ISO 17978-1:2026

International
Standard
ISO 17978-1
First edition
Road vehicles — Service-oriented
2026-05
vehicle diagnostics (SOVD) —
Part 1:
General information, definitions,
rules and basic principles
Véhicules routiers — Diagnostic Véhicule Orienté Services
(SOVD) —
Partie 1: Informations générales, définitions, règles et principes
de base
Reference number
© ISO 2026
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Published in Switzerland
ii
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Abbreviated terms . 4
5 Overview of the ISO 17978 series . . 5
6 Conventions for identifying rules and basic principles and for specifying their content . 6
7 Rules and basic principles . 6
7.1 General .6
7.2 Rules .7
7.3 Basic principles .7
7.3.1 Basic principle 001 (BP_001) .7
7.3.2 Basic principle 002 (BP_002) .8
7.3.3 Basic principle 003 (BP_003) .8
7.3.4 Basic principle 004 (BP_004) .9
7.3.5 Basic principle 005 (BP_005) .10
7.3.6 Basic principle 006 (BP_006) .10
Bibliography .13

iii
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through
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The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described
in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types
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ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
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Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by ISO/TC 22, Road vehicles, Subcommittee SC 31, Data communication.
A list of all parts in the ISO 17978 series can be found on the ISO website.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

iv
Introduction
The introduction of high performance computers (HPCs) in vehicles is associated with changes in the classical
electronic and electrical vehicle architectures. Besides classical distributed embedded electronic control
unit (ECU) architectures, domain- or zone-based architectures are also available. These architectures also
extend beyond the physical vehicle.
This extends the focus from checking hardware to also checking the functionality of applications. It requires
the recording of data such as memory usage, processor load, and the number of active services, as well as the
collection of log and trace files.
These topics result in challenges regarding the management of the vehicle life cycle. Some aspects to be
considered are:
— faster release and update cycles;
— increased requirements such as data protection and cybersecurity;
— state-of-the-art diagnostic API using current information technologies.
The ISO 17978 series define an API which standardizes the methods for:
— discovering the SOVD capabilities;
— performing diagnostics;
— (re-)configuring and re-programming;
— allowing the introduction of new functionalities.
Figure 1 shows the OSI layers of the ISO 17978 series.

v
a
Communication protocol.
b
Network technology depending on E/E vehicle network architecture.
Figure 1 — OSI layers of SOVD
vi
International Standard ISO 17978-1:2026(en)
Road vehicles — Service-oriented vehicle diagnostics
(SOVD) —
Part 1:
General information, definitions, rules and basic principles
1 Scope
This document:
— gives an overview of the ISO 17978 series;
— specifies rules and basic principles for the service-oriented vehicle diagnostics (SOVD), conforming to
the extended vehicle (ExVe) methodology, as specified in the ISO 20077 series;
— defines general terms.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes
requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references,
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 20077-2:2018, Road Vehicles — Extended vehicle (ExVe) methodology — Part 2: Methodology for designing
the extended vehicle
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1
basic principle
design principle that is considered when designing an extended vehicle (3.8)
[SOURCE: ISO 20077-2:2018, 3.1]
3.2
capability
ability of a system, component or function to execute a defined task or provide a specific service
Note 1 to entry: Capabilities refer to concrete actions or functions that can be performed, such as executing a diagnostic
routine, retrieving sensor data, modifying configuration parameters or accessing logs.

3.3
classic diagnostic adapter
software that translates between the service-oriented vehicle diagnostics (SOVD) and another diagnostic
protocol
Note 1 to entry: The other diagnostic protocol may be a protocol that is not intended for diagnostic. Figure 2 shows
classic diagnostic adapter-enabling communication between SOVD and two other diagnostic protocols.
Figure 2 — Example of a classic diagnostic adapter that transcodes a SOVD API into different
diagnostic protocols
3.4
co-located
located in the same place as the vehicle
EXAMPLE Co-located diagnostics (3.6), co-located access.
Note 1 to entry: Figure 3 illustrates a co-located diagnostics operator (3.5) in relation to an extended vehicle (3.8).
Key
responsible operator
NOTE The colours used in this figure refer to the ones in ISO 20077-1.
Figure 3 — Co-located diagnostics operator using different network technologies and ExVe
interfaces
3.5
diagnostics operator
natural person that performs a diagnostic procedure
Note 1 to entry: A diagnostics operator can work at any service provider.

Note 2 to entry: In the ISO 17978 series, a co-located (3.4) diagnostics operator is responsible for the diagnostic
process.
3.6
diagnostics
diagnostic process
process including the detection process of possible vehicle malfunctions, the identification of the likely root
cause of these malfunctions and the appraisal of its relevance for the operation of the vehicle
[SOURCE: ISO 20077-1:2017, 3.2]
3.7
electronic control unit
embedded computing device used for vehicle control functions
3.8
extended vehicle
entity, still in accordance with the specifications of the vehicle manufacturer, that extends beyond the
physical boundaries of the road vehicle and consists of the road vehicle, off-board systems, external
interfaces and the data communication between the road-vehicle and the off-board systems
Note 1 to entry: Road vehicles without off-board systems and road vehicles equipped with telematics units are
extended vehicles.
[SOURCE: ISO 20077-1:2017, 3.5]
3.9
ExVe manufacturer
vehicle manufacturer responsible for the extended vehicle (3.8)
3.10
High performance computer
device owning high capacity of computing within the vehicle
Note 1 to entry: A high performance computer used in the ISO 17978 series typically hosts multiple virtualized guest
systems.
3.11
remote
performed on a vehicle from a distance where the operator responsible for the concerned operation is not
co-located (3.4) to the vehicle and where the vehicle is connected via an
...