Station upload

The upload variant Station upload is only available from TIA Portal V15.1 and is then the preferred method.

Requirements for executing a Station Upload

The Station upload can be executed either on the same computer as the octoplant server or on an agent. We recommend running the station Station upload and comparison on a computer with the agent installed. Please make sure that:
- All modules used by the TIA Portal project and additionally Step7 Pro are installed.
- All installed components of TIA Portal are licensed.
- The installed version of TIA Portal is identical to the version with which the project was created.
TIA Portal Openness must be installed.
The user account that executes the VDog MasterService or the agents:
- must have local administrative rights
- must be a member of the Siemens TIA Portal Openness group
- must not be a local system account
An upload of password-protected projects and controllers with access protection is only possible from TIA Portal version 15.1.
The project language of the projects on the octoplant server and on the PLC must match. If the language of the projects differs, neither the software upload nor the station upload will be successful.

Further manufacturer requirements can be found here:

General requirements

Install all option packages, Hardware Support Packages (HSP) and GSD files that are used in the project. To install GSD files, only one TIA Portal instance may be open.
Use the same main version of TIA Portal for uploading as for downloading.
Ensure that the latest TIA Portal and HSP updates are installed.
The devices must be available in the TIA Portal hardware catalog.
Ensure that all required TIA Portal licenses are available in the Automation License Manager.
If you are uploading multiple stations, the device names must be unique within the project.
Use an empty TIA Portal project or ensure that the device name is not used in the project before uploading.
Project texts are only uploaded in the project languages used, which are assigned in the PLC property "Multi-language support".

Hardware requirements

Only hardware controllers are supported.
Software/open controllers and fail-safe classic controllers are not supported.
It is not possible to upload from an empty (reset) S7-300/400.
A station upload is not possible for CPUs from the 300/400 series when the CPU is connected through a communications processor (CP).
A station upload is not possible for an F-Series. A station upload is not possible for an F-PLC if it has configured PROFIBUS IO slave devices.
If you have previously performed a firmware update and then removed the memory card from the CPU, you must switch the CPU off and on again once.
With older TIA Portal projects, the following errors may occur during the station upload:
- "Could not determine the module type [...] offline" (e.g. for SITOP UPS battery module and SENTRON devices)
- "Hardware configuration upload failed (D0FA)"
- "Safety-related data cannot be loaded from the F-CPU" (for F-PLC with F-HMI or F-SINAMICS as PN-IO device)
- It is necessary to install the latest TIA Portal / HSP updates, perform the "update module description" for each module and submodule in the corresponding TIA Portal Editor, compile and download again to enable the upload.
A station upload from SINUMERIK ONE only considers the PLC user program part, no configuration of NC data, HMI data or other PPU/NCU data. Please use the archive function of SINUMERIK Operate for this purpose.
In TIA Portal v15.1, it is not possible to perform uploads for controllers of the module 6ES7 154-8FX00-0ABO V3.2

Software requirements

The project property "support simulation during block compilation" leads to differences in the program block properties if the setting differs from the downloaded data to the project used for the station upload.
Only released library types are uploaded and automatically added to the project library.
Program blocks and PLC Data types with a connection to a library type that are in the "under test" state are skipped during the Upload if the released library type version on which the test version is based is missing in the project library.
From octoplant 101.3.0 onwards and independently of the number of agents used, one TIA Portal license is required to execute uploads.

Network requirements

S7 routing is not supported (e.g. another CPU as router in between).
Network Address Port Translation (NAPT) is not supported.
Open the destination port TCP 102 (Service SIMATIC-S7) for the PG/PC with any source port for IPv4 in the firewall / router / managed switch.
In the case of a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN), the routers/switches must support certain PROFINET features.
The appropriate PG/PC interface (network adapter) with a connection to the PLC must be selected before the upload in the corresponding TIA Portal dialog or TIA Portal Openness.
The appropriate IP address of the PROFINET interface of the PLC (or CM/CP) with a connection to the PG/PC must be used (or the public IP address in the case of DNAT).
Ensure that there is only one possible network route between the PG/PC and the PLC (or CM/CP) on different network layers.
In the case of a router setup using a SCALANCE device, you must activate the TIA interface setting in the network in which the PLC is located in order to forward the device information.

Security requirements

The setting only use legacy PG/PC communication in the TIA Portal menu online should be deactivated, as otherwise a CPU that is set to only allow secure PG/PC communication can no longer be reached online (TIA Portal V17 and newer).
Enter the appropriate PLC access protection level password (if configured) in the corresponding TIA Portal dialog or TIA Portal Openness during Upload.

Safety requirements

Activate the setting Enable consistent Upload from the F-CPU in the safety administration editor (TIA Portal V14 SP1 and newer). The setting is deactivated by default as it increases the download time to the PLC.
The project languages used must be activated in the empty project before the Upload in the case of an F-CPU in order to ensure the consistency of the safety-relevant project data.

PLC features

PLC feature	V15.1	V16	V17	V18
Station Upload of S7-1200 CPU firmware >= 4.0	✓	✓	✓	✓
Station Upload of S7-1500(F) CPU firmware >= 2.1 including SIMATIC Drive Controller	✓	✓	✓	✓
Certificate handling and secure communication with S7-1500(F) CPU with firmware >= V2.9	-	-	✓	✓
Upload of spare part S7-1500(F) CPU with new part number	Update 8	✓	✓	✓
Reading of online fingerprint data from S7-1200 CPU and S7-1500(F) CPU for a quick station comparison before uploading	-	✓	✓	✓
Restoration of group structure for program blocks, PLC data types and PLC tags during upload	-	-	✓	✓

Peripheral features

Peripheral feature	V15.1	V16	V17	V18
Upload of F-PLC with F-HMI as PN-IO device	-	-	Update 6	✓
Upload of F-PLC with F-SINAMICS as PN-IO device	-	-	Update 6	✓
Upload of PLC with SENTRON (PAC, COM) as PN-IO device	Only via GSDML	Only via GSDML	Update 2	✓
PN/PN coupler configured with the PLC	Only via GSDML	Update 6	Update 2	✓
IE/PB link configured with the PLC	Update 6	Update 3	✓	✓

Network features

Network feature	V15.1	V16	V17	V18
Direct network connection between PG/PC and CPU	✓	✓	✓	✓
Direct network connection between PG/PC and CM/CP of the CPU	✓	✓	✓	✓
Network connection between PG/PC and CPU via router with IP or DNAT routing	✓	✓	✓	✓
Network connection between PG/PC and CM/CP of the CPU via router with IP or DNAT routing	-	Update t.b.a. only via Openness	Update 6 only via Openness	✓

Procedure

Start the AdminClient and open the Jobs module.
Select your TIA Portal component in the Project tree.
Click on the Create button in the ribbon or drag and drop the component into the Jobs area.
Check whether the upload type TIA Portal is displayed in the Job configuration area.
Configure the sections General, Notification, Upload and compare and Create a version automatically after job run. The Notification and Create a version automatically after job run sections are only displayed if the necessary settings have been made. If you are working with Agents (octoplant server and the TIA Portal software are not installed on the same computer), these must be configured using the communication parameters of the project. The Agents must already be installed in advance. For S7-300/S7-400 controllers, it is recommended to select the value Previous backup <-> Backup: under Compare policy, as there would always be differences in a comparison Server version <-> Backup.
Select the Upload variant under TIA Portal settings.
1. Select the desired project in the Project drop-down list.
2. Select a CPU of the project in the Device drop-down list. For know-how protection, the TIA Portal offers the option of protecting an entire project with a user name and password.
3. The interface is determined automatically. To enter it manually anyway, activate the checkbox Enter interfaces manually.
4. Enter the PG/PC PG/PC interface and the Slot in the corresponding fields. The PG/PC interface can be found in the TIA Portal at the following location:
5. From TIA Portal V15.1, upload and comparison is also possible for password-protected projects. Enter the login information for the password-protected project in the Advanced section.
  
  Info
  
  You can recognize a password-protected project by the fact that the login data is requested as follows when the project is opened:
6. If the IP address of the device differs from that of the project, e.g. if a NAT route is used, the IP address of the device must be entered. E.g. when using a NAT router, deactivate the Use device IP address from project checkbox and enter the IP address in the Device IP address field. You can use the Check button to check whether the IP address you have entered can be reached.
7. In the CPU password text field, enter the password for the device if it is a Controller with safety functions (F-CPU).
8. As of TIA Portal V17 with firmware V2.9, communication is encrypted by default. However, you can use the checkbox Use legacy PG/PC communication to activate so that the legacy method with non-encrypted communication should be used.
9. If you activate the Execute station upload only if the selected fingerprints have been changed checkbox, you will be shown a list of fingerprints that can be selected individually for comparison.
  
  Before the upload, the status of the selected fingerprints is compared with that of the last saved backup. If the fingerprints are the same, no Station upload is performed. The last backup is taken as the upload result. The actual values are not saved in this case.

Info

Activate the function Enable consistent loading from the F-CPU

Figure: TIA Portal: Consistent loading from the F-CPU

During Station upload, the backup is created using TIA Openness. Detailed comparison and restore of the backup can be performed. Actual values are saved and, depending on the configuration, also compared. The station upload supports e.g. password-protected projects, NAT routing and CPU passwords.

Debug mode

If an error occurs that is not listed in the Event log, you have the option of activating debug mode for station upload. When debug mode is activated, the TIA Portal is started with a graphical interface. In the event of an error, the program waits 2 minutes until the TIA Portal is closed.

Info

If debug mode is activated, the executing service must be run as an application. You can find instructions on how to do this in the Upload and Compare Agents tutorial, in the section Starting agents as applications.

Debug mode is activated in the file AgentStation.ini in the following directories:

For the server: D:\vdServerArchive\VD$A\Configuration\Upload
For an agent: D:\vdAgentArchive\VD$A\Configuration\Upload

If the directory upload or the file AgentStation.ini does not yet exist, they must be created.

Add the following section to the file AgentStation.ini:

[TIAPortal]
DebugMode=Y