SIMATIC PCS 7 V8.0 SP1 System Diagnostics Configuration Guide

The SIMATIC PCS 7 V8.0 SP1 process control system provides three principal diagnostic paths: the integrated Maintenance Station (asset management), the S7-300/400 System Diagnostics WinCC add-on (order number 2XV9 450-1SD08), and the PROFIBUS DP/PA System Diagnostics add-on (order number 2XV9 450-1SD12). Each option targets a different layer of the plant — control logic, fieldbus, and asset lifecycle — and they are not mutually exclusive. The PC operating system, project topology (single-station vs. server/client), and licensing model determine which combination is deployable on a given system.

Diagnostic Architecture Overview

PCS 7 V8.0 SP1 uses a layered diagnostic model that mirrors the plant hierarchy. The Maintenance Station consumes data from the AS (Automation Station) runtime, from the OS (Operator Station) faceplates, and from SIMATIC PDM (Process Device Manager). The System Diagnostics add-ons plug directly into the WinCC Graphics Runtime to render diagnostic views native to the PCS 7 faceplate style.

PCS 7 Maintenance Station

The PCS 7 Maintenance Station is the Siemens-recommended diagnostic backbone for V8.0 SP1 installations. It consolidates three functional areas into one WinCC workspace:

1. Asset Management — the equipment hierarchy (plant → unit → equipment module → control module) is enriched with manufacturer data, spare-parts lists, and maintenance intervals loaded from SIMATIC PDM or COMOS.
2. Diagnostic Screens — PCS 7 faceplate-style diagnostic overviews (CPU diagnostics, distributed I/O diagnostics, PROFIBUS DP/PA diagnostics, drive diagnostics) that open from the Maintenance Workbench.
3. Web Diagnostics Server — publishes the diagnostic views to a web client so maintenance staff can review plant health from any PC on the plant network without a full WinCC client license.

The Maintenance Station can be deployed on a single-station OS, on an OS server, or in a redundant OS server pair. In the server/client topology the diagnostic screens are served from the maintenance server and are available to every OS client that is granted the "Diagnostics" authorization in WinCC User Administration.

Minimum Project Requirements

System Diagnostics for S7-300/400 CPU (2XV9 450-1SD08)

This WinCC add-on renders the PCS 7-style diagnostic faceplates for AS-300 and AS-400 stations. It is installed on the OS runtime, not the ES, and does not require any project-specific CFC programming — the diagnostic data is derived from the standard SFC/SFB diagnostic blocks (SFC 13 / SFB 52 for diagnostic buffer read, SFC 51 for SSL query) that are already compiled into the PCS 7 AS program.

Scope of the Diagnostic Screens

• CPU diagnostic buffer (last 200 entries, time-stamped to the AS clock)
• Module status of central and distributed I/O (ET 200M, ET 200S, ET 200iSP, ET 200pro)
• Stack register display on STOP transitions
• Memory and runtime metering (OB 1, OB 35, OB 82, OB 86, OB 100, OB 121 statistics)
• Diagnostic events filtered by class (CPU fault, module fault, channel fault, expansion-cabinet fault)

Installation Procedure

1. Insert the System Diagnostics DVD (2XV9 450-1SD08) on the target OS station. The autorun launches the SIMATIC System Diagnostics - Setup.
2. Accept the license agreement and select Install for WinCC PCS 7 — do not select the plain WinCC option, as the PCS 7 faceplates will not be available.
3. Point the setup to the existing PCS 7 project directory or to a stub project if it is a clean OS image.
4. After installation, in WinCC Explorer, navigate to Graphics → Maintenance and confirm that the @Maintenance_*.PDL files have been registered.
5. On the maintenance OS server, open Diagnostic Screens from the WinCC desktop and verify that the AS station appears under Plant View > SIMATIC S7-400 / S7-300.

System Diagnostics for PROFIBUS DP/PA (2XV9 450-1SD12)

The PROFIBUS diagnostics add-on extends the maintenance screens with DP/PA-specific information. It depends on DP/PA coupler or link topology data that the AS exposes through SFB 52 (DPV1) and through the IM 153/IM 157 interface modules. PA devices on a segment are resolved through SIMATIC PDM and are displayed as PDM-tagged objects.

Diagnostic Data Set

The 2XV9 450-1SD12 add-on requires that the PROFIBUS slaves are configured with diagnostics enabled. In HW Config, the option DP slave diagnostics > Activate must be set; otherwise the add-on will display the device as No diagnostic data.

Operating System and Topology Constraints

The two WinCC add-ons are single-station add-ons. They render the diagnostic screens inside the WinCC Graphics Runtime of the OS station on which they are installed. In a server/client deployment, the add-on is therefore installed on the OS server, and the diagnostic screens are streamed to the clients as part of the regular WinCC screen set.

The original 2XV9 450-1SD0x add-ons do not include 64-bit OS support for Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1. The supported operating systems for V8.0 SP1 OS servers with these add-ons are Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 (64-bit) and Windows 7 Professional / Enterprise SP1 (32-bit). For projects that must run on Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1, the Maintenance Station path with the built-in diagnostic screens is the supported configuration.

Configuration Workflow (Maintenance Station)

1. Enable Maintenance Station in the project. In PCS 7 ES, open the component view, right-click the OS server, and select Maintenance Station > Activate. This inserts the @Maintenance screen tree into the project and registers the Maintenance workbench on the OS.
2. Assign diagnostic authorization. In WinCC Explorer, open User Administrator and create (or extend) a user group Maintenance with the right Diagnostics. Map the operator class accordingly.
3. Configure PDM coupling. On the maintenance OS server, start SIMATIC PDM > Settings > PCS 7 Maintenance Station and enable Export asset data on save. The asset data is written to \\<server>\<project>\<hierarchy>\<device>.xml and is loaded by the Maintenance workbench on next compile.
4. Compile and download. Run Compile OS > Maintenance Station on the ES, then transfer the project to the maintenance server. The diagnostic screens are generated automatically from the AS-side hardware configuration; no CFC code change is required.
5. Verify the Web Diagnostics Server. On the maintenance server, open Start > SIMATIC > WinCC Web Navigator > Web Configurator and publish the @Maintenance directory. From a client browser, navigate to http://<server>/WebDiagnostics and confirm the login page appears.

Configuration Workflow (System Diagnostics Add-ons)

1. Pre-condition check. Confirm that the OS is a 32-bit Windows 7 SP1 or a Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1. The installer aborts on 64-bit Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 with a clear message; do not bypass the check.
2. Install the add-on (2XV9 450-1SD08 or 2XV9 450-1SD12) on every OS server that should host the diagnostic screens. License transfer is done with the Automation License Manager.
3. Enable the diagnostic OCX in WinCC Explorer: Computer > Properties > Startup > Additional Tasks > Activate System Diagnostics. The OCX registers a callback on WinCC alarm events that originates the SFB 52 read.
4. Map AS stations to the OS server in WinCC Explorer > Tag Management > SIMATIC S7 Protocol Suite > [connection] > System Parameters. The diagnostic data uses the existing S7 connection; no extra connection is opened.
5. Place the diagnostic screen call in the plant picture. The standard call is:

   // PDL action - open the maintenance overview for a specific AS
   #include "AP_DEF.H"
   char* szStation = GetPropChar(lpszPictureName, "StationName");
   SSMOpenScreen(NULL, "@Maintenance.PDL", szStation, NULL);
   

6. Commissioning test: Force a diagnostic event on a DP slave (e.g., unplug a DP connector) and verify that the slave appears red in the PROFIBUS overview within 2 s, and that the event is logged in the WinCC alarm log with the correct time stamp.

Diagnostic Buffer Evaluation

The CPU diagnostic buffer is read with SFC 51 (SSL_ID 0x0012, INDEX 0) in combination with SFC 13 / SFB 52. The Maintenance Station and the System Diagnostics add-on both expose the buffer as a tabular view with the following columns:

When evaluating a STOP, the entries with event class 0x1310 (Diagnostic interrupt) and 0x39xx (Communication fault) are the most informative. The Maintenance workbench filters by class and renders the buffer in the PCS 7 faceplate style without the operator needing to read raw SZL data.

Integration with Asset Management (COMOS / PDM)

The Maintenance Station asset data is sourced from one of two back-ends:

• SIMATIC PDM — read-only import of device tag, vendor, order number, serial number, and EDD-based parameters. Triggered on every project compile on the ES.
• COMOS — bi-directional sync through the COMOS > PCS 7 Maintenance Station interface. Allows documents, spare-parts lists, and maintenance work orders to be exchanged. This is the standard path in large-engineering projects.

The integration of SIMATIC PCS 7 Asset Management into existing projects is documented in the Siemens support portal. The FAQ entry How are asset comments displayed in the headline of PCS 7 faceplates? clarifies the parameter binding on the faceplate HTML header — the asset comment appears in the title bar of the faceplate when the connection is bound to the equipment level (not the control module level).

Troubleshooting Matrix

Verification and Acceptance Test

1. Stop / start test on a spare AS: Power-cycle the AS while the OS is in runtime. Confirm a 0x4301 event (Power on) appears in the buffer and a WinCC alarm AS not reachable / AS reachable pair is generated. The recovery time should be below 60 s on a server-client configuration.
2. DP fault test: Disconnect a DP segment terminator. Confirm a red marker on the slave icon within 2 s and an entry in the Diagnostic Buffer faceplate within 10 s.
3. Asset test: Open a faceplate and verify that the asset comment in the title bar matches the COMOS / PDM source. If it is empty, check the binding in the faceplate HTML parameter list.
4. Web test: From a separate PC, log on to http://<server>/WebDiagnostics with the Maintenance user and confirm the same diagnostic screens are visible.
5. Long-term archival test: Verify that the PKZip-based archive completes without error. The setup procedure and command line are documented in the SIMATIC PCS 7 — Service support and diagnostics (V8.0 SP1) manual.

Migration Path to V8.1 / V8.2

When a V8.0 SP1 project migrates to V8.1 or V8.2, the diagnostic screens are preserved as long as the Maintenance Station was enabled. The standalone 2XV9 450-1SD0x add-ons are superseded by the integrated diagnostic screens of the Maintenance Station, and the legacy installer is no longer required. License migration is performed with the Automation License Manager; the new license is bundled with the V8.1/V8.2 AS bundle. Verify the migration guide of the target version on the Siemens Industry Online Support portal before performing the upgrade.

FAQ