Resolving PCS 7 V7.0 SP2 S5 CP1430 WinCC License Requirements

Resolving SIMATIC PCS 7 V7.0+SP2 License Requirements for S5 CP1430 Connections

Integrating legacy SIMATIC S5 stations through a CP1430 communications processor into a SIMATIC PCS 7 V7.0+SP2 OS station is a common migration path in brownfield plants. Engineers moving from a stand-alone WinCC 6.2 runtime into a PCS 7 Process Object (PO) environment frequently encounter license validation failures, "need WinCC RT" pop-ups, and tag-count mismatches that block the OS runtime. This reference consolidates the licensing model, the diagnostic procedure, the PO-to-tag compatibility map, and the configuration steps required to bring an S5 CP1430 link online without a redundant license purchase.

1. Overview: PCS 7 V7.0+SP2 Licensing Context

SIMATIC PCS 7 V7.0+SP2 was released as a quality-improvement roll-up on top of V7.0. The service pack delivers updated TIA components, OS runtime fixes, and stabilised PO licensing enforcement. A primary behavior change relative to PCS 7 V6.x is the strict enforcement of PO license counters in the WinCC runtime: any OS server started under PCS 7 V7.0+SP2 validates the loaded license against the Process Objects count derived from the OS compilation, not against the raw tag count of the underlying AS connections.

When an S5 station is connected through a CP1430, the OS sees those values as external tags on a SIMATIC S5 Ethernet (TF/TCP) or SINEC H1 channel. They are imported into the OS database during compilation and counted in the PO total. This is the critical distinction: a 900-tag S5 AS is not the same as a 900-PO load on the OS license, because PO weighting in PCS 7 differs from a flat tag count in WinCC.

For background on the service pack contents, refer to the official Siemens release notice for SIMATIC PCS 7 V7.0+SP2 released for delivery (ID 27786383).

2. PO License vs WinCC RT License Architecture

PCS 7 V7.0+SP2 uses a two-tier licensing model. Understanding the difference is essential before any S5 connection is configured.

The license decision is governed by the project type, not by the operator panel or runtime hardware:

• If the project is created as an OS Station inside SIMATIC Manager → Component View, the runtime requires a PCS 7 PO license. The OS is then a Process Object OS, not a stand-alone WinCC station.
• If the project is created from the WinCC Explorer without a SIMATIC Manager wrapper, the runtime requires a WinCC RT license.

Mixing the two is the most common source of the "need WinCC RT" message observed when commissioning an S5 connection under PCS 7 V7.0+SP2.

3. Prerequisites for CP1430 Integration

Before any licensing question can be answered, the underlying S5 communication channel must be valid. A 900-tag S5 station connected through a CP1430 in PCS 7 V7.0+SP2 requires the following stack to be in place:

1. CP1430 firmware at the level required for TF/TCP or SINEC H1 operation. Verify the firmware version in the S5 COM 1430 configuration tool. A CP1430 that has not been flashed to a TF/TCP-capable firmware revision will not appear in the S7 Protocol Suite channel list.
2. SIMATIC NET S7 Protocol Suite installed on the OS server. This is the channel suite that exposes "SIMATIC S5 Ethernet (TF/TCP)" and "SINEC H1" channel units to the WinCC tag management.
3. OS server project structure with at least one OS station created under SIMATIC Manager → Component View. Stand-alone WinCC projects cannot host PO license enforcement.
4. PG/PC interface assignment on the OS server pointing to the Industrial Ethernet adapter bound to the S5 subnet. The CP1430 default transport is TF protocol on Industrial Ethernet.
5. PCS 7 V7.0+SP2 OS Runtime installed and licensed with a PO license that meets or exceeds the compiled PO count.

For STEP 7 S7-side connection configuration concepts, the documentation pattern for S7-300/S7-400 TCP/IP Ethernet connections in How to Configure S7-300/400 Connections in STEP 7 applies analogously for the S5 CP1430 in PCS 7: the communications module on the AS side, the connection configuration in STEP 7 / COM 1430, and the channel unit in S7 Protocol Suite must all reference the same transport and TSAP / port.

4. License Diagnostics Using License_Info.log

The definitive answer to "which license type is required" is held in the runtime diagnostic log, not in the SIMATIC Manager view. PCS 7 V7.0+SP2 writes license decisions to:

%ProgramFiles%\Siemens\Automation\WinCC\Diagnose\License_Info.log

On a 64-bit Windows OS server the path is typically:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Siemens\Automation\WinCC\Diagnose\License_Info.log

To diagnose, perform the following sequence:

1. Open the OS server desktop and start WinCC Explorer in process mode (the OS server runtime, not the WinCC configuration).
2. If a license error appears, dismiss the pop-up and stop the WinCC runtime.
3. Open License_Info.log in Notepad.
4. Inspect the most recent entries. The relevant section declares the license type that the OS expects, the license type currently installed, and the PO/tag counter values.

An extract from a healthy PCS 7 V7.0+SP2 OS server with an S5 CP1430 connection shows:

License Type required : PCS7 PO
License Type installed : PCS7 PO
Number of PO used     : 287
Number of PO licensed : 1000
Number of tags used   : 4123 (legacy mode)
Number of tags licensed: 32768 (legacy mode)

An extract from a server where a WinCC RT license is incorrectly installed in a PCS 7 OS project shows:

License Type required : PCS7 PO
License Type installed : WinCC RT
Result               : License mismatch - PCS7 PO required

The log entry is the only authoritative source. Visual inspection of the license container in SIMATIC Manager or the Automation License Manager is not sufficient because the OS Runtime performs its own check at startup.

5. PO-to-Tag Compatibility Mapping

PCS 7 V7.0+SP2 maintains a backward-compatibility bridge between the legacy WinCC tag-counting model and the PO-counting model. The bridge is the answer to the question "do I have to upgrade my license when I add 900 S5 tags?".

Field practice: an OS PO 1000 license is rated for 1 000 Process Objects, but in legacy compatibility mode the same license is recognised as valid for up to 32 768 external + internal tags. The runtime expires the license as soon as either counter is exceeded.

For a 900-tag S5 station connected through CP1430, the 900 external tags are counted toward the legacy tag cap, not the PO cap. With a PO 1000 license the operator has 32 000 minus 900 = 31 100 tags of headroom for additional S7-300 / S7-400 connections. The PO counter, however, increases only with the process objects that the OS generates from the S5 AS (alarms, trends, user archives derived from the S5 tags). For a plain 900-tag monitoring AS, the PO increment is typically under 200 PO.

6. Configuring the S5 CP1430 Channel in S7 Protocol Suite

Once the license question is closed, the CP1430 connection is added to the OS project. The procedure is identical for S5 stations and S7 stations; only the channel unit and the transport parameters differ.

1. Open the OS project in WinCC Explorer on the engineering station.
2. Right-click Tag Management → Add New Driver → select SIMATIC S7 Protocol Suite.
3. Expand the SIMATIC S7 Protocol Suite node. The channel units visible depend on the installed SIMATIC NET version:
   • SIMATIC S5 Ethernet (TF/TCP) — used for CP1430 in TF/TCP mode (recommended for new installations).
   • Industrial Ethernet (SINEC H1) — used for CP1430 in classic SINEC H1 mode (legacy installations).
   • MPI / PROFIBUS — not applicable to CP1430 directly; an S5 MPI/Profibus connection uses a CP5431 instead.
4. Right-click the appropriate channel unit and select New Connection. In the connection dialog, enter:
   • Connection name: e.g. S5_AS01_CP1430
   • IP address: the IP address of the CP1430 Industrial Ethernet interface. In TF/TCP mode the CP1430 must be configured with a fixed IP, e.g. 192.168.10.21.
   • TSAP / port: 01.01 for the local end and the configured remote TSAP for the S5 side. For TF/TCP the S5 transport port is configurable in COM 1430; default is 2000.
   • Cycle / update time: typically 1 000 ms for a 900-tag S5 AS. Lower values are possible but increase network load on the shared Industrial Ethernet.
5. Click Properties to confirm the connection is bound to the correct Industrial Ethernet adapter on the OS server (PG/PC interface assignment).
6. Save and exit Tag Management.

At this point the S5 tags are not yet visible in the OS. They become visible after the next OS compilation in SIMATIC Manager:

1. Open SIMATIC Manager → Component View.
2. Right-click the OS station → Compile OS.
3. Choose Full compilation with the option Transfer to target system.
4. Wait for the compiler to report Compile complete, 0 errors, X warnings.

After successful compilation the 900 S5 tags appear in WinCC Explorer under the configured connection and are counted in the next runtime license check.

7. Tag Counting Rules Across Mixed PLC Topologies

PCS 7 V7.0+SP2 counts tags in two ways simultaneously, and the runtime license check enforces both.

The critical rule for the field engineer is: the total tag number across all PLCs connected to a single OS must remain below the licensed tag ceiling, and the total PO number must remain below the licensed PO ceiling. Whichever limit is reached first triggers the license-expired condition at OS startup.

For the 900-tag S5 scenario the typical PO increment is below the PO ceiling, so the governing limit is the tag count. With OS PO 1000 in legacy mode (32 000 tag ceiling) the project has comfortable headroom for additional connections.

8. Verifying License Compliance After OS Compilation

After the S5 CP1430 connection is added and the OS is recompiled, verify compliance in the following sequence before starting the OS runtime.

1. On the engineering station, open WinCC Explorer → Tag Management → SIMATIC S7 Protocol Suite → channel unit. Confirm the new connection appears and the 900 S5 tags are present.
2. Right-click the OS project → Properties → Computer. Note the licensed tag count and PO count from the Automation License Manager view.
3. Open the OS Project Editor on the engineering station and request the PO summary. Cross-check the PO total against the licensed PO count.
4. Transfer the compiled OS to the target server (download to OS server).
5. On the OS server, open License_Info.log as described in Section 4. Confirm that License Type installed matches License Type required and that both PO and tag counters are below their licensed maxima.
6. Start the WinCC runtime. If a license pop-up appears, return to step 5 and re-read the log; the pop-up text is a generic message that does not always reflect the exact failure mode.

If the log confirms compliance and the runtime still reports a license error, the most likely cause is a stale license container: the Automation License Manager caches the license list. Restart the ALM service (or reboot the OS server) to force a fresh read.

9. Troubleshooting Common License Mismatch Errors

10. Migration Notes: From WinCC 6.2 to PCS 7 V7.0+SP2

Plants that ran a stand-alone WinCC 6.2 station with a WinCC RT 1024 license and an S5 CP1430 connection cannot carry the same license forward into PCS 7 V7.0+SP2 if the project is re-engineered as a PCS 7 OS station. The migration path is:

1. Document the current WinCC 6.2 tag count (e.g. 900 S5 tags + project internal tags).
2. Decide whether the new project is a PCS 7 OS or a WinCC station. If the OS is to be part of a multi-station PCS 7 plant, it must be a PCS 7 OS.
3. Select the PCS 7 PO license using the table in Section 5. For 900 S5 tags plus reasonable headroom, OS PO 1000 is the typical match.
4. Install the PO license on the OS server. The previous WinCC RT 1024 license remains valid for any other stand-alone WinCC stations in the plant.
5. Re-create the OS project in SIMATIC Manager → Component View, migrate the S5 CP1430 connection into the S7 Protocol Suite, and recompile the OS.
6. Verify with License_Info.log as described in Section 4.

11. Summary Field-Check List

Before raising a license support request for an S5 CP1430 connection in PCS 7 V7.0+SP2, run through the following list and attach the evidence to the support ticket:

1. OS project created under SIMATIC Manager → Component View with an OS Station: Yes / No
2. License installed (Automation License Manager): SKU + count
3. Compiled PO total: value
4. Compiled tag total: value
5. License_Info.log entries (most recent): paste
6. OS Runtime version: PCS 7 V7.0+SP2 build number
7. CP1430 firmware version: value from COM 1430
8. PG/PC interface on the OS server: adapter name

With this evidence, Siemens support can resolve a license mismatch in a single round trip in most cases, without requiring a site visit.