Configuring a Siemens Field PG for PCS 7 ES Engineering Station

Configuring a Siemens Field PG for PCS 7 ES Engineering Station

A Siemens Field PG used as a single PCS 7 Engineering Station (ES) that walks between four plant areas 400–500 m apart is a well-established architecture. The ES hardware itself does not need to be a special "PCS 7 PG"; any industrial-grade programming device or IPC that satisfies the Siemens PCS 7 readme hardware matrix and is fitted with a solid-state drive is sufficient. This reference consolidates the official requirements from the PCS 7 readme files (V8.0–V9.0), the SIMATIC PCS 7 Standard Architectures documentation, and field-proven deployment experience with the Field PG M3, M4, and the current Field PG M5 / SIMATIC Field PG M6 generation.

1. PCS 7 Engineering Station Role and Hardware Class

An Engineering Station in SIMATIC PCS 7 is the workstation on which the SIMATIC Manager (PCS 7 V8.x and earlier) or the PCS 7 add-on inside TIA Portal (PCS 7 V9.0 SP2 and later) is installed. From the ES the engineer performs the following tasks:

• Project engineering of the AS programs in CFC / SFC, including the PCS 7 APL (Advanced Process Library) block types and the master data library.
• Configuration of the OS pictures (WinCC Explorer) and the OS server / OS client pictures.
• Downloading the AS program and OS server project to the AS (CPU 410 / CPU 414 / CPU 416 / CPU 417) and to the OS servers.
• Online diagnostics via the plant bus and terminal bus.
• Commissioning support with the SIMATIC Manager test/debug tools and PCS 7 Maintenance Station.

The Field PG is the rugged Siemens programming device line intended for in-plant commissioning and maintenance. The relevant generations for current PCS 7 deployments are:

The Field PG M3 with an Intel Core i5 (2.4 GHz) and 8 GB of RAM has been verified as adequate for PCS 7 V8.0 and V8.1 with a single multiproject of moderate size. With the SIMATIC IPC847D, Siemens provides an alternative desktop ES that matches or exceeds the Field PG in processor and RAM and is the platform referenced in the official architecture documents.

The single most impactful hardware decision for a PCS 7 ES is replacing the rotating hard disk with an SSD. Compilation of CFC charts and OS picture generation are disk-IO bound. A 500-point OS recompile on a 7,200 RPM hard disk typically takes 25–40 minutes; on a SATA SSD the same recompile drops to under 5 minutes, and on NVMe to under 2 minutes.

2. PCS 7 Multiproject Structure and the Single-ES Pattern

A PCS 7 project is engineered as a multiproject that contains the following sub-projects:

1. ES project – contains the ES station object (one ES is mandatory inside the multiproject for offline simulation).
2. OS project – one OS server project for single-station, redundant OS servers, or an ES/OS single-station.
3. OS client project – contains all OS clients (referred clients).
4. Master data library – central library holding the APL blocks, the SFC charts, and user master data.
5. AS projects – one sub-project per AS (CPU 410 / 414 / 416 / 417); in the four-area example there are four AS projects.

This structure is what allows a single mobile ES to engineer every area: the engineer connects the Field PG to the area's plant bus and/or terminal bus physically at the OS server room or AS cabinet, opens the multiproject from the central project path (or a synchronized copy), and downloads or modifies the corresponding sub-project.

The plant bus, terminal bus, and PROFINET are three physically separate networks in a typical PCS 7 topology. The Field PG must be able to access at least two of them:

3. Network Adapters on the Field PG: Plantbus, Terminalbus, CP1623 Question

The Field PG M3 / M4 / M5 / M6 is delivered with two onboard 1 Gbit Ethernet ports. These two ports are sufficient to connect the PG simultaneously to the plant bus and the terminal bus. No additional CP is required on the ES.

The frequent question is whether a CP 1623 (PCIe hard real-time PROFINET IRT controller with 4-port switch, MLFB 6GK1162-3AA00) is required on the PG. The answer depends on the role:

The SIMATIC PCS 7 Standard Architectures V9.0 (PDF) document describes the role of the Field PG inside the architecture and confirms that a single Field PG can be used across multiple areas provided the engineer reaches the plant bus and terminal bus of each area physically.

4. IP Addressing Plan for One Field PG over Four Areas

Because the Field PG is moved between four plant areas, its two Ethernet interfaces must be able to operate against any of the four area networks. The recommended approach is to assign the two onboard interfaces fixed IP addresses and to plan the address ranges so they are reachable from each area without IP renumbering.

Example IP plan (replace the third octet with the area number when you enter each area):

Plant Bus Interface (Field PG, Port 1)
  IP address : 10.10.  A. 20 / 24   (A = 1..4 = area number)
  Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
  Gateway    : not required (Layer 2 within plant bus)

Terminal Bus Interface (Field PG, Port 2)
  IP address : 10.20.  A. 20 / 24
  Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0

AS PROFINET Interface (CPU 4xx, default)
  IP address : 10.30.  A. 10 / 24

OS Server Interface (Plantbus side)
  IP address : 10.10.  A. 30 / 24

OS Server Interface (Terminalbus side)
  IP address : 10.20.  A. 30 / 24

Operationally, before walking the PG to area B, the engineer changes the third octet on both PG interfaces (10.10.2.20 and 10.20.2.20) using the Windows network adapter properties or, more reliably, with the netsh command:

netsh interface ipv4 set address name="Plant Bus" static 10.10.2.20 255.255.255.0
netsh interface ipv4 set address name="Terminal Bus" static 10.20.2.20 255.255.255.0
ipconfig /flushdns

5. Sizing for ~500 PO per OS and an AS-414

Each of the four areas is reported to use an AS with a CPU 414 and an OS with approximately 500 process objects (PO). The CPU 414-3 PN/DP has the following relevant limits:

• Work memory: 1.4 MB code + data (depending on order number, e.g. 6ES7414-3EM06-0AB0 has 4 MB work memory, 4 MB load memory).
• Bit memory: 8 KB.
• S7 timers / counters: 256 / 256.
• Max. number of connections: 32 (of which 16 are reserved for PG / OP / S7 routing).

A 500-PO OS will typically map 500 measured-value blocks (MonAnL / MonDiL), 500 control blocks, plus the faceplates and trend views. The CFC compilation memory footprint of such a project is on the order of 80–120 MB on the ES. The ES therefore needs at minimum:

• CPU: Intel Core i5 (4th generation or newer).
• RAM: 8 GB minimum, 16 GB recommended for multiproject editing.
• Disk: 256 GB SSD minimum, 512 GB recommended for project archive + SIMATIC version trail.
• Display: 15.6" WXGA or higher, 1920 × 1080 preferred for CFC + WinCC side-by-side.
• Graphics: Any modern Intel / NVIDIA GPU with DirectX 11 support is sufficient; PCS 7 does not require workstation graphics.

The SSD is the single upgrade with the highest ROI. The same Field PG M3 with an HDD often needs 30 minutes to compile the OS server project for 500 PO; with an SSD the same compile completes in 3–5 minutes.

6. Procurement, Licenses, and the Dual-Boot Question

Siemens does not sell a Field PG with PCS 7 preinstalled. The order codes for Field PG M5 (6ES7712-1BB10-4HB1 or similar) ship with Windows and a STEP 7 / TIA Portal license at most. To obtain a PCS 7-ready Field PG, the integrator must:

1. Order the Field PG without STEP 7 or TIA Portal license (option), or accept the default license and re-partition the disk.
2. Re-image the disk with a fresh Windows installation matching the PCS 7 readme's "Supported operating systems" section (e.g. Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1 for V8.0 / V8.1; Windows 10 Enterprise 2016 LTSB 64-bit for V8.2; Windows Server 2016 / 2019 for V9.0).
3. Install PCS 7 from the DVD set or the downloaded installation package, applying the appropriate SIMATIC PCS 7 license keys via the Automation License Manager.

If the PG must also support STEP 7 V5.5 and TIA Portal V13 (for example, for an existing non-PCS 7 plant), a dual-boot layout is the only officially supported approach because the PCS 7 V8.x installation does not coexist cleanly with TIA Portal on the same Windows partition:

Disk layout (GPT, UEFI boot)
  Partition 1:  100 MB   EFI System
  Partition 2:  500 MB   Microsoft Reserved
  Partition 3:  200 GB   Windows + PCS 7 V8.x  (default boot)
  Partition 4:  150 GB   Windows + STEP 7 V5.5 + TIA Portal V13
  Partition 5:  500 GB   Common data partition (multiproject archive)

7. Remote Engineering and Thin-Client Options

From PCS 7 V8.1 onward, remote engineering of the OS is supported via Windows Remote Desktop Services (RDS). The architecture is:

1. A master ES (typically a SIMATIC IPC847D or equivalent server-grade PC with Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 or Windows Server 2012 R2) hosts the SIMATIC Manager and the multiproject.
2. The mobile engineers connect to the master ES via RDP from the Field PG or from any office PC.
3. Configuration changes are committed on the master ES; the field engineer then walks to the area with the Field PG to perform the download to the AS / OS server.

An economical alternative is to use thin clients (Wyse, IGEL, or HP t630) at each of the four area control rooms. Each thin client establishes an RDP session to the master ES. Only one concurrent session is required if engineering is a sequential task. The Field PG then only needs to be physically present for AS / OS downloads and IO commissioning.

For the four-area plant with 400–500 m spacing, a typical field-proven pattern is:

• One SIMATIC IPC847D in the central control room as the master ES.
• One Field PG M5/M6 carried by the engineer.
• Four OS server pairs (redundant), one per area.
• One thin client per area control room (RDP to the master ES).

8. Step-by-Step Commissioning of the Field PG as PCS 7 ES

Use this sequence after the Field PG has been received with a fresh Windows image:

1. Verify Windows edition and patch level. Open Settings → System → About and confirm the build matches the PCS 7 readme supported list. Install all Windows updates through the latest servicing stack update for the LTSB / LTSC branch.
2. Install chipset and Intel ME drivers from the Field PG's driver USB stick. Skipping the chipset driver results in erratic Intel NIC performance and risk of BSOD on PROFINET-heavy sessions.
3. Enable .NET Framework 3.5 (required by SIMATIC Manager) via Turn Windows features on or off and supply the Windows installation media when prompted.
4. Disable Windows power management on both Ethernet adapters: Power Management → uncheck "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power". A suspended NIC during a download bricks the AS connection state.
5. Disable Windows Firewall on the plant bus and terminal bus profiles. The PCS 7 communication (S7-Protocol, ISO-on-TCP, PROFINET RPC) is sensitive to default firewall blocking.
6. Install PCS 7 from the DVD. Choose "Engineering Station (ES)" as the package role. Apply the Automation License Manager keys.
7. Configure the Station Configuration Editor to insert the two onboard Ethernet adapters and assign the plant bus / terminal bus interfaces, as in the IP plan above.
8. Copy the multiproject from the central engineering server to the Field PG SSD using robocopy with /mir. Verify MD5 if the archive integrity matters.
9. Run the PCS 7 consistency check on the multiproject (Options → Check Multiproject Consistency) and resolve any cross-sub-project inconsistency before walking to the plant.
10. Test reachability to the OS server and the AS of each area using ping on both interfaces before scheduling a download.

9. Verification and Acceptance Test

The Field PG must pass the following acceptance checks before being released to the project team:

10. Troubleshooting Matrix

11. Decision Flowchart: Choosing the Right ES Platform

12. Field-Proven Recommendations

• Order the Field PG without STEP 7 license if PCS 7 is the only engineering tool needed. The price difference funds the SSD upgrade.
• Always carry a spare SATA/NVMe SSD with a known-good image of the PCS 7 ES environment. A failed disk in the field means 4–8 hours of project rework without it.
• Document the IP plan in section 4 as a laminated A5 card kept in the PG's carry bag.
• Schedule the multiproject archive to a USB 3.0 external SSD before walking the PG to each area. A corrupted SSD is the most common cause of project loss.
• For projects larger than 2,000 PO total, prefer the SIMATIC IPC847D as the master ES and demote the Field PG to a download / commissioning role only.