S7-1500 TIA Portal V18 Licensing: WinCC Runtime Advanced Setup

Overview

Any SIMATIC S7-1500 automation cell that includes a Panel PC for visualization requires three distinct categories of license in the TIA Portal V18 (Totally Integrated Automation Portal) environment:

1. A PLC engineering license (STEP 7 Professional V18) for programming the S7-1500 CPU, configuring its distributed I/O, and compiling the controller project.
2. An HMI engineering license (SIMATIC WinCC Engineering V18) for designing screens, tags, alarms, and the runtime project on the engineering station.
3. A runtime license (SIMATIC WinCC Runtime Advanced V18 or a higher-tier runtime such as Professional / Unified PC) installed on the target Panel PC that executes the visualization in production.

For a turnkey machine that controls discrete loads (for example, banks of lights actuated from a touchscreen), WinCC Runtime Advanced is the correct runtime tier. It targets the same WinCC Advanced engineering toolchain as Comfort Panels and IPCs, supports touch operation, screen navigation, tag logging, and recipes, and is sized by the number of PowerTags the runtime exchanges with the controllers.

Prerequisites

Before purchasing licenses, verify the following items on both the engineering PC and the Panel PC:

• Operating system compatibility. TIA Portal V18 engineering tool: Windows 10 (64-bit) Professional/Enterprise, Windows 11 Pro/Enterprise, Windows Server 2019/2022. Refer to the TIA Portal V18 installation readme for the exact supported build list.
• .NET and SQL prerequisites. WinCC Advanced engineering and runtime install Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8 and Microsoft SQL Server 2016/2019 Express for tag logging and alarm logging databases. The installer provisions these automatically if they are not present.
• Display and touch driver. Confirm the Panel PC display is calibrated and the touch driver matches the operating system (Siemens IPC227G, IPC277G, IPC477G, IPC677G, and SIMATIC Panel PC Unified families ship with pre-installed Windows and pre-tuned touch).
• S7-1500 CPU type and firmware. The CPU must be at a firmware level supported by TIA Portal V18 (CPU firmware V2.9.x or V3.0.x family depending on CPU model). The WinCC Advanced runtime must be able to open an HMI connection to the CPU via PROFINET or PROFIBUS; verify network reachability with ping and the CPU's online diagnostics.
• Microsoft Excel for the TIA Selection Tool export. The cloud service generates a license BOM that is exportable as an Excel list for procurement.

STEP 7 Professional V18 License

The PLC engineering license required to configure, compile, and download an S7-1500 project is STEP 7 Professional V18, order number 6ES7822-1AA08-0YA5 (floating license) or 6ES7822-1AA08-0YE5 (floating license, software download, 5 users). The license unlocks:

• Programming editors LAD, FBD, STL, SCL, and GRAPH for S7-1500/1200/300/400 and ET 200 CPUs.
• Hardware catalog for S7-1500 CPUs (e.g., CPU 1511-1 PN, 1515-2 PN, 1516-3 PN/DP, 1517-3 PN/DP, 1518-4 PN/DP), F-CPUs, CPs, and ET 200SP/MP/AL distributed I/O.
• Safety Integrated (optional add-on: STEP 7 Safety Advanced V18, 6ES7833-1FA18-0YA5) if F-CPU programming is required.
• PLCSIM V18 for offline simulation, allowing HMI/runtime tests without physical hardware.

If only S7-1500 work is in scope, the STEP 7 Professional V18 floating license is the single right choice. There is no separate per-CPU runtime license for the S7-1500 itself — the controller executes the compiled project without additional charge. Each engineering PC that opens the project needs its own license key (USB stick or Software Key Server).

WinCC Engineering License (Configuration Tool)

The HMI engineering license is independent of the PLC engineering license. To design screens for an HMI panel or Panel PC running WinCC Runtime Advanced, the engineering PC must hold a SIMATIC WinCC Advanced V18 configuration license (order number 6AV2102-0AA08-0AA5 floating, or the PowerPack upgrade from Basic to Advanced). This license enables the HMI part of the TIA Portal project: HMI tags, screens, alarms, recipes, user administration, schedulers, and the WinCC Advanced runtime downloader.

WinCC Runtime Advanced License (Panel PC Side)

The Panel PC that runs the visualization in production needs a WinCC Runtime Advanced license that is not the same as the engineering license. The runtime license is bound to the Panel PC and is sized by the number of PowerTags the runtime reads/writes from the S7-1500 CPU. As of the WinCC V18 delivery release, the WinCC Runtime Advanced V18 PowerTag tiers and order numbers are:

A PowerTag is defined by Siemens as any tag the runtime exchanges with the controller via an HMI connection. Each PLC tag linked to an HMI tag, each internal tag, and each array element of a structured tag counts as one PowerTag. The tag count is computed by the engineering tool at compile time; the licensing warning appears in the inspector if the configured count exceeds the licensed tier.

Sizing PowerTags for a Lighting-Control Project

For a discrete lighting application the typical PowerTag count is dominated by:

• Output bits. One tag per individually-addressed luminaire group (e.g., 24 lighting circuits across three zones → 24 PowerTags).
• Input bits. Optional feedback from occupancy sensors, daylight sensors, or hand/auto switches (e.g., 8 sensors → 8 PowerTags).
• Mode/status tags. Boolean flags for zone enable/disable, scheduler override, lighting scenes — typically 8 to 16 PowerTags.
• Internal tags. Tags used purely for visualization (faceplate visibility, color animation) count toward PowerTags when linked into the HMI tag DB.

For a small lighting panel of 32 circuits and 16 sensors, the count is comfortably below 128 PowerTags, so the smallest tier is sufficient. For a building-floor or warehouse project, plan for the 512 PT tier to allow expansion. The exact PowerTag count for a project is shown in Project > Runtime information in TIA Portal after a successful compile.

Add-On Runtime Licenses

WinCC Runtime Advanced supports several optional, separately-purchased add-on licenses. These are required only if the application uses the corresponding feature:

Two-PC Topology: Engineering vs. Operator PC

When the engineering PC and the Panel PC are physically separate machines (the typical commissioning workflow), the license separation is mandatory. Each PC has its own license key:

• Engineering PC: STEP 7 Professional V18 floating license and WinCC Advanced V18 engineering license (or the combined bundle). Used to configure the S7-1500 project and the HMI project, compile, and download.
• Operator PC (Panel PC): WinCC Runtime Advanced V18 license with the appropriate PowerTag tier and any add-on licenses (Logging, Recipes, etc.). The runtime executes the compiled HMI project and communicates with the S7-1500 over PROFINET.

The engineering license is not a substitute for the runtime license. Even if the engineering PC occasionally runs WinCC RT Advanced in test mode via PLCSIM, a Panel PC in production must carry its own runtime license. Without it, the runtime starts in demo / 1-hour countdown mode and shuts down the visualization, which is unsafe for unattended operation.

Procedure: Building the License BOM

1. Open the TIA Selection Tool cloud service (https://www.siemens.com/tia-selection-tool) and create a new automation project.
2. Add the S7-1500 CPU (for example, SIMATIC S7-1516-3 PN/DP) and the Panel PC (for example, SIMATIC IPC477G 15" touch, or SIMATIC Unified Comfort Panel IPC).
3. Add TIA Portal V18 to the engineering PC and WinCC Runtime Advanced V18 to the Panel PC.
4. Estimate the PowerTag count using the rule-of-thumb described above; select the smallest runtime tier that fits the estimate with headroom.
5. If the project requires historical logging, recipes, or Sm@rtServer, add the corresponding add-ons to the runtime license list.
6. Export the BOM as Excel and forward it to the Siemens sales contact or authorized distributor. Confirm with the contact whether floating, single-user, or rental licenses match the deployment policy.
7. Receive the license keys (USB stick or software download with activation certificate) and install them via the SLS License Manager (Automation License Manager) on each respective PC.
8. Activate the runtime license on the Panel PC before commissioning. Verify activation in Start > SIMATIC > Automation License Manager > Runtime License and confirm that the licensed PowerTag count matches the compiled project.

Verification

After installing both engineering and runtime licenses, perform the following checks before going live with the lighting control application:

1. Engineering PC check. Open the TIA Portal V18 project. In the project tree, expand Devices & networks; the S7-1500 CPU must compile without license errors. Open Online & diagnostics, connect to the CPU over PROFINET, and confirm that Online is reachable.
2. Runtime PC check. Download the compiled HMI project to the Panel PC using the WinCC Advanced Loader. The runtime must start and remain active beyond the 1-hour demo grace period. Open Help > About > Installed licenses on the runtime and confirm that WinCC Runtime Advanced shows the expected PowerTag tier.
3. Tag test. From the runtime, toggle one or two lighting outputs. Confirm in the S7-1500's online tag table that the corresponding output bit transitions. Confirm that the HMI button feedback updates within the configured acquisition cycle (default 1 s; reduce via the HMI tag's Acquisition cycle property for faster response).
4. Alarm test. Force a known alarm condition (e.g., overload on a circuit) and verify that the alarm appears on the runtime screen with correct priority, color, and acknowledgment behavior.
5. Logging test (if installed). Trigger an event that causes a tag-log entry and verify that the historical view shows the new row. The SQL Express database file is typically located at C:\ProgramData\Siemens\Automation\Logs\<ProjectName>\.

Troubleshooting Matrix

Notes for Field Deployment

• PowerTag licensing is cumulative across all controllers connected to one runtime. If the Panel PC monitors two S7-1500 CPUs, sum the PowerTags of both connections.
• On Panel PCs without a DVD drive, use the Siemens software download portal to obtain the runtime installation files; the license activation requires the certificate file (.zip) that ships with the purchased license.
• Always keep a backup of the Automation License Manager archive (C:\Program Files (x86)\Siemens\Automation\License Manager\Bin\almsrvrc.chk and the *.lic files) to recover licenses after a hard-disk failure on the Panel PC.
• If the project later requires migration to a Unified Comfort Panel or Unified PC Runtime, plan the upgrade through the TIA Selection Tool and verify that the new runtime supports the existing HMI tags. WinCC Advanced tags and screens do not auto-convert; a fresh Unified PC project is the standard migration path.