Elevate your project with the help of our decades of expertise and cutting-edge simulation. Trusted worldwide, our bus and network solutions enable simulation, manipulation, logging, replay, and analysis across a range of bus systems.
Faster ECU Development
Reduced Hardware Dependency and Costs
Faster Troubleshooting
Reproducible Testing Scenarios
Real-Time Bus & Network Simulation
Modern vehicles, aircraft, and industrial systems rely on increasingly complex bus architectures and network communication. To ensure reliability and compliance, dSPACE offers a comprehensive tool chain for simulating, analyzing, and validating these networks. With decades of experience and active participation in standardization bodies, we provide proven hardware and software solutions for every development phase – from rapid control prototyping (RCP) to software-in-the-loop (SIL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing. Our tool chain enables comprehensive restbus simulations. These restbus simulations emulate the remaining ECUs of a network or bus that are not physically available during development. This allows early testing of communication behavior, reduces dependency on hardware availability, and accelerates integration—saving you time and costs while improving quality.
Supported Bus Protocols:
CAN, LIN, Ethernet SOME/IP, Ethernet DDS, FlexRay, J1939, ISOBUS, ARINC 664 (AFDX), ARINC 429, MIL-STD-1553, CANopen, EtherCAT, and many more
Supported Standards for Network Communication:
ARXML, DBC, LDF, XML, IDL
Applications:
Restbus simulation, rapid control prototyping, hardware-in-the-loop, software-in-the-loop, data logging, data replay
Our Offer for Bus & Network Simulation
1. Communication matrix handling made easy |
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2. Graphical and automated configuration of simulation and manipulation options |
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3. Seamless artifact reuse within development phases |
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4. Perfect compatibility with dSPACE platforms |
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5. Easy comparison of SIL, RCP, and HIL test and experimentation results |
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To standardize workflows, ensure consistent platform support, and allow for consistent artifact reuse, our tool chain can be separated into four distinct phases, each with an easy-to-use and extensive portfolio of products.
Prepare Bus Simulations
Prepare Bus Simulations with Wide Ranging Protocol Support to Accelerate Development Across Industries
In the preparation phase, you define how network communication should behave during run time. You import the communication description into one of our bus configuration tools and configure the simulation with comprehensive simulation and manipulation options:
- Static bus simulation allows verification of base network functionality by sending messages according to the network description.
- Synthetic bus simulation allows early validation of critical communication mechanisms by sending messages according to specified rules. dSPACE supports a variety of message counters, cyclic redundancy checks (CRC), end-to-end protection profiles, or secure onboard communication implementations.
- Dynamic bus simulation allows accurate system testing by sending messages according to a dynamic simulation model, such as a Simulink model, a Functional Mock-up Interface, or a V-ECU, to dynamically simulate the behavior of a real ECU.
Regardless of which simulation option you have selected, our test and experiment software always allows you to overwrite values manually.
Our bus configuration tools consistently support a variety of bus protocols and provide a wide range of features as well as manipulation and inspection options, to align the restbus simulation to your requirements.
Simulate Virtual or Physical Networks
Simulate Fully Virtual Bus Communication or Combine It with Real Hardware to Reduce Hardware Dependency and Costs
To execute your bus simulation, dSPACE offers a flexible selection of platforms with extensive bus support that match your use case.
Virtual Bus Simulation with VEOS
For fully virtual bus simulation and software-in-the-loop workflows, dSPACE offers the scalable simulation and validation platform VEOS. VEOS can run bus simulations configured by the dSPACE bus configuration tools natively and without additional configuration effort. It supports bit-wise data transmission and can dynamically simulate bus arbitration, collisions, and data rates.
Physical Bus Simulation with SCALEXIO, MicroAutoBox, and MicroLabBox
dSPACE enables the physical bus simulation for hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) and rapid control prototyping (RCP) workflows with a range of simulation and validation platforms. SCALEXIO is the scalable hardware-in-the-loop platform for everything from component-level testing to domain or high performance compute (HPC) level testing. The MicroAutoBox III is our rapid control prototyping platform. It can be used to add or replace an electronic control unit (ECU) and lets you experience control features early. The MicroLabBox II is the flexible system that covers a wide range of RCP and HIL application with great flexibility.
Test and Validate Network Behaviour
Test, Access, and Experiment with Network Behavior in One Integrated Environment to Improve Productivity and Testing Coverage
To test, access, and experiment with restbus simulations, dSPACE offers the experiment and instrumentation software ControlDesk. It provides an intuitive environment to configure, monitor, and automate bus communication tests, reducing complexity and ensuring consistent results across all development stages. Complementing this, the Bus Navigator module offers powerful capabilities for handling entire messages, frames, PDUs, and signals for all supported bus protocols. Together, they allow matching the configured bus simulation from the bus configuration tools with the layout generation options for CAN (FD), LIN, FlexRay, or Ethernet (SOME/IP or DDS). With advanced analysis tools, flexible logging and replay options, and compatibility with the dSPACE tool chain and third-party interfaces, engineers can quickly validate configurations, detect issues early, and maintain compliance. Together, these tools accelerate workflows, improve test accuracy, and help deliver reliable, high-quality systems faster.
Support for Consistency and Analysis
Support the Visualization and Validation of Communication Matrices to Detect Inconsistencies Before They Impact Your System
Managing complex bus communication across multiple ECUs can be time-consuming and error-prone—especially when dealing with raw communication matrix files in formats like ARXML, DBC, or IDL. The dSPACE Communication Matrix Manager simplifies this process by offering intuitive, format-independent visualizations of your communication data. Engineers can quickly inspect clusters, channels, PDUs, and signals, reducing onboarding time and improving collaboration across teams. Built-in quality checks automatically validate syntax and semantics, helping you catch inconsistencies early and avoid costly integration errors. With powerful comparison features, you can track changes between matrix versions, maintain consistency across development cycles, and ensure compliance with industry standards like AUTOSAR. Whether you are designing networks for CAN, LIN, FlexRay, or Ethernet, the Communication Matrix Manager helps you accelerate development, improve reliability, and reduce manual effort—all while being easy to use and affordable.
Logging and Replay for Faster Troubleshooting, Efficient Analysis, and Reproducible Testing Scenarios
No matter your specific requirements, dSPACE offers the ideal data logging and replay system.
- For applications requiring high data bandwidth, AUTERA is the right choice. With an in-vehicle data logging and prototyping system, you can read, process, and record raw network data from lidar, radar, and camera sensors as well as other automotive buses and networks with best-in-class bandwidth.
- If you are running SCALEXIO, you can directly access the CAN, LIN, or Ethernet system interfaces without additional hardware. This makes it easy to analyze your signals without complex and costly test setups.
- In software-based simulation runs, for example, with dSPACE VEOS, you can access the network interfaces directly.
- A direct connection between your PC and an ECU is provided by specialized converters for various bus protocols, such as CAN, LIN, and K-Line. These converters (DCI-KLine1, DCI-CAN/LIN1, DCI-CAN2) allow you to analyze signals without a real-time system.
- For in-vehicle applications, you can use the MicroAutoBox III as a bus and network gateway and for monitoring purposes.
Bus Protocol |
Required dSPACE Configuration Tool |
| CAN, J1939, LIN | Bus Manager |
| FlexRay | FlexRay Configuration Package |
| Ethernet SOME/IP | Ethernet Configuration Package |
| Ethernet DDS | Configuration Tool for DDS |
Bus Protocol |
Required dSPACE Configuration Tool |
| CAN, ARINC 825 | Bus Manager |
| ARINC 429 | SCALEXIO Interface Solution for ARINC 429 |
| ARINC 664 & AFDX | SCALEXIO Interface Solution for ARINC 664 and AFDX |
| MIL-STD-1553 | SCALEXIO Interface Solution for MIL-STD-1553 |
| Ethernet DDS | Configuration Tool for DDS |
Bus Protocol |
Required dSPACE Configuration Tool |
| CAN | Bus Manager |
| EtherCAT | SCALEXIO Fieldbus Solution – EtherCAT |
| PROFIBUS | SCALEXIO Fieldbus Solution – PROFIBUS |
| Modbus | SCALEXIO Fieldbus Solution – Modbus |
| CANopen | CANopen Solution |
| Ethernet DDS | Configuration Tool for DDS |
Bus Protocol |
Required dSPACE Configuration Tool |
| CAN, J1939 | Bus Manager |
| ISOBUS | Configuration Tool for ISOBUS |
Rapid Prototyping
HIL Testing
Central Test Method for Validating ECUs
The dSPACE HIL test systems provide a simulated environment for efficient and reproducible validation of real ECUs in the laboratory 24/7. This increases test coverage and shortens validation times significantly. Our HIL solutions cover all vehicle domains from autonomous driving to zero emissions – starting with component testing and up to virtual vehicle testing.
SIL Testing
Software-in-the loop (SIL) testing with the powerful dSPACE solution for PC- and cloud-based simulation
With the dSPACE solution for software-in-the loop (SIL) testing, you can significantly accelerate your software development process by testing and validating virtually. dSPACE offers you a complete, modular, scalable development and test solution. You can conveniently simulate a device-under-test on a PC, connect it to physics-based models, run scalable tests in the cloud, and then easily reuse test scripts on hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) systems.
Test Data Management
Data Management and Collaboration Software for Automated ECU Testing
SYNECT, our solution for the efficient and automated verification and validation of ECU software, helps engineers worldwide handle all test parameters, their dependencies, versions and variants, and the underlying requirements throughout the entire development process.
This results in consistent data versions and complete traceability as required in homologation processes, and an efficient reuse of data in other projects.
