Glossary of terms
BMW Standard Tools
The software suite distributed by BMW Group that contains several interoperating applications and drivers, including NCS Expert, WinKFP, NFS, INPA, and others.
Datens
German for “data sets”. In this context, the term refers to various file types that contain information about the modules found on a given vehicle and how to code them. Datens are distributed as part of ISTA-P software releases, and are typically referred along with the version of ISTA-P they were distributed with. For instance, datens from ISTA-P 2.38 are informally referred to as “v38 datens”.
D-CAN
A subset of the CAN standard, which stands for Controller Area Network. This is the bus standard used by all the systems in BMW (and other late-model) vehicles to communicate with one another. Analogous to a LAN comprised of several computers which all communicate via a standard protocol. A D-CAN cable is able to connect to an OBD II port and allow another connected device to communicate on the vehicle’s network.
EDIABAS – Electronic Diagnostic Base System
A proprietary communication protocol/command set developed by BMW and implemented in all their vehicles. All proprietary BMW software uses EDIABAS to communicate with the vehicle.
FA - Fahrzeug-Auftrag (German for Vehicle Order)
FA is like a single string that tells the car everthing that it came with from the factory. More advanced users can change this but not
really needed (see VO).
INPA
Diagnostic tool distributed with BMW Standard Tools that implements EDIABAS to perform a host of functions related to testing/reporting/troubleshooting.
ISTA-D - Integrated Service Technical Application - Diagnostics
Diagnostic software in the BMW ISTA client/server architecture. Used by BMW dealers to perform diagnosis and repair on BMW group vehicles (BMW, Mini, Rolls Royce).
ISTA-P - Integrated Service Technical Application - Programming
Programming software in the BMW ISTA client/server architecture. Used by BMW dealers to update the software on BMW group vehicles (BMW, Mini, Rolls Royce) and to perform retrofitting/conversions. When BMW releases new versions, datens distributed with this software and are extracted and used with NCS Expert.
Module
A standalone computer that performs one or more related, specialized functions in the vehicle. Modules are not centrally located; they are found all throughout the vehicle. Modules communicate with other modules and systems on the CAN network, and implement the EDIABAS standard.
NCS Expert
Software application distributed with BMW Standard Tools that can communicate directly with any module on the CAN network. NCS Expert can, among other things, read the configuration codes from modules and write new configurations to them.
VO - Vehicle Order
Vehicle Order. A string of text which describes what modules the vehicle is fitted with (see FA).
