The Security Industry Association announced this week that it has released version 2.1.5 of its Open Supervised Device Protocol specification, which allows access control devices to work together.
According to a statement, the SIA OSDP provides the industry with a solution that moves beyond the widely used Wiegand standard and also adds other features such as bi-directional communication, paving the way for advanced security applications, which include the handling of smartcards, PKI and mobile device access.
The OSDP specification was originally developed by HID Global and Mercury Security Corporation with recent contributions from Codebench. The project has been spearheaded by the Access Control & Identity Subcommittee, one of SIA’s Standards Committee groups, which will convene a working group to get the specification ready for ANSI standardization.
The new OSDP version builds upon the RS-485 serial interface that has already been adopted by numerous manufacturers, but the working group plans to expand the specification to also support IP communications.
"This is an important milestone," said Steve Van Till, SIA Standards Committee Chairman and CEO of Brivo Systems. "OSDP fills a glaring need within the industry and this release demonstrates that SIA Standards is actively doing its part to enable secure and trusted identity solutions. The addition of IP support is the next crucial step."
SIA said that future versions of the specification will also incorporate practitioner comments and noted best practices. The subcommittee already has plans to launch an online practitioner forum for the protocol.
"OSDP has room to grow and we want to invite those that utilize the specification to provide feedback and custom extensions. Industry practitioner interactivity is what can make a great spec an excellent spec," said Dave Adams, co-chair of the Access Control & Identity Subcommittee and senior product marketing manager at HID.
SIA members can purchase the new OSDP specification through the organization’s online store for $10. Non-members can purchase it for $20.
