Resolving WinCCOLEDBProvider Error 7320 After Computer Rename in WinCC V7 SP3

This technical reference documents the root cause, diagnosis, and remediation of Msg 7320, Level 16, State 2 errors raised by the WinCCOLEDBProvider OLE DB linked server in SIMATIC WinCC V7.0 SP3 Update 5 following a Windows Server upgrade and a host computer rename. The procedure recovers archive query access without requiring a SQL Server or WinCC reinstall.

1. Problem Summary

After upgrading a WinCC runtime environment from SIMATIC WinCC V7.0 SP2 on Windows Server 2003 to SIMATIC WinCC V7.0 SP3 Update 5 on Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard (x64), the WinCCOLEDBProvider stops returning results. The error originates in the SQL Server linked-server layer that the WinCC Connectivity Pack provisions automatically when the stored procedure CC_SP_ReadTags is invoked.

The exact failure observed in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) against the WinCC runtime database:

OLE DB provider "WinCCOLEDBProvider" for linked server "CA_95" reported an error.
The provider did not give any information about the error.
Msg 7320, Level 16, State 2, Line 1
Cannot execute the query
"Tag:R,(5006),'2013-08-12 06:00:00','2013-08-12 07:59:59',TIMESTEP=30,2,0"
against OLE DB provider "WinCCOLEDBProvider" for linked server "CA_95".

Earlier releases (V7.0 SP2) returned rows. Connectivity Pack was installed and licensed, the ODBC layer was present, and the same C# application code path remained unchanged. The only environmental differences were the WinCC update level, the operating system, and a hostname change applied during the upgrade.

2. Affected Versions and Components

3. Symptoms and Error Catalog

3.1 Primary Symptom

Any call into CC_SP_ReadTags — whether issued from a C# application, a PowerShell script, or directly in SSMS — returns:

The call syntax in the failure case was:

CC_SP_ReadTags '5006','2013-8-12 6:0:0','2013-8-12 7:59:59','','Timestamp ASC','TIMESTEP=30,2'

The CA_95 suffix is a Connectivity Pack convention: CA_ denotes a Computer-Archive linked server and the numeric suffix is the project number. Each new project that calls the stored procedure will create a CA_<NN> linked server entry under the current @@SERVERNAME.

3.2 Secondary Symptoms

• Linked servers of the form CA_51, CA_95, etc. appear in Server Objects > Linked Servers in SSMS.
• ODBC Data Sources in Administrative Tools > Data Sources (ODBC) on Windows Server 2008 R2 do not show the WinCC archives that were visible on Server 2003. This is a UI visibility artifact of 64-bit ODBC administration, not a runtime failure.
• The DataSource property of the linked server still references the original Windows hostname used when WinCC was first run.
• SQL Server @@SERVERNAME differs from SERVERPROPERTY('ServerName'), a Microsoft-documented sign of a renamed server instance.

4. Root Cause Analysis

The issue is a divergence between three name spaces used by the SQL Server instance that hosts the WinCC archive databases:

1. Windows NT hostname — read from the OS at process start.
2. SQL Server @@SERVERNAME — captured at SQL Server install or last sp_addserver.
3. WinCC linked-server DataSource — set the first time CC_SP_ReadTags is called against the running WinCC project.

The following sequence of events creates the divergence:

1. Operator builds the WinCC V7 SP3 server with a hostname containing an underscore, e.g. ENG_STATION, because the engineering naming convention requires it.
2. WinCC setup proceeds, but SIMATIC Net setup fails silently when the underscore is detected. WinCC itself completes, including the SQL Server instance and the Connectivity Pack database.
3. Operator renames the machine to ENGSTATION, reruns the SIMATIC Net setup, completes installation, then renames the host back to ENG_STATION for production use.
4. SQL Server was installed and the WinCC runtime database was first opened while the host was named ENGSTATION. SQL Server caches @@SERVERNAME = ENGSTATION\WINCC at startup.
5. WinCC creates the linked server entries (CA_51, CA_95, etc.) using the cached @@SERVERNAME as the DataSource. The Windows OS now reports ENG_STATION, but the OLE DB and SQL Server metadata still points at ENGSTATION.
6. After WinCC SP3 Update 5 install or after the next WinCC runtime restart, the DataSource for the OLE DB call resolves to a network name that no longer exists, and the OLE DB provider fails with no descriptive error.

5. Diagnostic Procedure

Before applying the fix, run the following diagnostic block in SSMS against the WinCC runtime database. The query exposes the three name values that must agree for the OLE DB provider to function.

DECLARE @old_name           varchar(128),
        @win_nt_server_name varchar(128),
        @server_name        varchar(128)

SELECT @old_name           = CONVERT(VARCHAR(128), @@SERVERNAME),
       @win_nt_server_name = CONVERT(VARCHAR(128), SERVERPROPERTY('ServerName')),
       @server_name        = (SELECT TOP (1) name FROM master.sys.servers)

PRINT 'Local SQL Server name : ' + @old_name
PRINT 'WindowsNT Server name : ' + @win_nt_server_name
PRINT 'Server name           : ' + @server_name

Expected output on a broken system:

Local SQL Server name : ENGSTATION\WINCC
WindowsNT Server name : ENG_STATION\WINCC
Server name           : CA_51

Any mismatch between the first two lines confirms the issue. In SSMS, right-click the linked server CA_51, choose Properties > General and verify that Data Source matches @@SERVERNAME rather than the current Windows hostname.

6. Step-by-Step Resolution

The remediation realigns SQL Server's stored server identity with the current Windows hostname and rebuilds the WinCC-generated linked server entries.

Step 1 — Stop WinCC Runtime

Open the WinCC Explorer and click Stop Runtime, or use the command line:

net stop "CCAgentHost"
net stop "SIMATIC WinCC Runtime"

Confirm that no WinCC services or CCWrite.exe processes are active in Task Manager before proceeding.

Step 2 — Re-register the SQL Server Local Identity

Open a query window in SSMS connected to the WinCC runtime instance and execute:

EXEC sp_dropserver 'ENGSTATION\WINCC';
GO
EXEC sp_addserver 'ENG_STATION\WINCC', 'local';
GO

Substitute the actual old SQL Server name (the value reported by @@SERVERNAME) and the new Windows host name (the value reported by SERVERPROPERTY('ServerName')). The local keyword is mandatory; it tells SQL Server that this is the local instance.

Verify the change with the diagnostic block from Section 5. The first two PRINT lines must now read identically.

Step 3 — Delete Stale Linked Servers

In SSMS, expand Server Objects > Linked Servers and delete every CA_ entry created by WinCC. Right-click the linked server, choose Delete, confirm. Alternatively from T-SQL:

EXEC sp_dropserver 'CA_51', 'droplogins';
EXEC sp_dropserver 'CA_95', 'droplogins';

The droplogins argument removes any associated remote and linked-server login mappings. Repeat for every CA_<NN> linked server that points at the old DataSource.

Step 4 — Restart the Server

A full Windows restart is required. The sp_addserver '...', 'local' change does not take effect on the running sqlservr.exe process. After restart, re-verify with the diagnostic block from Section 5.

Step 5 — Recreate the Linked Servers Automatically

Linked server entries are not persisted across SQL Server restarts in a static manner. They are created on demand the first time a WinCC query is executed in the runtime database. Re-issue the original query:

USE <WinCC_RT_DB>;
EXEC CC_SP_ReadTags '5006','2013-8-12 6:0:0','2013-8-12 7:59:59','','Timestamp ASC','TIMESTEP=30,2';

The Connectivity Pack will recreate the CA_<NN> linked servers, this time bound to the corrected SQL Server local identity.

7. Verification

Use the following checks to confirm the fix is complete and stable across a WinCC runtime restart.

1. Diagnostic block from Section 5 shows @@SERVERNAME = SERVERPROPERTY('ServerName') after restart.
2. Linked-server DataSource property of any CA_<NN> entry matches the current Windows hostname.
3. CC_SP_ReadTags returns rows within 2-3 seconds for a one-hour window with 30-second time step.
4. C# application that was failing with Msg 7320 resumes producing DataTable results.
5. Querying the CC_ExternalBrowsing view on the runtime database returns the expected archive configuration metadata.

8. Calling CC_SP_ReadTags Correctly

The CC_SP_ReadTags stored procedure is the standard entry point for T-SQL archive access via the WinCC OLE DB Provider. Signature:

8.1 By Tag ID

CC_SP_ReadTags '5006','2013-08-12 06:00:00','2013-08-12 07:59:59','','Timestamp ASC','TIMESTEP=30,2'

8.2 By Fully Qualified Tag Name

CC_SP_ReadTags 'TAG:R,(ArchiveName\TagName),'2013-08-12 06:00:00','2013-08-12 07:59:59'','','Timestamp ASC','TIMESTEP=30,2'

Multiple tags are passed in the first argument using a semicolon:

CC_SP_ReadTags '5006;5007;5008', '2013-08-12 06:00:00', '2013-08-12 07:59:59', '', 'Timestamp ASC', 'TIMESTEP=30,2'

9. WinCC OLE DB Provider Connection Reference

The OLE DB provider is registered by the Connectivity Pack installer. The programmatic identifier is WinCCOLEDBProvider.1 for 32-bit consumers and WinCCOLEDBProvider.1 for 64-bit consumers on 64-bit installations of WinCC V7. Standard connection parameters are:

For more information on establishing the OLE DB connection from external applications, see the Siemens TIA Portal documentation for WinCC OLE DB Provider (RT Professional) and Establishing the Connection to the Archive Database (RT Professional).

10. Prevention and Best Practices

1. Never rename a host after SIMATIC WinCC and its bundled SQL Server have been installed. Siemens explicitly states that a rename requires a full SQL Server reinstall.
2. Avoid underscore characters in hostnames on WinCC servers. The SIMATIC Net installer rejects _ characters; a workaround by temporary rename is a documented root cause of this failure mode.
3. Document the host naming convention before commissioning. Use a hyphen or a numeric suffix if a separator is required, e.g. ENG-STATION-01.
4. Verify @@SERVERNAME matches the OS hostname immediately after WinCC install and after every Windows Server patch cycle that may touch network identity.
5. Back up the master and WinCC runtime databases before any change to SQL Server metadata. While sp_dropserver / sp_addserver is non-destructive to user data, a backup allows recovery in seconds.
6. Run Connectivity Pack on a 64-bit OS using the matching x64 installer. Mixing 32-bit OLE DB providers with 64-bit SQL Server is a common cause of provider not registered variants of this error.
7. Use the SQL Server Configuration Manager (not services.msc) to manage the WinCC instance. Configuration Manager is the only Microsoft-supported way to start the instance with the correct startup parameters after a rename.
8. Read the relevant section of the WinCC Information System (Start > SIMATIC > WinCC > Information System) before any upgrade. The manual contains the explicit hostname restriction and the linked-server topology description.

11. Troubleshooting Matrix

12. Related SQL Server System Procedures

13. Field-Proven Caveats

• The diagnostic block in Section 5 must be run from the WinCC runtime database, not from master. Some versions of SSMS default to master when a new query window is opened.
• The sp_dropserver call may fail with Msg 15190 if there are still remote logins mapped to the old name. Use sp_droplinkedsrvlogin first, or use sp_dropserver '...', 'droplogins' on linked servers.
• After sp_addserver, restart the SQL Server service and the SQL Server Agent. The change does not propagate to a running sqlservr.exe process.
• On Windows Server 2008 R2, the 32-bit ODBC Administrator is C:\Windows\SysWOW64\odbcad32.exe. Launching it from the Start Menu opens the 64-bit tool, which can confuse an operator into thinking the DSNs are missing.
• If SIMATIC Net refuses to install because of the underscore, do not deselect it and proceed. The absence of SIMATIC Net breaks several WinCC subsystems (S7 communication channels, OPC, redundancy). Plan a reinstall of the OS with a valid hostname.

14. References to Official Documentation

• WinCC OLE DB Provider (RT Professional) — Siemens TIA Portal documentation for the OLE DB provider architecture and analysis functions.
• Establishing the Connection to the Archive Database (RT Professional) — Connection-string parameters and provider registration.

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