Z-Wave Alliance Provides Compliance Test Tool

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Upper Saddle River, NJ, Nov 09, 2005 – The Z-Wave Alliance (www.z-wavealliance.com), announces today that it is providing a Z-Wave Compliance Test Tool (CTT) free of charge to its members. The introduction of this tool further underlines the strong emphasis it puts on interoperability and maturity of Z-Wave products coming to market.

Developed in partnership with ControlThink, the CTT is a Windows-based application that allows testing of all types of Z-Wave devices for compliance with the Z-Wave standard. Z-Wave Alliance members will use the CTT in engineering, quality and Z-Wave compliance testing. It supports all 30+ Z-Wave Device Classes and all Z-Wave applications. The CTT enables testing of both the full application functionality, as well as the operation of Z-Wave devices in large networks. Furthermore, the CTT also provides features for stress and load testing of devices, helping OEMs to ensure that their products are robust even under heavy network loads.

Key benefits of the CTT:
- Provides a common reference for Z-Wave compliant devices
- Lowers the learning curve for engineers new to Z-Wave
- Reduces effort and cost of OEMs to develop engineering, quality and self-certification test tools
- Reduces effort, time and cost to conduct tests on products
- Reduces time-to-market for new Z-Wave products
- Helps to further increase Z-Wave interoperability

An alpha version of the CTT will be demonstrated and tested at the Z-Wave Developer Forum in Anaheim, CA this week. A beta version will be available to Z-Wave Alliance members in early December and version 1.0 will become available early next year.

Per Nathanaelson, Zensys CEO, commented, “The CTT is testimony to the high value the Z-Wave Alliance provides to its members less than one year since its inception. The introduction of the CTT will not only further increase Z-Wave’s strength in interoperability, but also enhance its attractiveness for OEMs by reducing the effort, cost and time to market.â€

In addition to the CTT, the Z-Wave Alliance announces the introduction of Verification Tests as part of Z-Wave Certification. The Z-Wave logo is awarded based on a process that remains centered around self-certification performed by the Z-Wave Alliance members. This self-certification process is further strengthened by the addition of a Verification Test step that replaces the previous less formal testing process of all Z-Wave products.

Verification testing is performed by authorized Z-Wave Test Partners. ControlTest LC (Provo, UT) is appointed as the first Z-Wave Test Partner. The cost for Verification Testing will be covered by the Z-Wave Certification fee. Despite the addition of the Verification Test step, the current Z-Wave Certification fee of $750 will not be increased. By streamlining the overall certification process, the entire duration of certification – including the new Verification testing – is expected to be reduced to just 5-10 working days.

“We welcome Verification testing as it reduces the risk of non-compliant products coming to market and thereby helps to secure the investment of all Z-Wave OEMs,†said Yan Rodriguez, Director, Home Networking and Access Systems, Wayne-Dalton. “The fact that the low Z-Wave Certification Fee will not be increased, despite full test coverage, is an added benefit for new Alliance members and clearly a sign for Z-Wave’s high level of maturity.â€
 
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