is the CCD the same thing as CAN bus? does the obd2 access the CCD?

They are the same thing. The obdII goes through the CCD.

The Can bus is a different communication tool than OBDII. Can bus is the industries way of bringing uniformaty to all manufactures both automotive and over the road trucks ect. vesus every mfg having their own communication formats and tools. Plus can bus can handle WAY more info WAY fastert than OBDII systems. its like comparing Dial up to digital technology.

Here is what I got on the CCD Network. http://mopar.mopar1973man.com/cummins/general/ccd/ccd.htm But the technoloy of the CCD is very simular to ethernet cable network being it works on twisted pair... But I'm sure there is fast technoloies out there compared to the CCD network...

i maintain a cable network and understand how multiplexing increase bandwidth(and therefore the amount of data you can send). i am trying to figure out how i can access the bus directly. i believe i am correct. mads' smarty program only plugs into the obd, correct?

Correct but the network is right there too...

just an update to what i have learned. my 99 ram connects using ISO J9141-2. that is a standard obd2 protocol and gives you basics parameters that any generic scan tool can use(assuming it can use j9141-2). you can read and clear DTCs and check certain parameters, such as: rpm, ect, iat, map, tp, and so on. it seems my 99 does not have as many parameters you can monitor compared to the gas motors i have seen. it seems that the more data you try to monitor, the longer it takes to update the information. this probably caused by the low baud rate.the CCD is not an open standard. under normal circumstance you need a drb3 scan tool. it is my assumption that a CCD controller could be modified to out put all data on the bus. here is my rough analogy:you have antenna/basic cable in room A and B. the signal comes from the ______ to a splitter. all the signal is split into 2 feeds(but the same). the tv in room A is watching the ballgame. that tv is tuned to a specific frequency(only looking a specific signal in the whole band and ignore to ones in is not interested in). the tv in room B is watching a soap opera. it is receiving the same signal the tv A is receiving, but is only interested in a small segment of the signal. you can flip the channel. the picture changes(ie what you are monitoring), but the signal remains the same.that is multiplex 101. i am still experimenting. if anyone has anything they would like to add, please do so, as it might help in my investigations.