tool (ZTT) is used for internal pre-testing, to avoid the delays and cost of multiple iterations with the test house. This is available for all Zigbee Alliance members.
4.2. Zigbee Smart Energy Certification
Zigbee SE Certification can only be performed with a real End Product with dedicated Hw such as Power Meter / Gas Meter. As a result, Zigbee SE Certification is not applicable to STM32WB.
2 flavours of SE certification are defined : ZigBee Smart Energy v1.2b / ZigBee Smart Energy v1.4
Zigbee SE certification intends to check Zigbee End Product interoperability & application middleware (ZCL cluster library / BDB)
Zigbee Compliant platform certification has to be performed before running Zigbee SE certification tests.
5. Certification Tools
5.1. Chai Tool ?
5.2. Zigbee Unified Test Harness (ZUTH)
It is the official CSA test tool for certification testing. It is used for formal testing by Alliance Authorized Test Laboratories (ATLs) and is also available to all Alliance members for pre-certification testing.
6. Acronyms and definitions
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| BDB | Base Device Behavior |
| DUT | Device Under Test |
| FFD | Full Feature Device |
| RFD | Reduced Feature Device |
| PICS | Protocol Implementation Conformance Statement |
| PIXIT | Protocol Implementation Extra Information for Testing |
| ZTT | Zigbee Test Tool |
| ZCL | ZigBee Cluster Library |