Frequently Asked Questions
What is LLRP?
In April 2007, EPCglobal ratified the Low Level Reader Protocol (LLRP) standard, a specification for the network interface between the reader and its controlling software or hardware. Having already standardized the tag and reader radio frequency (RF) air interface protocol with the UHF Gen 2 standard, this specification was the practical, logical next step in facilitating the adoption of EPC and RFID technology. A copy of the LLRP specification can be found on EPCglobal's website.
Other standards have been proposed for the client-to-reader network interface, so why has LLRP won out? In part, it’s because previous approaches did not go quite far enough to accommodate the needs of reader, controller, and application software providers - needs that included the ability to better leverage the competitive advantages of their respective products, and exploit the advantages of the underlying air protocol. In creating LLRP, EPCglobal in conjunction with reader, controller, and application software vendors, included air-protocol configurations and a rich set of vendor extension points that allow the flexibility to innovate and differentiate vendors' products. These innovations will drive future developments of this standard.
Why do I need a Toolkit for LLRP?
While a standard network interface is an important development, a standard interface is necessarily more complicated than any proprietary interface. It is required to provide a language to describe a richer set of products, and be extensible to allow innovation. For LLRP, this required an extensible binary parameter structure that will let the standard mature over time. However, the learning curve on such a protocol can be challenging.
How can I learn more about LLRP Toolkit?
LLRP Toolkit is hosted at SourceForge.net, an Internet repository for open source software efforts such as net-snmp, wxWidgets, and jBoss. The site is hosted under the project name "LLRP Toolkit" and can be found directly at http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/llrp-toolkit.
What programming languages does LLRP Toolkit support?
The Toolkit support Java, Perl, C, C++ and C#.NET. Pre-compiled libraries are available at http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/llrp-toolkit.
How can I contribute to LLRP Toolkit?
Your contribution are welcome. Visit the LLRP-Toolkit project site and join the forums and mailing list. To provide development, testing or documentation help, please contact llrpadmin@users.sourceforge.net
Is the Toolkit an LLRP implementation?
The Toolkit is not an LLRP implementation. It provides a complete description of the protocol and programming objects in various languages to build and decode LLRP messages. It does not provide any functionality of an LLRP client or reader, but could form the building blocks of a robust conformant reader or client application.