Z-Wave Alliance publishes 2024A Specification Package and ZRAD

The Z-Wave Alliance has released its 2024A Z-Wave Specification Package, which includes new User Credential Command Class features, as well as new User Credential Control Specifications.

These are for managing user credentials within a Z-Wave network. It defines how devices should handle, store, and communicate user credentials such as PIN codes, passwords, or biometric data for secure access control and authentication.

Credential Control

The key components of the Z-Wave User Credential Control Specification are: Credential Types, Credential Management, Access Control, Security Protocols, Interoperability, Event Logging, User Interface, and Error Handling: Defines how devices should handle errors related to credential management, such as incorrect PIN entries or expired passwords.

For example, the Credential Management element specifies how to create, update, and delete user credentials, i.e. it includes procedures for adding new users, changing existing credentials, and removing users from the system.

And the Error Handling component of the specification defines how devices should handle errors related to credential management, such as incorrect PIN entries or expired passwords.

ZRAD

Note that the the Alliance – the standards body for smart home and IoT wireless comms – has also published a new Z-Wave Reference Application Design (ZRAD) to help developers create Z-Wave products with improved range capabilities using ZWLR (the Z-Wave Long Range specification).

Created by “Dr. Z-Wave” – wireless IoT expert Eric Ryherd – it is an open-source reference design of a best-in-class RF range device. The alliance describes it as “a simple-to-follow application design example complete with detailed step-by-step instructions for implementing Z-Wave technology and the latest available features, such as Z-Wave Long Range”.

“ZRAD is a game-changer for the Z-Wave community, dramatically lowering the barrier to entry for development and providing a clear path from concept to product,” it writes.

“ZRAD offers the tools required to leverage the full power of Z-Wave technology and ZWLR. It is a publicly available repository of data, including detailed schematics and reference designs, to help developers create Z-Wave products with enhanced range capabilities. This free offering offers a streamlined alternative to complex, all-encompassing developer kits, focusing on simplicity and practicality for the developer.”