Question 1

1. Do I need to upgrade to OCPP 2.1 right away?

Accepted Answer

No. OCPP 2.1 is fully backward compatible with 2.0.1, so there's no forced cutover. If you're already on 2.0.1 and have no near-term need for V2X, DER control, tariff display, or battery swapping, upgrading can wait for your normal firmware refresh cycle.

Question 2

2. Is OCPP 2.1 backward compatible with OCPP 2.0.1?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every one of OCPP 2.0.1's 64 messages keeps the same name, direction, and JSON schema in 2.1. The protocol simply adds four new functional blocks and two new message types on top — nothing from 2.0.1 is deprecated or renamed.

Question 3

3. What is an OCPP security profile?

Accepted Answer

An OCPP security profile defines how a charger authenticates to its CSMS. Profile 1 uses HTTP Basic Auth over server-cert TLS, Profile 2 adds mutual TLS with client certificates, and Profile 3 layers Plug & Charge certificate-based authorization on top. All three were introduced in 2.0.1 and are unchanged in 2.1.

Question 4

4. Does moving to OCPP 2.1 require new charger hardware?

Accepted Answer

Depends on what you use it for. Software-only features — tariff display, dynamic scheduling, priority charging — typically work on existing 2.0.1-capable hardware via a firmware update. Bidirectional charging (V2X) is the exception: it needs chargers built with bidirectional power-transfer hardware, which most currently installed DC units don't have.

Question 5

5. Is OCPP 1.6 still safe to run?

Accepted Answer

Not without mitigation. U.S. Department of Energy researchers demonstrated real denial-of-service and man-in-the-middle exploits against OCPP 1.6's unencrypted transport. If a full upgrade to 2.0.1 isn't immediate, wrap 1.6 traffic in an encrypted tunnel (TLS/IPSec/SSH) in the interim.

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