Replacing CP 5613 with Siemens CP 5613 A2: SIMATIC NET Setup

Problem Overview

When a legacy Siemens CP 5613 PROFIBUS interface card fails inside a Wonderware InTouch HMI station that supervises an S7-300 CPU 315-2DP, the most common drop-in replacement is the CP 5613 A2. The A2 variant preserves the 9-pin D-sub PROFIBUS connector and the PCI form factor, but it ships with a revised ASIC, updated firmware, and a different PCI device signature. That signature is what the SIMATIC NET driver database keys against. As a result, the classic error pattern appears immediately after a hot-swap:

• The new card is visible in the Windows Device Manager under the PCI bus.
• PG/PC interface dialog shows the device, but the "S7 Protocol" or "DP Protocol" assignment remains disabled or does not persist.
• Wonderware I/O Server (I/OSrv S7, DAServer for SIMATIC S7) reports it cannot bind to access point CP_L2_1: or raises a 0x80072EE2 / "Interface not assigned" event when started.
• NetPro or the S7 OPC server cannot download an XDB (configuration database) to the PC internal interface.

These symptoms are not hardware failures. They are configuration-stack mismatches: the PC Station description, the Component Configurator mapping, and the SIMATIC NET 6.0 driver all still describe the old CP 5613, so the runtime cannot bind the new card to the S7 protocol suite. The fix is a clean rebuild of the PC Station layer, not a re-plug of the card.

Affected Hardware and Software Stack

The replacement scenario typically presents with the following stack on the HMI PC:

Confirm the exact card by reading the label on the PCB and cross-referencing the order numbers. The official Siemens installation documentation covers the full family at one entry point:

• Product Information / Installation Instructions - CP 5613, CP 5614, CP 5613 FO, CP 5614 FO, CP 5613 A2, CP 5614 A2 (Entry ID 13664901)
• CP 5613 A2 / CP 5614 A2 - Installation and Operation Manual (PDF)

Prerequisites

Before opening the PC, verify the following are in place. Skipping any item re-creates the original failure mode on the next reboot.

1. Power down and discharge. Wear an ESD wrist strap; the A2 cards are sensitive to in-slot ESD during a hot-plug attempt.
2. Seat the card in a free PCI slot that supports bus-mastering (most do, but check BIOS if the device does not appear in Device Manager).
3. Confirm the SIMATIC NET 6.0 installation media includes a driver revision that recognises the A2 device ID. If the original media predates the A2 release, obtain the latest SIMATIC NET PC software DVD or the matching hotfix from the Siemens Online Support portal.
4. Have the original STEP 7 / NCM PC project of the PC Station that described the failed CP 5613. Reusing it saves the NetPro S7 connection and OPC tag configuration.
5. Know the PROFIBUS baud rate and station address configured on the CPU 315-2DP (typical: 1.5 Mbit/s, master address 2, slave/PC address typically 0 or 1, depending on existing project).
6. Local administrator rights on the HMI PC are required to install the driver, edit the registry entries that SIMATIC NET uses, and to download the XDB.

Install the CP 5613 A2 Driver from SIMATIC NET

According to the official CP 5613 A2 / CP 5614 A2 installation manual, the CP driver is delivered as part of the SIMATIC NET PC Software suite and is installed automatically when the suite is set up. Do not rely on Windows plug-and-play; the SIMATIC NET installer registers the device-specific upper-layer protocols.

1. Insert the SIMATIC NET 6.0 (or later) installation DVD. If you have the suite on a network share, mount it with the same account that will own the runtime service.
2. Run Setup.exe as Administrator. Select "Install" and choose the PC Station profile that matches your intended role: for a PROFIBUS DP-attached HMI, select the "PC Station with CP 5613 A2 / CP 5614 A2" component.
3. Accept the licence terms. Note the licence authorisation number - the A2 driver may require a separate licence dongle or hardlock if the original CP 5613 licence is not portable.
4. Allow the installer to register the S7 OPC Server, the Configuration Console, and the PC Internal interface placeholder. Reboot when prompted.
5. After the reboot, open Start > SIMATIC > SIMATIC NET > Configuration Console. The CP 5613 A2 should appear in the tree under Modules > PROFIBUS with its slot number and PROFIBUS address.
6. Open the Windows Device Manager. The entry should read "Siemens CP 5613 A2 / CP 5614 A2 PROFIBUS" with no yellow bang. A yellow bang indicates the SIMATIC NET driver did not bind, and the card will not surface in the protocol picker regardless of the rest of the configuration.

Build the PC Station in STEP 7 / NCM PC

The runtime does not auto-discover the PC hardware. The PC Station is a logical object held in a STEP 7 / NCM PC project. It must describe the PC Internal module, the CP 5613 A2 at its bus position, and the S7 connection endpoint.

1. Open the STEP 7 manager and load the project that contained the original PC Station. If the project is lost, create a new one with the same name and add a new SIMATIC PC Station object.
2. Open HW Config on the PC Station. From the catalogue, expand SIMATIC PC Station > CP PROFIBUS and drag the CP 5613 A2 (or CP 5614 A2 for PCI-X) onto the correct PCI slot. Match the slot number to the physical PCI slot used; on most motherboards, slot 1 maps to PCI device 0.
3. Set the PROFIBUS address of the CP 5613 A2. A PC station on PROFIBUS DP typically uses address 0 or 1. The address must be unique on the segment.
4. Set the baud rate to match the S7-300 project. Common values are 1.5 Mbit/s, 3 Mbit/s, 6 Mbit/s, or 12 Mbit/s; the segment is limited by the slowest device, so do not exceed the rate of any existing DP slave on the bus.
5. Save and compile the station. The compile step generates the XDB that is downloaded in the next phase.

Component Configurator Mapping

The Component Configurator is the bridge between the logical PC Station description (in STEP 7) and the physical installation (in Windows). It must mirror the STEP 7 image exactly, or the XDB download will be rejected.

1. Open Start > SIMATIC > Component Configurator.
2. The top pane shows the configured PC Station (from STEP 7). The bottom pane shows the installed PC Station (from Windows registry / Configuration Console).
3. Click View > Install/Remove Interface and confirm that the CP 5613 A2 appears in the bottom pane with the same slot index it has in HW Config.
4. Use the Configure Mode dropdown to set the operating mode of the CP 5613 A2 entry to "Configured and active" for a runtime HMI, or "Configured and not active" if the same PC is also a STEP 7 engineering station where you only want the card accessible when explicitly activated.
5. Click Station > Save and Compile. This regenerates the Configuration Console view. Confirm that the CP 5613 A2 entry in Configuration Console is no longer greyed out.

NetPro S7 Connection Configuration

NetPro is where the S7 connection that the Wonderware OPC client will use is defined. The connection is end-to-end: the local end is the CP 5613 A2 in the PC Station; the remote end is the MPI/DP interface of the CPU 315-2DP.

1. In STEP 7 manager, open NetPro. The PC Station appears in the left pane, the S7-300 station in the right pane.
2. Right-click the CP 5613 A2 in the PC Station and select Insert New Connection.
3. From the connection partner list, pick the CPU 315-2DP. Set the connection type to S7 Connection (not ISO-on-TCP, not ISO Transport) - the standard for a PROFIBUS-attached PC station talking to an S7-300.
4. Assign a connection name (for example S7_HMI_001) and a connection ID. The ID is referenced by the S7 OPC server and must be unique within the PC Station.
5. Set the local PROFIBUS address to the CP 5613 A2 address and the remote address to the CPU's MPI/DP address.
6. Save and compile NetPro. The compile produces the .xdb that is downloaded in the next step.

Configure the CP_L2_1 Access Point

The CP_L2_1: access point is the symbolic name that the S7 OPC server and the Wonderware I/O Server use to locate the PROFIBUS interface. Until this points at the new card, every client fails with "Interface not assigned".

1. Open PG/PC Interface from the SIMATIC program group (also reachable via the Control Panel applet Set PG/PC Interface).
2. In the Access Point of the Application dropdown, select CP_L2_1:.
3. In the Interface Parameter Assignment Used list, choose the entry that contains the CP 5613 A2 and the word PROFIBUS. Do not select a TCP/IP variant for this access point - CP_L2_1: is the PROFIBUS logical interface.
4. Click Properties and confirm the PROFIBUS address matches the one set in HW Config.
5. Click OK and then OK on the parent dialog to commit. The change is written to the registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Siemens\SINEC\Parameters\CP_L2_1.

After the access point is bound, perform the XDB download:

1. Open Configuration Console.
2. Right-click the PC Station root and choose Download Station (or from STEP 7, PC > Download to PC Station).
3. Select the network adapter through which the XDB is delivered. For local downloads, this is the Local option, which writes directly into the PC Internal interface.
4. Wait for the status to read Configuration successfully downloaded. A red status line indicates the Component Configurator mapping is still out of sync - return to that step.

Configure Wonderware InTouch I/O Server

With the S7 connection in NetPro and the CP_L2_1: access point bound, the Wonderware layer only needs the OPC server name and a topic.

1. In the I/OSrv S7 (or DAServer for SIMATIC S7) configuration, set the OPC Server Name to OPC.SimaticNET.
2. Set the Topic Name to the logical S7 connection created in NetPro (for example S7_HMI_001). The topic name must match the connection name exactly, including case.
3. Map the InTouch tags. For each tag, set:
   • Item name = S7:[connection name]DBx,BYTEy or S7:[connection name]MWz. Use the S7 address syntax of the OPC server, not the STEP 7 absolute addressing.
   • Access type = Read-only for inputs, read/write for operator-controlled values.
   • Scan rate = 100 ms for fast processes, 1000 ms for status.
4. Start the I/O Server in Manual mode first. Watch the log for "connected to CP_L2_1" and a successful read of the first item.
5. Switch to Auto and start WindowViewer.

Verification Procedure

Run the following checks in order. Each gate must pass before the next is attempted, or the cause of a downstream failure is ambiguous.

1. Device Manager: No warning icons on the CP 5613 A2 entry. Driver date is from the SIMATIC NET 6.0 build, not a generic Microsoft serial driver.
2. Configuration Console: The CP 5613 A2 shows mode Configured and active; the S7 OPC server shows Started.
3. PG/PC Interface: CP_L2_1: is bound to the CP 5613 A2 / PROFIBUS entry.
4. Component Configurator: Top and bottom panes agree on slot, address, and operating mode. A recompile produces no delta.
5. Diagnostic tool: Run the SIMATIC NET Commissioning > Diagnostic tool. The CP 5613 A2 should report Bus OK, Master OK, and a list of detected slaves including the CPU 315-2DP at its configured address.
6. OPC test client: Use the SIMATIC NET OPC Scout (or any generic OPC DA 2.0 client). Add the connection, browse the tag namespace, and force-read S7:[connection]MW0. A returned value (or a quality of Good with a current process value) confirms end-to-end connectivity.
7. InTouch live update: Place a temporary Indirect tag pointing at the test item, display its value in a WindowViewer window, and watch it update at the configured scan rate.

Troubleshooting Matrix

The table below pairs the most common field observations with the correct corrective step. Work from the top of the list down - lower-numbered items must be cleared before higher-numbered ones are interpretable.