VCDS on Linux: Virtualization Works!

Hello everyone,

After the post office finally gave me Rainer's package on Friday, I was finally able to test my modern VCDS. It's not particularly exciting, but I did it under Linux, and I can report on that:

VCDS works fine on the Ibiza, as long as it's run within a Windows XP environment that is itself virtualized under KVM on a Linux system. I pass the USB interface directly to the guest using the command "-usb -device usb-host,vendorid=0x0403,productid=0xfa24", which, after some initial problems (I was too clumsy to install the USB drivers correctly in XP), eventually worked.

The "perceived" connection speed to various control units on the Ibiza, and even the process of browsing data blocks in the engine control unit (ECU), is similar to what my very old VAGCOM 0.8something could do through its equally old serial interface. I suspect this is due to the older control units, or should VCDS be able to do better with a HEXCAN interface? The car only supports K-bus, not CAN, so I assume that's why it can't be faster – or am I wrong, and is my virtualization slowing things down?

What do you think... is the load on the USB side significantly higher in a car with CAN bus capability, to the point where it could become a problem? Or is that unlikely, because the interface itself is intelligent and nothing time-critical runs over the USB connection anyway, and because CAN is also much slower than the USB 1.0 that the interface uses to connect to the computer?

The background is that I want to use this to check potential buyers (see the car buying advice thread) before they make a purchase, and I really don't want to have to tinker with another old notebook running XP or something like that (my current devices are all Linux-only). The notebook itself is less of a problem, as I have plenty of those, but rather the batteries, which are too dead for serious use, so I'd have to start messing around with a car power adapter or a 230V converter... Therefore, it would be great if this also worked under Linux (which it does in the Ibiza, but I don't have a CAN-bus car to test it with).

If anyone wants to test this, I can certainly provide the appropriate startup command for KVM (the most important part is already mentioned above).

Best regards,

Jan.

Hello Jan,

Thank you for the feedback! I haven't done a large-scale comparison of USB 1.1, but it shouldn't be a factor given the amount of data being transferred. Similarly, very little data is being transmitted over the CAN bus.

Best regards, Rainer.

Hi again,

So, something else that today's car purchase revealed: VCDS running in an XP virtual machine, which is virtualized using KVM and running on Linux (even 64-bit), and which has the USB interface passed through, also works with a CAN-bus car.

The host computer doesn't require a lot of processing power; mine was a five-year-old Thinkpad X61s with a Core 2 Duo L7700 (a dual-core processor running at 1.8 GHz).

While the automatic car recognition feature incorrectly identified the car (see the buying advice thread), I don't think this is due to my virtualization setup.

Best regards,

Jan.

Hi,
Alternatively, you can set up a second bootable partition on the Linux notebook. Create an XP installation CD using Slipstreamer on one of the old notebooks that has XP installed, and then use that CD to install XP on the new partition. The necessary drivers are available for download.
Then install VCDS, and that's it, the notebook is ready. Shouldn't a 5-year-old Thinkpad already have USB 2?
Sure, here's the translation:

"Best regards," or "Sincerely,".
Herbert.

Hi,

This is my current work device, which I use three times a week for lectures and occasionally for meetings and presentations ... and it has its Windows dual boot that was installed about four years ago. On the one hand, I needed the space, and on the other hand, I never started Windows. The goal of the action was precisely to avoid doing that, because I hate dual boot systems. My notebook is always only suspended, almost never restarted, which is very convenient when working. Rebooting would necessarily require a restart, because you cannot guarantee that the other OS will leave the hardware in exactly the right state - this would then cause problems when resuming.

Yesterday, I also had a backup plan: I went through my collection of old, broken laptops... and one of the old HP models actually still had about 1:30 hours of battery life left, which is more than enough for a diagnostic test. So, that was part of the plan yesterday.

Regarding USB 2: Since the interface identifies itself to the computer via USB 1.1, it's completely unnecessary. Of course, the x61s has it, just like the significantly older HP model.

Best regards,

Jan.

What is one person's owl is another person's nightingale - that's all there is to say about dual booting.
I didn't see the question about CAN compatibility with USB, as the HEX-USB+CAN version of VCDS is definitely designed to support it.
I'm running it with a 2x2 adapter. (If you absolutely need to know: the garage version runs on an Armada 1750 with Windows XP Pro, and a second one runs on a dual-boot notebook ).
Sure, here's the translation:

"Best regards," or "Sincerely,".
Herbert.

Hi,

There was still something unresolved here...

Quote:

I didn't notice the question about CAN compatibility with USB, as the HEX-USB+CAN version of VCDS is definitely designed to support it.

However, this is not suitable for operation under a virtualization solution. There's a whole layer of additional software between the computer's USB port and the USB driver in Windows XP, which the interface driver then interacts with, and VCDS interacts with that driver in turn. This additional software significantly affects the timing. The more data there is (and there's definitely more data with CAN cars than with K-line cars, which is noticeable in the possible sampling rates), the more critical this could become. Fortunately, this doesn't matter here, and even the Core 2 processor with 1.8 GHz is fast enough to transfer the data from the actual USB port to the virtual USB of the guest operating system without any problems.

Best regards,

Jan.

Therefore, Windows XP, with a dual boot system if needed, and no makeshift solution .
Sure, here's the translation:

"Best regards," or "Sincerely,".
Herbert.

Hi,

Therefore, I'm trying to see if it works reliably. And it does. When I get the Octavia, I'll also test how well it handles the amount of data generated during logging, but it's not a huge amount. So, I don't expect any problems.

Virtualization has been around for a long time and is no longer a niche technology. Entire companies are migrating their server infrastructure to virtual environments, and I have been using virtualization for many years without any problems for all sorts of purposes. VCDS is just another option, and it's good to know that it works.

@Rainer: Would it be in your interest if I also wrote something about the logging test in the public diagnostics forum, or would you prefer not to actively promote applications that aren't entirely intended for that purpose?

It's probably not very useful for cracking, because even though you could easily eavesdrop on the data stream between the client and the Hexcan without the client having any chance of detecting it, the real intelligence is in the hardware, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Best regards,

Jan.

Edit Admin:

Quote:

Instructions on how to run VCDS in a virtual machine on Linux or Mac: Linux/Mac: VCDS on Linux or on Apple Mac