Troubleshooting CP1613A2 Network Adapter Detection in WinCC 7.2

1. CP1613A2 Hardware Overview and Identification

The CP 1613 A2 is a PCI communications processor for connecting SIMATIC PCs and programming devices to Industrial Ethernet networks. It supports PROFINET IO controller/IO device operation and SIMATIC S7/S5 communication via the SIMATIC NET PC software stack. The card is the direct successor to the CP1613 and is the canonical Siemens solution for SIMATIC PC stations that must act as PROFINET IO controllers while still serving ordinary Windows TCP/IP traffic on the same physical hardware.

Key hardware specifications:

• Siemens MLFB: 6GK1161-3AA01
• Bus interface: 32-bit PCI, 33 MHz / 66 MHz
• Voltage keying: 3.3 V / 5 V universal key (compatible with both PCI slot voltages)
• External connector: RJ45 (10/100 Mbit/s)
• Lifecycle status: Marked as a spare part by Siemens

Although the CP1613A2 remains supported, Siemens recommends the CP 1623 (PCIe x1) or CP 1628 (PCIe x4) for new installations. The CP1613A2 is primarily retained to allow field replacement of installed CP1613 hardware without rewriting the SIMATIC NET configuration.

Refer to the official CP 1613 A2 Operating Instructions for installation, LED diagnostics, and EMC notes. Ordering, certification, and download links are maintained on the Siemens SiePortal product entry for 6GK1161-3AA01.

Physical installation considerations

• The card requires a free 32-bit PCI slot (3.3 V or 5 V keyed).
• Plug-and-play BIOS must be enabled so the PCI resource allocation matches the CP1613A2 requirements.
• For servers without free PCI slots, use a verified PCI riser card or plan a chassis swap. The CP1613A2 cannot be used in PCIe-only slots without an active adapter, and such adapters are not Siemens-approved for industrial communication.
• Do not mix the CP1613A2 with non-Siemens PCI Ethernet cards on the same IRQ; IRQ sharing is supported but reduces determinism under high PROFINET IO load.

2. Symptom: CP1613A2 Recognized Only as a Standard Network Adapter

After a server replacement (CP1613 → CP1613A2) and a reinstall of Windows Server 2008 + SIMATIC NET 2008 + WinCC 7.2, the CP1613A2 appears under Windows Device Manager only as:

Network adapters
└─ CP 1613 A2

It does NOT appear under a separate "SIMATIC NET" or "Siemens Automation" device class, and WinCC reports PLC connection errors. Typical error strings observed:

• Cannot connect to partner in WinCC Channel Diagnosis
• S7DLL: connection failed in the WinCC diagnostic log
• SIMATIC NET: station not configured in OPC Scout V10

The same symptom persists across SIMATIC NET v8.1, v12, and v13, which initially suggests a driver or installation problem. The actual root cause is more nuanced (see section 3).

3. Root Cause Analysis

Three distinct conditions converge to produce the symptom. All three must be addressed for the CP1613A2 to communicate reliably with WinCC 7.2.

3.1 Architectural change from CP1613 to CP1613A2

The original CP1613 exposed itself to Windows only through a SIMATIC NET proprietary driver — the card was invisible to Windows as a regular network adapter and could only be reached through the SIMATIC stack. The CP1613A2 redesign uses a standard NDIS-compliant Ethernet driver so that the same physical card can simultaneously serve Windows TCP/IP traffic and SIMATIC NET/PROFINET IO traffic through dual-stack operation.

The Device Manager entry "Network adapters → CP 1613 A2" is therefore the expected and correct behavior for the CP1613A2. It is not an indication that SIMATIC NET failed. The absence of a separate "Siemens Automation → SIMATIC NET CP" entry is only a problem if the SIMATIC NET service layer is not started or the CP was not added to the Station Configuration Editor.

3.2 SIMATIC NET version mismatch with WinCC 7.2

WinCC 7.2 was qualified against specific SIMATIC NET PC software versions. Installing a newer SIMATIC NET (for example v12 or v13, which are bundled with TIA Portal V13/V14) on top of WinCC 7.2 will:

• Replace the S7 protocol suite libraries with versions compiled against newer WinCC COM interfaces.
• Leave the WinCC 7.2 channel DLLs pointing at non-existent registry keys and DCOM endpoints.
• Result in WinCC reporting a working channel but failing on every read/write because the lower-layer driver cannot map the connection request to the CP1613A2 station configuration.

The fix is to match the SIMATIC NET version to the WinCC version (see compatibility matrix in section 5). Installing both SIMATIC NET v8.1 and SIMATIC NET v13 on the same PC will leave the system in an undefined state; remove one of them.

3.3 Operating-system qualification

The combination CP1613A2 + WinCC 7.2 + SIMATIC NET v8.1 was qualified by Siemens for Windows XP SP3 32-bit and Windows 7 32-bit. Windows Server 2008 (especially 64-bit and R2 variants) is not on the qualification list for this specific combination. Field reports confirm that the same hardware and software work correctly on Windows 7 32-bit even when they fail on Windows Server 2008.

4. Supported Operating Systems

For CP1613A2 with WinCC 7.2 and SIMATIC NET v8.1, the following operating systems are documented as supported:

Field note: migrating from Windows Server 2008 to Windows 7 32-bit resolved the symptom described in the original report. The same hardware and same project files were used; only the OS and the SIMATIC NET installation were changed.

5. SIMATIC NET and WinCC 7.2 Compatibility Matrix

The matrix below maps WinCC 7.2 update level to the required SIMATIC NET PC software version. Installing a SIMATIC NET version newer than listed below has been observed to break WinCC 7.2 PLC connections even though both products install cleanly and report no errors.

If a TIA Portal installation (Step 7 V13 / V14) is also present, do not let it upgrade SIMATIC NET components. Select "Do not change installed version" in the TIA Portal setup or perform a clean install with the SIMATIC NET version matched to WinCC 7.2 first, then refuse any TIA-software-triggered upgrade.

6. Prerequisites

Before starting, verify that the following are available.

Hardware

• CP1613A2 (MLFB 6GK1161-3AA01), revision BA or later (printed on the board label).
• PC station with one free 32-bit PCI slot (3.3 V or 5 V keyed).
• 4 GB RAM minimum for WinCC 7.2 (8 GB recommended for redundant servers).
• 80 GB free disk space (WinCC 7.2 + SIMATIC NET + project archive + logs).
• One managed Industrial Ethernet switch (Cisco IE, Siemens Scalance, or equivalent).

Software

• Windows 7 Professional / Ultimate / Enterprise SP1, 32-bit.
• SIMATIC NET PC Software V8.1 (DVD or downloaded image matching the WinCC 7.2 DVD bundle).
• WinCC V7.2 installation DVD with valid license key.
• WinCC/Connectivity Pack license if database archiving will be used.
• STEP 7 V5.5 SPx on an engineering station for downloading the PC station configuration.

User rights

• Local administrator account on the PC station.
• Domain user with local administrator rights for networked WinCC clients.
• SIMATIC Manager (part of STEP 7 V5.5 SPx) installed on the engineering station.

Network

• Switched Industrial Ethernet network (managed switch recommended for PROFINET).
• Reserved static IP addresses for both the Windows-side and SIMATIC-side interfaces of the CP1613A2.
• Reserved static IP address for the S7 CPU (rack 0, slot 2 for S7-300/400 PROFINET).
• Static IP for the engineering station on the same subnet.

7. Step-by-Step Installation and Configuration

The procedure below assumes a clean build. If the existing Windows Server 2008 installation is to be retained, jump to section 11 (Troubleshooting Matrix) — but expect to migrate to Windows 7 32-bit because of qualification issues.

Step 1 — Hardware installation

1. Power down the PC station and disconnect mains.
2. Insert the CP1613A2 into a free 32-bit PCI slot. Seat the card firmly.
3. Power on. Enter BIOS setup and verify the PCI slot is recognized and assigned an IRQ.
4. Boot Windows.

Step 2 — Windows installation

1. Install Windows 7 32-bit from Siemens-qualified media.
2. Apply Windows 7 SP1 if not slipstreamed.
3. Install all critical Windows updates but do not install optional .NET updates beyond 4.6.1 unless required by the project (WinCC 7.2 was tested against .NET 4.0 – 4.6).
4. Set the computer name. Record it; it will be reused as the PC station name.
5. Disable UAC for the engineering session (re-enable for production if policy requires).
6. Set the power profile to "High performance" to prevent Windows from sleeping the CP1613A2.

Step 3 — SIMATIC NET installation

1. Insert the SIMATIC NET V8.1 DVD (or mount the ISO).
2. Launch Setup.exe as administrator.
3. Select "User-defined installation".
4. Enable the following components:
   • SIMATIC NET PC Software
   • SIMATIC NET Driver
   • S7 Protocol Suite (for S7-300/400 communication)
   • PROFINET IO Driver (only if using PROFINET IO controller mode)
   • OPC Scout V10 (optional, for diagnostics)
   • Station Configuration Editor
5. Accept default installation directory (C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation).
6. Complete the installation. Reboot when prompted.

Step 4 — WinCC installation

1. Insert WinCC V7.2 DVD or mount the ISO.
2. Launch Setup.exe as administrator.
3. Enter the license key when prompted.
4. Select the components required by the project (WinCC RT, WinCC CS, WinCC WebNavigator, WinCC Redundancy, etc.).
5. Complete the installation. Reboot when prompted.

Step 5 — Verify Device Manager entries

After steps 3 and 4, Device Manager should show two entries for the CP1613A2:

Network adapters
└─ CP 1613 A2                       (NDIS driver, used by Windows TCP/IP)

Siemens Automation
└─ SIMATIC NET CP 1613 A2            (SIMATIC NET virtual device)

If only the "Network adapters" entry appears and no "Siemens Automation" entry exists, the SIMATIC NET install did not register the CP. Re-run Setup.exe in repair mode.

8. Dual IP Addressing on CP1613A2

The CP1613A2 exposes two independent IP addresses: one for Windows TCP/IP and one for the SIMATIC/PROFINET stack. Both addresses share the same physical MAC pool, but they MUST have different host (node) addresses.

Configuring the Windows IP

1. Open Control Panel → Network and Sharing Center → Change adapter settings.
2. Right-click "CP 1613 A2" → Properties.
3. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) → Properties.
4. Configure a static IP address (e.g., 192.168.10.10 / 255.255.255.0).
5. Click OK twice. Close the adapter settings.

Configuring the SIMATIC IP

Done through the Station Configuration Editor — see section 9.

9. Station Configuration Editor Procedure

The Station Configuration Editor (SCE) is the SIMATIC NET tool that builds the PC station description (matching STEP 7 HW Config). It must be run on the PC station after SIMATIC NET installation and before WinCC runtime starts.

1. Launch Start → SIMATIC → SIMATIC NET → Station Configuration Editor.
2. The SCE opens with a rack-style view. Right-click slot 0 ("PC station") and verify the station name matches the Windows computer name.
3. Right-click slot 1 → "Insert" → "Application" → "WinCC RT" (or the specific WinCC component installed). Slot 1 should now contain the WinCC application index.
4. Right-click an empty slot (typically slot 2) → "Insert" → "CP 1613 A2".
5. Click on the inserted CP1613A2 module. In the properties dialog, set:
   • IP address: 192.168.10.20 (the SIMATIC-side IP)
   • Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
   • PROFINET device name: leave blank unless using PROFINET IO device mode
6. Right-click the WinCC application slot → "Properties" → note the application index (default 1). This index is required by the WinCC channel configuration.
7. Click "Save and Compile" (or "Station → Save and Compile").
8. The compiled XML file is written to the PC Station directory (typically C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\SimaticNet\pcstation\). This file must be downloaded to the PC station using STEP 7:
   • Open STEP 7 V5.5 on an engineering station.
   • Open the project containing the PC station.
   • Open HW Config, select the PC station, and click "Download to PC Station".
   • Alternatively, use "PC Internal (local)" as the target if the SCE runs on the same PC.
9. Restart the SIMATIC NET service (or reboot the PC).

After a successful download, the SCE shows all modules with green checkmarks. Yellow or red icons indicate problems; see the troubleshooting matrix in section 11.

10. WinCC Channel Configuration

After the PC station is downloaded, configure the WinCC channel.

1. Open WinCC Explorer on the WinCC server.
2. Right-click "Tag Management" → "Add new driver" → select "SIMATIC S7 Protocol Suite" (or "SIMATIC S7-1200, S7-1500 Channel" for S7-1200/1500).
3. Open the new driver. Right-click "MPI/DP/IE" or "PROFINET" depending on the connection type.
4. Right-click "PROFINET" → "New Connection" (or use "S7 PROTOCOL SUITE → Named Connections" for S7-400 H systems).
5. In the Connection Properties dialog:
   • Connection name: descriptive identifier (e.g., S7_400_LINE_1)
   • Partner (CPU) IP address: 192.168.10.100 (the S7 CPU IP address)
   • Partner rack: 0, slot: 2 (for S7-300/400 PROFINET)
   • Connection resource: 1 (or the S7 connection configured in the CPU's NetPro)
6. Click OK. The connection appears in the WinCC tag management tree with a green icon when connected.
7. Add tags by right-clicking the connection → "New Tag". Map the tag address to the S7 data block (e.g., DB100.DBD0 for a REAL value in DB100 starting at byte 0).
8. Save the WinCC project. Activate the runtime.

If the connection icon stays yellow or red after WinCC starts, open Start → SIMATIC → WinCC → Tools → Channel Diagnosis to inspect the error.

11. Verification and Diagnostics

After activation, perform the following checks in order.

Check 1 — Station Configuration Editor shows green

Open SCE on the WinCC server. All slots must show green checkmarks. If any slot shows yellow/red, the PC station download did not complete; redo section 9.

Check 2 — SIMATIC NET services are running

Open services.msc. Verify the following services are running and set to Automatic:

• SIMATIC NET Service
• SIMATIC NET OPC Server (if OPC is used)
• S7 DOS Help
• SNMP Service (if PROFINET diagnostics are needed)

Check 3 — Ping the S7 CPU from the CP1613A2 Windows IP

Open a command prompt. Run:

ping 192.168.10.100 -S 192.168.10.10

The -S flag forces the ping to use the CP1613A2 Windows IP as the source. A successful reply confirms Layer 3 connectivity on the NDIS side. If ping fails, check the Ethernet cable, switch port, and Windows firewall.

Check 4 — Ping the S7 CPU from the SIMATIC IP

The SIMATIC IP cannot be used directly from a Windows command prompt because it is bound to the SIMATIC NET stack, not to the Windows TCP/IP stack. Use OPC Scout V10 (installed with SIMATIC NET) or the WinCC Channel Diagnosis tool to verify the SIMATIC IP is reachable:

1. Open OPC Scout V10.
2. Add a server: OPC.SimaticNet.
3. Browse tags; successful browse confirms SIMATIC stack is operational.

Check 5 — WinCC Channel Diagnosis

Open Start → SIMATIC → WinCC → Tools → Channel Diagnosis. Verify all configured connections show "Connected" with a green status. Errors are listed with WinCC-internal error codes; map them against the WinCC 7.2 manual.

Check 6 — Tag read/write test

Add a WinCC input/output field on a test screen bound to a tag in DB100. Changing the value in the screen should update the S7 CPU (verify with STEP 7 monitor). If the value does not update, the connection is partially functional — check the connection resource on the CPU side and the tag address.

12. Troubleshooting Matrix

13. Common Field-Proven Pitfalls

Pitfall 1 — Reusing the IP from the old CP1613 server

The new CP1613A2 server may have inherited the old server's Windows IP. The SIMATIC IP, however, must be re-entered in the SCE because the SCE is per-PC. Copying the old SCE XML file does not work because the SCE binds to the Windows computer name.

Pitfall 2 — Installing SIMATIC NET v12/v13 "to be safe"

Newer SIMATIC NET versions are not backward-compatible with WinCC 7.2. The newer channel DLLs reference COM interfaces that WinCC 7.2 does not implement. Always install the SIMATIC NET version listed in section 5.

Pitfall 3 — Forgetting the second IP

Many engineers configure only the Windows IP and assume SIMATIC communication uses the same address. It does not — the SIMATIC stack uses a separate IP bound to the SCE configuration. Without the second IP, WinCC may appear to connect briefly (cached ARP) but fail on the first data exchange.

Pitfall 4 — Windows Firewall blocking SIMATIC traffic

Windows 7 default firewall rules block unsolicited inbound traffic on most ports. If only outbound traffic is needed (WinCC is the client, S7 CPU is the server), the firewall may be acceptable. If OPC Scout or other tools are used from remote PCs, add firewall rules for ports 102 (S7), 34964 (PROFINET), and the OPC DA ports (135 + dynamic range 49152–65535).

Pitfall 5 — Redundant server license mismatch

WinCC redundancy requires both servers to have identical project files (downloaded to the same target) and identical SIMATIC NET/CP1613A2 station configurations. A common mistake is to download only the WinCC project to the redundant server without re-downloading the PC station.

Pitfall 6 — Mixed 32-bit / 64-bit installation

Installing the 64-bit version of SIMATIC NET on a 32-bit Windows (or vice versa) silently corrupts the registry. Always verify the SIMATIC NET DVD is the x86 build for Windows 7 32-bit.

Pitfall 7 — Antivirus quarantining SIMATIC NET DLLs

Some antivirus suites (especially those with HIPS enabled) quarantine s7onlinx.dll, s7otbxdx.dll, or SNMPOPCS.exe as suspicious. Add the C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation tree to the AV exclusion list before connecting WinCC to the PLC.

Pitfall 8 — UAC silently blocks the SCE download

If UAC is enabled, the SCE may not be able to write the compiled configuration into the protected Siemens directories. Run Setup.exe, SCE.exe, and STEP7.exe as administrator explicitly (right-click → Run as administrator).

14. Hardware Migration Path Beyond CP1613A2

Although this article focuses on the CP1613A2, teams performing the same Windows Server 2008 → Windows 7 32-bit migration also frequently consider replacing the CP1613A2 itself because of its spare-part status.

For pure WinCC operator stations with no PROFINET IO controller requirement, an onboard Intel NIC is often the simplest path. For PROFINET IO controller or IRT applications, the CP 1623 is the direct successor.

When migrating to a PCIe card, the IP addressing rules (Windows IP ≠ SIMATIC IP, same subnet OK) remain unchanged. The Station Configuration Editor entries must be replaced; STEP 7 HW Config must be updated to reference the new MLFB.

15. Verified Working Configuration Summary

This configuration is field-verified to resolve the "CP1613A2 recognized as network adapter but WinCC PLC connection error" symptom. The same setup also works for the larger WinCC V7.2 → V7.3 upgrade path provided the SIMATIC NET version is matched accordingly.