DEP — DEVlink Engineering PlatformUser Guide
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Capability Boundaries

Read this page before you plan work in DEP. It describes what DEP does, where its limits are and what it needs from you, so that you can decide which parts of your test setup belong in DEP and which belong elsewhere.

In short

  • DEP runs MIL and SIL locally on a Windows PC, in logical time, not real time.
  • DEP does not connect to or drive hardware. All buses are virtual. For HIL, the bench runs on NI VeriStand, which owns real-time execution and all I/O.
  • In the Physical Model Designer, only the electrical domain executes.
  • DEP does not certify models, software or protocols. A passed check or scenario is engineering evidence, not a certificate.

Execution and timing

  • DEP runs MIL and SIL in logical time on your PC, as fast as the PC allows. There is no real-time guarantee. For example, the four-ECU reference project needs about 32 seconds of wall time for 15 seconds of logical time.
  • One execution owner at a time: a System run, a restbus acquisition, a scenario campaign or a HIL deployment. Stop the active owner before starting another.
  • Ticks per run accepts 1–1000. Coordinated SIL runs up to 10,000 ticks and can be cancelled. A scenario campaign has at most 100 cases and 100,000 ticks.
  • Default recording budget: 2,000,000 rows or 512 MiB per project. When it is reached, DEP stops recording without dropping samples (DEP-EVIDENCE-LIMIT).
  • Reset starts a new segment and clears the local trace. Export evidence first if you need it.

Models and standards

  • Physical Model Designer: only the electrical components execute, namely Resistor, Capacitor, DC Voltage Source, Current Source, Electrical Reference, Ideal Switch, HV Contactor, Battery Cell, Battery Pack and Electrical Load. All other components are labelled Authoring only: you can place and document them, but they do not run.
  • Native models use fixed-step integration. Choose the step size carefully and review numerical error. In the block inspector, Int64 and Boolean scalar types are authoring-only. Float64 executes.
  • FMI 2 and FMI 3 co-simulation and model exchange are supported. FMI 3 event mode, clocks, arrays and strings work only in limited cases, not as general System features. FMUs that cannot serialise their state cannot be checkpointed.
  • FMI model exchange is solved with the built-in Euler, implicit Euler, RK4 and RK45 solvers.
  • FMUs need a Windows x64 binary (DEP-FMI-WIN64-MISSING otherwise).
  • Simulink: a restricted subset of MDL/SLX can be inspected and converted, with no claim of numerical equivalence.
  • SSP: SSP 2.0.1, a restricted subset (hierarchical systems, FMI/vECU components, connections, parameter sets, variants).
  • Example and reference models are illustrative. They are not calibrated against real vehicles, cells or aircraft unless their documentation says so.

Software (SIL)

  • Supported adapters: jsonl-v1 executables, native-v1 DLLs, oneshot-json-v1, FMI 2/3 co-simulation FMUs and SIL Kit participants.
  • Each software instance runs in a separate process. Passing a host check proves lifecycle and interface support, not behavioural or vendor equivalence.
  • SIL Kit participants and remote participants are not installed by DEP.
  • The reference EVCC in the examples is not a complete charging-protocol stack.

Networks

  • All buses in DEP are virtual: CAN, CAN FD, LIN, Ethernet, EtherCAT and ARINC 429/825. DBC, LDF and FIBEX files can be imported. DEP does not connect to physical buses.
  • SOME/IP and DoIP are supported for limited cases only.
  • System Run and restbus acquisition are separate owners. In the CAN example, System Run does not drive the CAN frames. Use Start acquisition in Traffic / Streaming.
  • LIN schedule-table engineering, and service and PDO diagnostics for simulated Ethernet and EtherCAT networks, are limited.

Measurement and calibration

  • A2L files can be imported for offline measurement and calibration experiments and for watches on the integrated runtime models.
  • Measurement data comes from DEP runtime or replay evidence. DEP does not measure or calibrate an external ECU.

HIL with NI VeriStand

  • DEP has no HIL engine of its own. HIL runs on NI VeriStand, which provides real-time execution and all hardware I/O.
  • From DEP you can discover a VeriStand Gateway, deploy a reviewed Windows system definition and observe its channels. DEP does not write VeriStand channels and does not provide synchronised acquisition.
  • DEP has no E-stop or safety-output function. Bench safety stays with your VeriStand setup and your laboratory procedures.
  • You need NI VeriStand 2024 Q4 with its Gateway and your own NI licences. See HIL Runtime and NI VeriStand.

Charging

  • MIL charging uses local plant models and no protocol.
  • Live ISO 15118-20 DC sessions need a separately installed and separately licensed, compatible ChargeLink executable. The ISO 15118-20 profile is not EXI- or vendor-certified, and CableCheck is simulated. DEP never switches real power.

Licensing and installation

  • Licences are node-locked, floating or delivered on a USB key. A floating seat cannot be borrowed for offline use.
  • DEP does not check for updates itself. Ask DEVlink for new versions.
  • Only Windows x64 is supported.

AI

AI connections are optional, configured by you and available on Windows only. DEVlink does not vouch for the output of any AI provider, and every proposal must be reviewed. See AI Connections.

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