Installing SIMATIC PDM 9.1 Standalone on PCS 7 V8.2 Systems

Overview of SIMATIC PDM in PCS 7 Environments

SIMATIC PDM (Process Device Manager) is the engineering, configuration, parameterization, commissioning, diagnostics, and maintenance tool for intelligent field devices on HART, PROFIBUS, and PROFINET networks. Within a PCS 7 (Process Control System 7) environment, PDM is integrated into the SIMATIC Manager / Engineering Station and acts as the device-centric view onto the process I/O. Every HART or PROFIBUS PA device on a PCS 7 plant is operated, parametrized, and diagnosed through PDM, including valve positioners, Coriolis flowmeters, temperature transmitters, pressure transmitters, and field-coupled PROFIBUS DP/PA slaves.

When a PCS 7 installation is performed from the original setup.exe, the matching PDM version is automatically deployed. However, two scenarios force a standalone PDM installation:

1. The target PCS 7 V8.2 image is already present, but the engineer wants a newer PDM (V9.1) than the V8.2 DVD ships with (which is PDM V9.0 Update 1).
2. The original PCS 7 DVD is unavailable, lost, or the user wants to keep a clean V8.2 base and add a separate PDM package without re-running the entire PCS 7 setup.

This article describes the supported way to install SIMATIC PDM V9.1 standalone on a PCS 7 V8.2 base installation, including the mandatory SIMATIC Logon V1.6 dependency that must be procured separately.

Why Install PDM 9.1 on PCS 7 V8.2

PCS 7 V8.2 was released with PDM V9.0 Update 1 on the DVD. When PDM V9.1 became the current revision, Siemens aligned it with PCS 7 V9.0. Engineers who cannot (or do not want to) upgrade their PCS 7 base to V9.0 can still gain access to newer PDM V9.1 features by adding it as a separate package, as long as the dependencies are honored.

Common reasons to upgrade only PDM:

• New device libraries / device description catalogs (EDD/GSD) for a recently released field device.
• Bug fixes introduced in PDM V9.1 that are not back-ported to PDM V9.0 SP1.
• Standardization across a multi-site rollout where one site has PCS 7 V8.2 and another has V9.0+.
• Vulnerability patches in the PDM runtime, the embedded Microsoft SQL Server Express instance, or in the HART/PROFIBUS communication stack.

Compatibility Matrix: PCS 7 and PDM Versions

Source: SIMATIC PDM V9.1 delivery release — see the official SIMATIC PDM V9.1 product note (Entry ID 109748101) on Siemens Industry Online Support.

Prerequisites and System Requirements

PDM V9.1 standalone installation on PCS 7 V8.2 requires the following. Verify each item before starting the setup.

1. Operating system (one of):
   • Windows 7 SP1 (32/64-bit) Professional / Enterprise / Ultimate
   • Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Standard / Enterprise
   • Windows 10 (1607 LTSB or later) Professional / Enterprise 2016 LTSB
   • Windows Server 2016 Standard / Datacenter
2. PCS 7 V8.2 base installed and licensed (the Engineering Station component at minimum).
3. Administrator account on the target machine — the setup writes to %ProgramFiles%\Siemens\Automation, registers COM/DCOM components, and creates the Microsoft SQL Server Express instance MSSQL$PDM.
4. Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6.2 or newer (PDM V9.1 will not install on .NET 4.5.2 or older).
5. Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Express (bundled with PDM V9.1 installer) — the standalone setup will install it if not present.
6. SIMATIC Logon V1.6 media or download (see next section).
7. PDM V9.1 media — DVD package or Siemens Online Software Delivery (OSD) download. Both contain setup.exe.
8. Approx. 6 GB free disk space for the PDM installation; 10 GB recommended for device libraries.

The SIMATIC Logon V1.6 Dependency

When SIMATIC PDM V9.1 is installed on a PCS 7 base older than V9.0, the setup requires SIMATIC Logon V1.6. This is a hard dependency — the PDM V9.1 setup will refuse to continue, or the resulting installation will be in an unsupported state, if SIMATIC Logon V1.6 is not detected.

Important facts from the product note (Entry ID 109748101):

• SIMATIC Logon V1.6 is not included on the PCS 7 V8.2 DVD.
• SIMATIC Logon V1.6 must be purchased separately when used in this scenario.
• On PCS 7 V9.0 and newer, SIMATIC Logon is bundled, so no extra license is needed.

Install SIMATIC Logon V1.6 before running the PDM V9.1 setup. The order matters: PDM V9.1 setup checks the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Siemens\Automation\SIMATIC Logon\Version (or the WOW6432Node equivalent on 64-bit Windows) and will fail with an explicit error if the version is below 1.6.0.0.

Obtaining the PDM V9.1 Installation Media

There are exactly two supported delivery forms for SIMATIC PDM V9.1:

1. DVD package — ordered through a Siemens sales channel (SAP material number 6ES7658-5XX08). The DVD contains the directory layout that begins with SIMATIC_PDM_V9.1\Disk1\setup.exe.
2. Online Software Delivery (OSD) download — the download is a self-extracting archive; once extracted, the same setup.exe is in Disk1 of the extracted tree.

Both delivery forms contain a working setup.exe in the Disk1 folder. There is no alternative "silent install MSI" for the standalone PDM V9.1 package; the setup.exe is the supported entry point.

Do not attempt to copy only the Disk2 / Disk3 CABs onto an existing PCS 7 V8.2 system and expect them to register — the installation bootstrapper on Disk1 is required.

Step-by-Step Standalone Installation Procedure

1. Capture the PCS 7 state. Open the PCS 7 project in the SIMATIC Manager on the Engineering Station and note the project path, the active AS stations, and the version of the CFC/SFC library. PDM V9.1 device libraries are downward-compatible with PCS 7 V8.2, but a project backup is good engineering practice. Use Project → Save As with the option "Compress to a single file".
2. Stop the S7DOS services and PDM services. Open services.msc and stop:
   • SIMATIC PDM Service
   • Siemens Automation License Manager
   • S7DOS Help Service (if present)
   • SIMATIC Logon Service (you will restart it in step 5)
3. Install SIMATIC Logon V1.6. Mount the Logon V1.6 DVD (or extract the OSD download) and run setup.exe. Accept the license, choose Install, and complete the wizard. Confirm installation by checking Control Panel → Programs and Features for "SIMATIC Logon V1.6".
4. Run the PDM V9.1 setup. Insert the PDM V9.1 DVD (or extract the OSD download). The autorun will offer a language selection; if the autorun is disabled, run setup.exe from Disk1 directly.
   • Choose the language (English / German / etc.).
   • Accept the license agreement.
   • On the package selection screen, leave the default selection of SIMATIC PDM. The PDM Standalone Server option is for customers running PDM on a separate, headless host and is not required for a single ES install.
   • Click Install. The setup will run for 5 to 15 minutes depending on disk speed. The Microsoft SQL Server Express instance MSSQL$PDM is created automatically.
5. Start the services again. Re-enable the services stopped in step 2. Start SIMATIC Logon Service first, then the SIMATIC PDM Service, then the License Manager.
6. Apply the PDM V9.1 license key. Open the Automation License Manager (almsrv.exe) and transfer the PDM V9.1 license from the USB stick delivered with the package, or from the License Key Hardlock. PDM will run for 14 days in trial mode without a license, after which device communication is blocked.
7. Reboot. Mandatory. PDM V9.1 registers a number of COM components that are not available until the next logon.

Silent / Unattended Reference

For large rollouts, the setup supports an answer file:

The /v parameter forwards switches to the underlying MSI. Always perform one interactive install first to confirm the package selection and dialog flow before scripting the silent install across multiple stations.

Post-Installation Verification

After the reboot, perform the following checks to confirm a clean install:

1. Start → SIMATIC → SIMATIC PDM → SIMATIC PDM opens the PDM Device Manager without error.
2. Open Help → About in the PDM Device Manager. The version string must read SIMATIC PDM V9.1.0.x (where x is the service pack / update you installed).
3. Check the Device Library via Options → Device Library. Confirm that newly added device catalogs from the V9.1 install are present alongside the older V9.0 libraries.
4. Open the SIMATIC Logon Service Manager and confirm that the service is running and that the Logon version reports 1.6.x.
5. Open Control Panel → Programs and Features and confirm the entries:
   • SIMATIC PDM V9.1
   • SIMATIC Logon V1.6
   • Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Express (PDM instance)
6. Open the Windows Event Viewer → Application log and check for errors from the source SIMATIC PDM or MSSQL$PDM. A clean install produces a single Information entry "SIMATIC PDM Service started" on the first service start.
7. Functional test: open a PCS 7 V8.2 project, double-click a HART device in the plant view, and confirm that PDM opens the device (not a placeholder DTM error). This confirms the PCS 7 ↔ PDM V9.1 binding is intact.

Update Path for PDM V9.0 SP1

Engineers who stay on PDM V9.0 (the version that ships with PCS 7 V8.2) and only need a service pack should note that not all PDM updates are published publicly on Siemens Industry Online Support.

If a particular PDM V9.0 SP1 Update is not published in the public download area, open a Support Request via the Siemens Industry Online Support portal and provide the project context. Siemens will deliver the binary through a secure channel. Do not source the update from third-party trackers — PDM binaries are signed, and a mismatched signature will fail the setup bootstrapper.

Troubleshooting Matrix

Field Commissioning Notes

• Project upgrade order. If the engineering station is part of a multi-user ES, upgrade the master project first, run a consistency check, then propagate the project to partner servers. Opening a V8.2 project that has been touched by PDM V9.1 in PDM V9.0 will trigger a downgrade dialog — always work forward only.
• Device library migration. PDM V9.1 introduces new HART/PROFIBUS device catalogs. After install, run Options → Device Library → Update to import the new EDDs. Existing device instances are not re-cataloged automatically.
• Antivirus exclusions. Add %ProgramFiles%\Siemens\Automation\PDM and %ProgramData%\Siemens\Automation to the antivirus exclusion list. Real-time scanning of MSSQL$PDM databases has been observed to cause intermittent "lost connection to PDM server" events during device parameterization.
• Backup of MSSQL$PDM. The PDM project data lives in a SQL Server Express instance. Back up the PDM database on a schedule — PCS 7 project backup alone does not include the PDM internal store. The path is typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL12.PDM\MSSQL\DATA\PDM.mdf.
• Rollback. There is no supported downgrade path from PDM V9.1 to V9.0 SP1. If the upgrade must be rolled back, a full PDM uninstall + PCS 7 V8.2 repair is required. Snapshot the system before starting the install.

Summary

Installing SIMATIC PDM V9.1 standalone on a PCS 7 V8.2 system is fully supported by Siemens, provided that SIMATIC Logon V1.6 is procured and installed first. The V8.2 setup.exe is not the right tool for the job — the dedicated PDM V9.1 setup.exe, either from the DVD package or the Online Software Delivery download, is. After install, verify the version in Help → About and the Logon version in the Service Manager, and always perform a functional test by opening a HART device from the PCS 7 plant view before declaring the upgrade complete.