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Topic#: 000950
Created: May 10, 2001
This document describes the necessary steps for establishing TCP/IP communications for Windows NT 4.0, via the Wonderware® OPCLink I/O
Server™ to an S7-400 PLC through a standard Ethernet card in the PC. This document is broken down into three basic sections:
Throughout this document it is assumed that you have a basic working knowledge and understanding of the Siemens Simatic Net and
Wonderware FactorySuite™ I/O Server software.
Note: This Tech Note uses examples from Siemens Simatic Net S7/SR-OPC-Server V2.2.
This section provides step-by-step description of the installation and configuration of the Siemens Simatic Net software.
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1. Obtain and install the Siemens S7 OPC Server from the Siemens Simatic Net CD.
{ For this Tech Note’s example, the latest version of the Siemens S7 OPC Server available, V2.2, is used.
Note: If you do not have the most current version of the Siemens S7 OPC Server installed, contact your Siemens distributor or
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Siemens Technical Support to obtain the latest Siemens Simatic Net CD.
2. Enter the following information in the fields when creating the COML S7 files.
a. Node name: The name of the PC station.
{ For documentation purposes, it is suggested that the name match the assigned PC name, however, this is not required for
communications.
b. Network type: Select TCP/IP as the Network type for TCP/IP communications.
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e. Remote Addr: This is the TCP/IP address of the CP443-1 TCP module on the S7-400 UR.
{ This should match the TCP/IP addresses defined in Step7 Project Hardware Configuration.
f. Local TSAP: The Transport Service Access Point for the local station.
{ The TSAP is the layer-4 address.
group: addresses of the SIMATIC components: (Bit 0..2) = Rack (Subsystem), (Bit 3..7) = Plug in port
{ Recommended setting: 03.0x, where x = the slot of the CPU (Not the CP).
{ Since the CPU is normally installed next to the power supply (which takes 2 slots), the usual setting here is 03.03.
3. After all the information has been entered in the fields, save the .txt file under the File/Save Text DB menu option.
4. When the Save Text Database dialog box appears, select the “*.txt” option from the Save file as type: drop-down menu (Figure 3).
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5. Then generate an .ldb file under the File/Generate Binary DB menu option.
6. When the Check and Save Binary Database dialog box appears, select the “*.ldb” option from the Save file as type: drop-down menu, as
shown in Figure 4.
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Configuring the Standard Ethernet Card with the Siemens Simatic Net “Set PG/PC Interface”
Once the COML S7 .txt and .ldb files are created, it is necessary to configure and activate either the TCP/IP interface via the Siemens Simatic
Net “Set PG/PC Interface (V5.0)” software. The following procedure illustrates how the configuration is done.
2. Set the Access Point of the Application: drop-down menu, located under the Access Path tab, to “S7ONLINE (STEP 7)” (Figure 5).
{ Normally the “S7ONLINE (STEP7)” is used for Siemens Step7 communications, but this access point is used as an example for this
Tech Note.
{ It is possible for you to create and own your own unique “Access Point of Application.”
{ Highlight the interface so that the “Access Point of the Application:” points to the desired “Interface Parameter Assignment Used:.”
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FIGURE 5: THE SET PG/PC INTERFACE (V5.0) DIALOG BOX - THE ACCESS PATH TAB
Note: In the example above, the Interface Parameter Assignment Used: field shows “TCP/IP -> Intel EtherExpress PRO...;” this may
not be the case when initially setting up the interface, and it may be necessary to configure the TCP/IP interface. Consult your Siemens
documentation or contact Siemens Technical Support if you need assistance in configuring the TCP/IP interface.
3. Once the “Access Point of the Application:” is defined correctly, click on the Properties button from the main Set PG/PC Interface (V5.0)
window.
{ The Properties – TCP/IP -> Intel EtherExpress PRO... dialog box (Figure 6) appears.
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6. Search the directory where the .txt and .ldb files were created and saved with the COML S7 software, as illustrated in Figure 6.
{ Notice how the path in the SAPI-S7 Database field points to exactly where the .txt and .ldb files were saved to in the “Creating a
Database Using COML S7 V2.2” section earlier.
{ This completes configuring Simatic Net’s Set PG/PC Interface for the TCP/IP communications.
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7. Click OK.
{ The main Set PG/PC Interface window returns.
8. With the “TCP/IP -> Intel EtherExpress PRO...;” (or, TCP/IP -><network card>) interface (in the Interface Parameter Assignment Used:
field) highlighted and the Access Point of the Application: drop-down menu reflecting “S7ONLINE (STEP7) -> TCP/IP -> Intel
EtherExpress PRO...,” click the OK button (Figure 5).
{ Simatic Net will now make the “TCP/IP -><network card>” the active interface.
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5. It is also advisable to ping the CP443-1 TCP module that is being connected to.
{ This will confirm whether the TCP/IP can “see” the CP443-1 TCP module on the network.
Upon the successful installation of the Siemens S7 OPC Server and the configuration of the Simatic Net interface for TCP/IP communications, it
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FIGURE 9: THE SIMATIC NET OPC SERVER DIALOG BOX - THE OPC PARAMETER TAB
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{ It is up to you to determine how many groups need to be craeted within the Siemens S7 OPC Server.
{ Upon completion of defining the groups, the items within each group need to be defined.
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{ Upon initially opening this window and if all has been configured properly, the connections that were defined with the combination
of the Siemens COML S7 program and Simatic Net’s “Set PG/PC Interface,” described in the earlier sections of this Tech Note, will
be displayed.
7. It is now necessary to “drill down” to where the defined DBs (Data Blocks), FBs (Function Blocks), and any other data types, defined in
the Step 7 project, loaded to the S7-400 PLC CPU.
{ See an example of what this looks like in Figure 14.
{ After navigating down to the level where the data has been defined in the PLC's CPU, it is now necessary to define the OPC
variables, which are the actual items that will be advised with the OPCLink.
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8. For each data type there will be a “New Definition” option; double-click on this to define the new variables (items).
{ The dialog box for defining new variables will be displayed as shown in Figure 15.
{ Consult your Siemens documentation or Siemens Technical Support for any questions/problems encountered during this process.
{ Once a new variable is defined, it will be displayed in the OPC Navigator dialog box's middle window (Figure 14).
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9. Highlight the newly defined variable now displayed in the middle window and click on the arrow pointing to the right window (Figure 14).
(The arrow is located on the pane between the middle and right windows.)
{ This adds the new variable to the group.
{ The same process needs to be done for each and every variable defined.
10. Once all the variables are defined/populated in the group, click the OK button.
{ Figure 14 shows an example of what the OPC Navigator window would look like after successfully adding a newly defined variable
to a group.
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This completes the Siemens Simatic Net and Siemens S7 OPC Server side of the configuration.
After the Siemens Simatic Net and Siemens S7 OPC Server configurations have been completed, the WW OPCLink I/O Server needs to be
configured.
3. With the Siemens S7 OPC Server and OPCLink on the same PC, leave the Node Name field blank.
{ If it is not displayed, then this would indicate that the OPC Server was not registered properly when installed on the PC.
{ It will be necessary to consult your Siemens documentation or contact Siemens Technical Support for further assistance on
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troubleshooting this.
Next comes the setting of the OPC Path field. The Siemens S7 OPC Server supports browsing which makes this process easy to accomplish.
7. Once the browser is started, “drill down” to where the newly defined group/variables are contained within the Siemens S7 OPC Server.
{ Figure 18 shows the OPC Browser “drilling down” to where the new group/variables are defined in the “Adding/Defining Items in
the S7 OPC Server” section of this Tech Note.
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{ Once the OK button is clicked on, this will be the same path defined in the OPC Path field of the WW OPCLink I/O Server (Figure
19).
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8. Leave the remaining fields at their default settings and click OK.
{ The WW OPCLink I/O Server is completely configured.
With the Siemens Simatic Net, Siemens S7 OPC Server, and WW OPCLink I/O Server now configured, it is time to test the OPC communications
with the WWClient, through a standard network card via the TCP/IP, to the S7-400 CPU via a CP443-1 TCP module, in the S7-400 UR. Please
see Tech Note 132 on how to use WWClient.
z Figures 20 and 21 show how the OPCLink and WWClient successfully advising item “dDB21,0.7,1” from an S7-400 PLC based off the
Siemens Simatic Net, Siemens S7 OPC Server, and WW OPCLink I/O Server settings, configured throughout this Tech Note.
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FIGURE 20: THE OPC COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE WW OPCLINK I/O SERVER
R. Acosta
The Tech Note is published occasionally by Wonderware Technical Support. Publisher: Wonderware Corporation, 100 Technology Drive, Irvine
CA 92618. There is also technical information on our software products at Wonderware Technical Support, our WonderFax fax-on-demand
system at 949-450-5050, and the Comprehensive Support Knowledge Base.
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