Siemens Step7 5.x

Supported Configurations

Key:

✓: Part of a supported configuration

✕: Not supported and no plans to add support

Step7 Version	Supported?
v5.7 SP1	✓
v5.6 SP2	✓
v5.5 and earlier	✕

Step7 Version

Supported?

v5.7 SP1

✓

v5.6 SP2

✓

v5.5 and earlier

PLC Model	Supported?
S7-300 Non-Safety	✓
S7-400 Non-Safety	✓ [2]
S7-300F Safety	✓ [1]
S7-400F Safety	✓ [1][2]

PLC Model

Supported?

S7-300 Non-Safety

✓

S7-400 Non-Safety

✓ [2]

S7-300F Safety

✓ [1]

S7-400F Safety

✓ [1][2]

[1] Can back up blocks from regular programs but not safety programs

[2] S7-400 Multi-Compute configuration not supported

Note: Step7 v5 PLCs do not store the variable names or symbol tables on-device. As such, Copia backups will use whatever symbol tables and variable names exist in the Source Control project file, and will not include new or modified variable names or symbol tables.

DeviceLink Limitations for SIMATIC Manager

Some SIMATIC Manager features affect DeviceLink's ability to perform backups:

Know-How Protected Blocks: DeviceLink can back up Know-How protected blocks, and the contents of Know-How protected blocks are rendered in the Copia web app. Copia does not obscure the contents of Know-How protected blocks.
Block Privacy: DeviceLink does not support SIMATIC Manager projects with blocks that were encrypted with the Block Privacy feature. A backup will fail if the project contains blocks encrypted with Block Privacy.
CPU Access Protection: DeviceLink can back up projects with CPU write protection but not CPU read protection. A backup will fail if the CPU has read protection.
Safety Programs: DeviceLink can back up safety (F-series) CPUs. However, DeviceLink can only back up the non-safety program of the CPU. DeviceLink cannot back up the safety program that was created with Distributed Safety. In other words, DeviceLink cannot back up F-CALL, F-FB, F-FC, nor F-DB blocks.
Multiprojects: DeviceLink cannot back up S7-400 Multiprojects. However, DeviceLink can back up a single project containing multiple stations.
Multicompute: DeviceLinkc annot back up CPUs in multicompute configurations.
Non-S7 Programs: DeviceLink can only back up S7 programs. It cannot back up non-S7 programs such as SINAMICS drives or WinCC Flexible HMIs.
Block Types: DeviceLink can only back up FB, FC, DB, and OB blocks. DeviceLink cannot back up system blocks (SDB, SFC, SFB), User Defined Data Types (UDT), Variable Tables (VAT), nor safety blocks (F-CALL, F-FB, F-FC, F-DB).
Hardware Configuration: DeviceLink does not detect changes to hardware configuration.

Agent Requirements

Below are the Agent system requirements to configure a Copia Agent for the backup of Siemens Step7 TIA Portal projects:

You will need a licensed copy of Siemens Step7 5.x (see supported versions) that is capable of backing up a Project from the Device(s). If there are many versions of a Project that will be managed by the Agent, each version should be installed. The Agent should be able to backup the project without error.
The Windows user account with Siemens Step7 5.x installed must remain logged in.
The PG/PC Interface in Simatic Manager must be configured correctly in order to for the Agent to go online and back up all PLCs.

SIMATIC Manager PG/PC Interface

In SIMATIC Manager the PG/PC Interface must be set to the interface that will allow going online to the PLC(s). For example if the PLCs are networked to the Agent over Ethernet via an Intel(R) PRO/1000 MT Desktop Adapter, the corresponding TCP/IP adapter must be selected in the "Set PG/PC Interface" menu:

New Project Configuration

To configure a new project for Siemens Step7 5.x, you will need a repository containing the Siemens Step7 5.x .zip file.

Click either of the Add a Project buttons in the Projects tab.

The Add a new project configuration dialog will appear which allows you to fully configure the project, devices and job for the project.

Any items highlighted with an asterisk are required.

This is a multi-step process with each section explained in detail. At any time, you can edit the prior section of this workflow.

Project can be edited after creation. Devices and Jobs can also be edited or created directly, using the Devices or Jobs tab. The steps for creation are similar to the steps provided below for those sections.

You will now select the Project Path, which is the location (Repo/Branch) that the project is, or will be stored.

As seen, you can edit the previous steps at any time.

When creating a Step7 5.x DeviceLink Project, you will only be allowed to select .zip files in this step.

Once selected, press Save and Continue to proceed.

The project details allows you to update the Project name and description if desired.

Define the Device(s)

The Device Setup section is for defining the device information (PLC, network, authentication, etc.) that is in your project. If you have already created your devices, you can add existing devices to the project. If not, you can Add a Device as shown below.

Fill in all required fields, and any fields that are applicable.

Enter a unique name in the Device Name field. A common choice may be "projectname_devicename", where devicename is the same as the next field.
In the Device Name in Project field, enter the name of the PLC exactly how it appears in the SIMATIC Manager object tree, as seen below.

Check the "Partial Backups" box if you are configuring a subset of the project's devices in Copia and want the backup to succeed despite not all devices being configured.
Enter an optional Description.

Press Save Device when complete.

At this point, if it is a multi-device (PLC) project, you should continue to add all of the devices. Once complete, you can proceed to Add a Job.

Define the Job(s)

Creating Jobs is similar for all vendor types, and is described in the Creating Jobs section. It is recommended to review that section while completing a job configuration, and press Save to save the job. You can create more than one job for a device if desired.

Back Up Actual DB Value Changes

Ticking the Back Up Actual DB Value Changes checkbox will instruct DeviceLink to back up actual (current) values in DB blocks. The values will be included in the comparison to the reference program when determining whether the program has differences. If Back Up Actual DB Value Changes is left unticked, DeviceLink will still back up and compare the source code of DBs, including initial values, but actual values will be ignored. Leave Back Up Actual DB Value Changes unticked if your program has DBs with frequently changing values and the changes are unimportant.

If Back Up Actual DB Value Changes is unticked, actual DB value changes may still appear in backup results when a DB also has source code changes. This is because DeviceLink always backs up the entire DB contents, including actual values, when it detects changes to the DB's source code.