Selecting and Configuring WinCC Server/Client Complete Setup

1. WinCC Server/Client Architecture Overview

A WinCC multi-station system separates visualization, process data storage, and operator stations into distinct roles. The WinCC server holds the project, archives (tag and alarm logging), and runs the central process database. The WinCC client is a thin visualization station that loads the server project at runtime, reads tags over the WinCC internal channel, and displays screens; it does not store archives of its own by default.

For a typical 1 server / 4 clients topology:

• 1 x WinCC RT Professional Server license (or WinCC V7.5 Server, depending on TIA Portal version)
• 4 x WinCC RT Professional Client licenses (or WinCC V7.5 Client)
• 1 x WinCC RT Professional Engineering (combo) on the configuration PC
• Royalty-free WinCC Client for RT Professional is not available; every operator station requires its own client license.

2. WinCC Edition Selection: V7.5 vs RT Professional

Siemens ships two distinct WinCC generations that co-exist in the field. Picking the wrong one is the single largest source of order-number problems for new projects.

For new builds in TIA Portal V17 or later, use WinCC RT Professional. The configuration steps below are written for RT Professional and follow the official Siemens documentation at Configuring clients (RT Professional) - WinCC.

If you are maintaining an existing V7.5 system, refer to the Siemens Support PDF Configuring a Client–Server System with WinCC V7.5 for the SIMATIC Shell workflow.

3. License and Order Number Selection

WinCC RT Professional is sold in tag-count tiers plus a server/client role. The base order numbers (MLFB format 6AV2...) must match the cumulative number of process tags used in the project; the role is selected at install time on each PC.

For the 1 server / 4 clients example in this article the BOM is:

1. 1 x WinCC RT Professional Server license (chosen tag tier).
2. 4 x WinCC RT Professional Client licenses.
3. 1 x WinCC RT Professional Combo Engineering license on the engineering PC (Engineering is functionally free if the same PC also runs a server, but for a separate engineering station order a combo).

Count your power tags in the TIA Portal project under Runtime settings > Tags; the tier must be equal to or higher than the highest configured tag ID. Internal tags and archive tags do not count toward the power-tag limit.

4. Prerequisites and System Requirements

• TIA Portal: V17, V18, V19, or V20 on the engineering PC. Project must contain the matching WinCC RT Professional option package.
• WinCC RT Professional runtime installed on every server and client PC. Match the runtime version to the TIA Portal version used to compile the project; mixing V18-compiled projects with V17 runtime produces a version mismatch on the client at start-up.
• Operating system: Windows Server 2019 / 2022 on the server, Windows 10 LTSC 21H2/22H2 or Windows 11 on the clients. Embedded variants are not supported for the server role.
• Network: All PCs in the same subnet or routed via known gateways. The TCP port range 4900-4999 (WinCC internal) must be open; for V7.5 also enable DCOM and the "SIMATIC Shell" share.
• User rights: Local administrator on every PC during installation; runtime can be started by a domain user afterwards.
• Time sync: All PCs synchronized via NTP. Server is the time master; clients use the server time for alarm display.

5. TIA Portal Project Structure for Multi-Station System

Create a single TIA Portal project that contains one HMI device for the server and one HMI device per client. The Devices & Networks editor is the central point for the server/client relations; do not configure a "distributed system" outside of TIA Portal.

1. Open TIA Portal and create a new project with the customer name (e.g., Project_Plant01).
2. In the project tree, choose Add new device > SIMATIC PC station for the server. Rename it to a unique name such as HMI_Server_01.
3. Open the Device view of the PC station and add a network adapter (Intel i219/i210) in slot 1 and the WinCC RT application in slot 2. The application will default to WinCC RT Professional with the Server role selected.
4. Repeat steps 2-3 four times for the four clients, naming them HMI_Client_01 through HMI_Client_04. On the client HMI devices, set the WinCC RT role to Client in the application properties.
5. Add a SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU under Add new device > SIMATIC S7-1500 if the project uses a TIA-integrated PLC; otherwise connect to an existing PLC configured in another TIA project.

6. Configuring the WinCC Server in TIA Portal

1. Open HMI_Server_01 and switch to Runtime settings > General.
2. Configure the project directory; the default is the project path. For multi-station systems with a shared engineering project, you may also enable Stand-alone operation and load the runtime file to the server PC later via the "Load to file system" mechanism.
3. Under Runtime settings > Services, enable the services the clients need to consume:
   • Tag subscription (always on)
   • Alarm subscription (always on)
   • User administration (if single-sign-on is required)
   • Time sync (server pushes time to clients)
4. Create the tag, alarm, and screen configuration in the server HMI device. Screens can be marked as server-only (maintenance views) or visible on all stations.
5. Compile the server HMI device (Right-click > Compile > Software (rebuild all)). Compilation must succeed with 0 errors before continuing.

7. Configuring WinCC Clients in TIA Portal

1. Open the first client HMI device, e.g., HMI_Client_01.
2. Switch to Runtime settings > General > Server assignment. Enter the server name exactly as it appears in the WinCC project (HMI_Server_01) and the server's fully qualified DNS name.
3. For V17 and later, the Server prefix is no longer mandatory; leave the default unless the customer explicitly maps screens to a non-default namespace.
4. Configure the start screen, language, and user administration for the client.
5. Enable Standalone operation only if the operator station must run without the server for a short window (e.g., during server restart). When enabled, the client caches the most recent tag values; archive data is unavailable in standalone mode.
6. Compile the client device. Verify 0 errors.

Repeat for clients 2-4. To save time, copy HMI_Client_01 (right-click > Copy / Paste as new device) and then change the device name and IP address in the new copy.

8. Server-Client Assignment and Relations

The actual client-to-server binding in RT Professional is created visually in the Devices & Networks editor.

1. Open Devices & Networks.
2. Switch to Network view. All five HMI devices and any PLCs are shown as icons.
3. Select the Relations tab at the bottom of the editor.
4. Click and drag from HMI_Client_01 to HMI_Server_01; a relation arrow appears. Repeat for the other three clients.
5. Compile the network view. The compiler checks reachability and IP consistency.

This is the canonical procedure documented at Configuring clients (RT Professional). For V20 specifically, drag-and-drop on the Relations tab is the only supported method; the legacy SIMATIC Manager "WinCC Application Client" wizard is not available in TIA Portal.

9. Communication Configuration

The server talks to the PLC; the clients talk only to the server. Do not configure the clients to talk directly to the PLC unless they need independent fallback I/O.

On the server's tag management, prefer OPC UA (DA) or the SIMATIC S7-1500 channel for PLC access. The clients consume tags through the WinCC internal channel which is configured automatically when the relation is created.

10. Compilation, Download, and Verification

1. In the project tree select all five HMI devices, right-click, and choose Compile > Software (rebuild all).
2. Resolve any compile warnings about tag prefixes, missing language resources, or duplicate picture names.
3. Select HMI_Server_01 and click Download to device > Software (all). Authenticate with the engineering user.
4. Start WinCC RT on the server. Confirm the system tray shows "WinCC Runtime: Running" and that the WinCC project opens on the server's local monitor.
5. Download each client in the same way. On first start, the client displays a connection progress dialog and then loads the server project.
6. From a client, open a screen and modify a tag from a test script. The change should appear on the server's tag logging within one polling cycle (default 1 s).

11. SIMATIC Shell Configuration (V7.5 Path)

If the project is on WinCC V7.5, the server-client relation is created outside of TIA Portal, by means of a shared project folder. The official procedure is documented in the Siemens Support PDF Configuring a Client–Server System with WinCC V7.5.

1. On the server, share the WinCC project folder (default: C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\WinCC\WinCCProjects\<ProjectName>) with the user group that the client service uses.
2. Open My Computer on the client. The SIMATIC Shell folder appears in the Devices and drivers area.
3. Double-click SIMATIC Shell, right-click the server entry and choose Connect.
4. Launch WinCC Runtime on the client; it loads the project from the server share automatically.

For V7.5 deployments, also enable DCOM exceptions for the WinCC service account, and whitelist ports 135, 445, 49152-65535 between the server and clients in Windows Firewall.

12. Troubleshooting Matrix