SILICON LABS Zigbee EmberZ Net SDK Instructions

Silicon Labs is the vendor of choice for OEMs developing Zigbee networking into their products. The Silicon Labs Zigbee platform is the most integrated, complete, and feature-rich Zigbee solution available. The Silicon Labs EmberZNet SDK contains Silicon Labs’ implementation of the Zigbee stack specification.

KEY FEATURES

Zigbee

-250+ entries in the APS link key table
ZigbeeD support on Android 12 (v21.0.6113669) and Tizen (v0.1-13.1)

xG26 Module support

Multiprotocol

ZigbeeD and OTBR support on OpenWRT – GA
DMP BLE + CMP ZB & Matter/OT with Concurrent Listening on MG26 for SoC – GA

802.15.4 Unified radio scheduler priority component
Debian packaging support for MP host applications – Alpha

New Items

Important Changes
The APS link key table size (configured using SL_ZIGBEE_KEY_TABLE_SIZE) is expanded from 127 to 254 entries.

R23 support is added for ZDD Network commissioning functionality. Tunneling functionality is available without support for Legacy Network use cases.

The Network Steering and Network Creator components have been updated to include support for R23 joining. These include the following related changes.
- The default Trust Center Link Key (TCLK) request policy has been updated to generate new keys for each requesting device. A new key is generated each time the requesting devices attempt to update their Trust Center Link Key.
- Due to the previous TCLK policy change, the Network Creator Security component now requires the Security Link Keys component. Applications upgrading will be updated to conform to this new requirement.
- A new configuration,
  SL_ZIGBEE_AF_PLUGIN_NETWORK_CREATOR_SECURITY_ALLOW_TC_USING_HASHED_LINK_KEY is added to allow joining using a core, hashed key. This configuration is found under the Network Creator Security component. Use of this policy allows each joining device to receive a unique TCLK post-join, but repeated attempts to update the TCLK will not result in a new key for the requesting device. This using of hashed link keys was the default policy before this release, and the use of this policy allows the Trust Center to avoid bringing in the Security Link Keys component, which saves keys in Flash.
  Note: Silicon Labs does not recommend the use of this policy, as this prevents joining devices from rolling, or updating, their TCLKs.

A new configuration set is added to the component zigbee_ezsp_spi to allow the configuration of the host SPI device and its pin interfaces.
The example projects, including the project files (.slcps) and project folder, are renamed to Silicon Labs naming guidelines and moved under the “projects” directory.

New Platform Support

New modules
- MGM260PD32VNA2
- MGM260PD32VNN2
- MGM260PD22VNA2
- MGM260PB32VNA5
- MGM260PB32VNN5
- MGM260PB22VNA5
- BGM260PB22VNA2
- BGM260PB32VNA2
- New radio boards
- MGM260P-RB4350A
- MGM260P-RB4351A
New part
- efr32xg27
Explorer Kit
- BRD2709A
- MGM260P-EK2713A

New Documentation
A new EZSP user guides UG600 for releases 8.1 and above.

Improvements

SL_ZIGBEE_KEY_TABLE_SIZE limits expanded up to 254 entries.
Added zigbee_security_link_keys to Z3Light.
Added zigbee_security_link_keys to zigbee_mp_z3_tc_z3_tc. Updated its key table size as well.
Increased the Z3 Gateway key table size (that will be set to ncp) to 20.

Fixed Issues

Known Issues in the Current Release

Issues in bold were added since the previous release. If you have missed a release, recent release notes are available at https://www.silabs.com/developers/zigbee-emberznet in the Tech Docs tab.

Deprecated Items

The zigbee_watchdog_periodic_refresh component is no longer used in the Zigbee application framework and is deprecated in this release. The watchdog timer is disabled by default for all the sample applications. There will be an improved watchdog component added to the SDK in the future.
Note: Enable the watchdog timer with configuration item SL_LEGACY_HAL_DISABLE_WATCHDOG set to 0 in your application

Network Limitations and Considerations

The default Trust Center applications that come shipped with this EmberZNet release are capable of supporting several devices on the network. This number is determined based on several factors, including configured table sizes, NVM usage, and other generation time and run-time values. Users seeking to create large networks may face resource issues when growing the network larger than the application can support. For example, a device requesting a Trust Center Link Key from the Trust Center may trigger a sl_zigbee_af_zigbee_key_establishment_cb callback on the Trust Center with h status set to SL_ZIGBEE_KEY_TABLE_FULL, indicating that the key table does not have room to add a new key for the requesting device or that NVM3 has no available space. Silicon Labs provides the following recommendations for users seeking to create large networks. For Trust Center applications, the following configurations are recommended. These recommendations are not exhaustive, and they serve as a baseline for applications intending to grow large networks.

Inclusion of the Address Table component (zigbee_address_table), with
- the SL_ZIGBEE_AF_PLUGIN_ADDRESS_TABLE_SIZE configuration item set to the size of the desired network
- the SL_ZIGBEE_AF_PLUGIN_ADDRESS_TABLE_TRUST_CENTER_CACHE_SIZE value set to the maximum (4)

Inclusion of the Security Link Keys component (zigbee_security_link_keys), with
- The SL_ZIGBEE_KEY_TABLE_SIZE value is set to the size of the network
The following configuration items are set to the size of the desired network
- SL_ZIGBEE_BROADCAST_TABLE_SIZE, as found in the Zigbee Pro Stack component
- SL_ZIGBEE_SOURCE_ROUTE_TABLE_SIZE, as found in the Source routing component, if source routing is used
Adjustment of NVM3_DEFAULT_NVM_SIZE and NVM3_DEFAULT_CACHE_SIZE according to NVM3 usage
- E.g. network sizes greater than 65 nodes likely require an NVM3 size of 64K. The default NVM3 size in Silicon Labs Zigbee sample applications is 32K. Applications that use NVM more heavily may require adjusting this value even higher.
- Large networks up to 65 nodes may need an NVM3 cache size of 1200 bytes; growing networks larger than that may require doubling this value to 2400 bytes.

These adjustments apply to the Trust Center only

Multiprotocol Gateway and RCP

New Items
Enabled GA SoC support for BLE DMP with Zigbee + Openthread CMP with concurrent listening on xG26 parts. Debian alpha support has been added forZigbeed, OTBR, and Z3Gateway applications. Zigbeed and OTBR are provided in DEB package format for the chosen reference platform (Raspberry PI 4) as well. See Running Zigbee, OpenThread, and Bluetooth Concurrently on a Linux Host with a Multiprotocol Co-Processor, found at docs.silabs.com, for details. Added Zigbeed support for Tizen-0.1-13.1 for arm32 and aarch64 as well as Android 12 for aarch64. More information on Zigbeed can be found at docs.silabs.com. Added the new “802.15.4 Unified radio scheduler priority” component. This component is used to configure the radio priorities of a 15.4 stack. The component also requires the new “radio_priority_configurator” component. This component allows projects to use the Radio Priority Configurator tool in Simplicity Studio to configure the radio priority levels of the stacks that require it.

Improvements
Application note Running Zigbee, OpenThread, and Bluetooth Concurrently on a Linux Host with a Multiprotocol Co-Processor (AN1333) has been moved to docs.silabs.com. OpenWRT support is now GA quality. OpenWRT support has been added for Zigbee, OTBR, and Z3Gateway applications. Zigbeed and OTBR are provided in IPK package format for the reference platform (Raspberry PI 4) as well. See Running Zigbee, OpenThread, and Bluetooth Concurrently on a Linux Host with a Multiprotocol Co-Processor, found at docs.silabs.com, for details.

Fixed Issues

Known Issues in the Current Release
Issues in bold were added since the previous release. If you have missed a release, recent release notes are available oathttps://www.silabs.com/developers/simplicity-software-development-kit.

Deprecated Items
The “Multiprotocol Container” which is currently available on DockerHub (siliconlabsinc/multiprotocol) will be deprecated in an upcoming release. The container will no longer be updated and able to be pulled from DockerHub. The Debian-based packages for cpcd, ZigBee, and ot-br-posix, along with natively generated and compiled projects, will replace the functionality lost with the removal of the container.

Using This Release

This release contains the following:

Zigbee stack
Zigbee Application Framework
Zigbee Sample Applications

For more information about Zigbee and the EmberZNet SDK see UG103.02: Zigbee Fundamentals. If you are a first-time user, see QSG180: Zigbee EmberZNet Quick-Start Guide for SDK 7.0 and Higher, for instructions on configuring your development environment, building and flashing a sample application, and documentation references pointing to the ext steps.

Installation and Use
The Zigbee EmberZNet SDK is provided as part of the Simplicity SDK, the suite of Silicon Labs SDKs. To quickly get started with the Simplicity SDK, install Simplicity Studio 5, which will set up your development environment and walk you through Simplicity SDK installation. Simplicity Studio 5 includes everything needed for IoT product development with Silicon Labs devices, including a resource and project launcher, software configuration tools, full IDE with GNU toolchain, and analysis tools. Installation instructions are provided in the online Simplicity Studio 5 User’s Guide. Alternatively, Simplicity SDK may be installed manually by downloading or cloning the latest from GitHub. See https://github.com/SiliconLabs/simplicity_sdk for more information. Simplicity Studio installs the Simplicity SDK by default in:

(Windows): C:\Users\\SimplicityStudio\SDKs\simplicity_sdk

(MacOS): /Users//SimplicityStudio/SDKs/simplicity_sdk

Documentation specific to the SDK version is installed with the SDK. Additional information can often be found in the knowledge base articles (KBAs). API references and other information about this and earlier releases are availableatn https://docs.silabs.com/.

Security Information
Secure Vault Integration
For applications that choose to store keys securely using the Secure Key Storage component on Secure Vault-High parts, the following table shows the protected keys and their storage protection characteristics that the Zigbee Security Manager component manages.Wrapped keys that are marked as “Non-Exportable” can be used but cannot be viewed or shared at runtime. Wrapped keys that are marked as “Exportable” can be used or shared at runtime but remain encrypted while stored in Flash. User applications never need to interact with the majority of these keys. Existing APIs to manage Link Key Table keys or Transient Keys are still available to the user application and nare ow routed through the Zigbee Security Manager component.

Security Advisories
To subscribe to Security Advisories, log in to the Silicon Labs customer portal, then select Account Home. Click HOME to go to the portal home page and then click the Manage Notifications tile. Make sure that ‘Software/Security Advisory Notices & Product Change Notices (PCNs)’ is checked, and that you are subscribed at minimum for your platform and protocol. Click Save to save any changes.

Support
Development Kit customers are eligible for training and technical support. Use the Silicon Laboratories Zigbee web page to obtain information about all Silicon Labs Zigbee products and services, and to sign up for product support. You can contact Silicon Laboratories support at http://www.silabs.com/support.

Zigbee Certification
The Ember ZNet 8.1 release has been qualified for Zigbee Compliant Platform for SoC, NC, P, and RCP architectures there is a ZCP certification ID tied to this release, please check the CSA website here:
https://csa-iot.org/csa-iot_products/.

Please note that the ZCP certification is filed post the release, and takes a few weeks before getting reflected on the CSA website. For any further queries, please contact Silicon Laboratories support at http://www.silabs.com/support.

FAQs

Q: How do I update the APS link key table size in the SDK?
A: The APS link key table size can be configured using the SL_ZIGBEE_KEY_TABLE_SIZE parameter. In version 8.1, it has been expanded from 127 to 254 entries.

Q: What are the improvements in version 8.1?
A: Version 8.1 brings enhancements such as expanding the APS link key table size, renaming components, adding mutex protection for Athe pp Framework event queue, and more. Refer to the release notes for a detailed list of improvements.

Q: How do I handle fixed issues in the SDK?
A: Fixed issues in the SDK including resolving potential problems with neighbor table size configuration, renaming components, fixing source route overhead, handling ZCL commands, and more. Ensure you update to the latest version to benefit from these fixes.

Documents / Resources

SILICON LABS Zigbee EmberZ Net SDK [pdf] Instructions
Zigbee EmberZ Net SDK, EmberZ Net SDK, Net SDK, SDK

References

User Manual

SILICON LABS Zigbee EmberZ Net SDK

Specifications

Product Information