It is possible to watch the runtime data of an ECU in several VemsTune, running on different PC-s.
- Easy over a LAN
- also possible via WAN (PC are possibly on different continents, behind firewalls), by starting a simple ("socat" relay) program near the master listening VemsTune (on same PC, or other PC in same LAN that can connect to the listening VT).
Marcell wrote a simple, but secure and high-throughput "rendezvous" server (called dragon) program that runs on a "real" internet IP (or configurable DNAT) and relays packets between master and slave VT programs, even if all VT are behind NAT firewalls.
- Off-the-shelf tool "socat" was used earlier, but involved multiple TCP ports, keeping track of TCP ports was left to the users
- 1 dragon process on the server services a practically arbitrary (currently limited to 15 VT slaves for each VT master), only 2 TCP ports needed regardless of the number of slave VT-s. Above topology shows dragon relay 1 and 2, but they are inside 1 process
- windows lacks basic networking tools like [socat] (or even netcat nc), but recently [socat windows compile is available] ... Download that.
VemsTune Master side setup
- after setting VT preferences: multicast mode, listen mode, port 9000 => restart VT
- Choose M: an odd port between 8801 and 8811, say M=8801:\nÿ1ÿ
- assuming sh... Anyone, what is the .bat version of this ?
- start 1 or more instances of this (N to be able to service upto N VT clients ... on any continents).
- advertise TCP PORT M-1 to your friend(s), to connect to. In this case: svn.x-dsl.hu:8800
client VT needs nothing special
- just Preferences / Connection: connect with TCP to svn.x-dsl.hu TCP PORT 8800
- or 8802, 8804, 8806, 8808, 8810 as agreed/advertised by the VemsTune Master: in this excample, 8800=M-1 assuming Master connects to port M=8801
VemsTune has a special experimental "multicast-server" mode, which allows multiple client VemsTunes to connect (over LAN or WAN) in "view-only" mode (no changes allowed from those).
- Eg. while 1 VemsTune is used for tuning, 5 others (=tuning party) might be watching over the internet
- or some VemsTune-s running on local PC from different install directory; perhaps useful for multiple view modes, or to utilize a 4-core PC
- realtime data or logviewer (since 2014-11-xx logviewer is very fast with new firmwares >=1.2.23). The network penalty is minimal (~1.6 kbyte / sec for each client vemstune with 5-10Hz refresh-rate), and much more responsive than tight-vnc solution (especially if more than 1 watching).
Can we improve on this so that vemstune in the car connects to a master server, the master server is behind a NAT that has ports opened, this way the comms is established, the master and in-car vemstune can both adjust the config.
There is so much remote tuning going on now I feel this is required and a good way, the master could also remote log for the customer even if the tuner is not at the master computer for later reviewing. so the log is saves in the /vems_files on the master server just like when the ecu is normally connected.