 Unlike generic on-board diagnostics (OBD-II or EOBD), VCDS uses the more in-depth Volkswagen Group-specific manufacturer protocol commands, which allows the user to access all diagnostic capable vehicle systems — even in vehicles which are not covered by generic OBD-II/EOBD (e.g.pre-1996).In general, there are two ways to use this software, either as a package (software "and" hardware) distributed by the manufacturer or their agents, or, by building your own interface hardware and using it with the publicly available but limited shareware version of the software.