ZLL

Zigbee Light Link (ZLL) is a Zigbee profile intended to simplify the control of lighting devices in homes and small offices. Developed by the Zigbee Alliance, it defines device roles, clusters, and commissioning procedures that enable interoperable lighting products from different manufacturers, such as bulbs, switches, dimmers, and remote controls, to work together in a single Zigbee network.

Technical scope includes building on Zigbee’s network layer with standard clusters for lighting control. Key clusters include On/Off for basic power, LevelControl for dimming, and ColorControl for color and white temperature. ZLL supports groups and scenes to coordinate multiple lights and is optimized for low-power, low-cost devices operating in the 2.4 GHz band within a mesh network.

Commissioning and network management features include touchlink, a near-field pairing method that assists in joining devices and forming networks. Security features of Zigbee networks, such as network keys and AES-128 encryption, apply to ZLL, and devices typically undergo certification to ensure interoperable operation.

Interoperability and devices: ZLL-certified products are designed to interoperate with other ZLL devices regardless of vendor. Common ZLL devices include bulbs, luminaires, plug-in modules, wall switches, and remote controls. Some products implement ZLL alongside other Zigbee profiles or as part of Zigbee 3.0, which consolidates profiles under a single umbrella. The ecosystem has evolved toward Zigbee 3.0 and, more broadly recently, the Matter ecosystem.

Certification and status: The Zigbee Alliance certifies ZLL devices for compliance with the profile and its security requirements. ZLL remains a recognized lighting control standard within Zigbee and has historically been widely used, though many modern products rely on Zigbee 3.0 or Matter for broader interoperability.