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Configuring SIMATIC PCS 7 comparisons

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PCS 7 comparisons leverage the extended address space of 64-bit systems, enabling the processing of very large projects.

Below you will find detailed information on configuring the comparison of PCS 7 projects.

Differences between PCS 7 comparisons and S7 comparisons

Project content PCS 7 comparator S7 comparator
SFC and CFC plans SmartCompare ✓
Hardware of a PCS7 project ✓
Contents of individual blocks such as FCs or FBs ✓

Considering additional program parts

  1. Open the Comparison configuration dialog.
  2. Select the project in the vdog - S7 program dialog.
  3. Select the SimaticPCS tab.

You now have the following selection options:

  • Attend the block position in CFC
  • Include the CFC property Invisible
  • Include the CFC property Watched

Requirement for the comparison of Drive ES

To perform an S7 comparison of Drive ES, a valid and licensed installation of Microsoft Access with ODBC driver is required.

Including IL sources (STL sources) in all clients by default

The comparison of the STL sources can be activated in the Comparison configuration dialog using a checkbox.

To enable this option server-wide, follow these steps:

  1. Start the AdminClient.
  2. Select the the menu item INI files.
  3. In the Edit ini file dialog, select the Classes.ini file. (path to the file: ..\vdServerArchive\VD$A\Configuration\Compare\Classes.ini).
  4. Select the [SimaticS7] section. If this section does not exist, create it at the end of the file.
  5. Assign the value Y to the key 7169.

Example:

[SimaticS7]
7169=Y

Possible values are:

  • Y: AWL sources are taken into account during the comparison.
  • N: AWL sources are ignored during the comparison. This is the default value after setup.

How to recognize differences

Comparing safety programs

The checksum generated by the SIMATIC S7 Manager is compared for safety programs. It is displayed in octoplant in addition to the date of the last compilation of the F program section. Information about CRC and timestamp is stored in a special database, the number of which can vary. It can be identified by its name (F_GLOBDB) and its creation language (F_DB).

In general, the following blocks managed by the SIMATIC S7 Manager are ignored during comparison:

  • Blocks in the languages F_AWL and F_CALL
  • Blocks in the language F_DB if the author's name has the format FALG{NNNN}. N can be a digit from 0-9 or a hyphen.
  • Block in the F_DB language with the name F_GLOBDB. The checksum and timestamp are extracted and displayed as described above.

Comparison in the LibraryManagement

The following comparisons are performed in LibraryManagement:

  • Blocks by content and properties
  • Source by content and properties
  • CFC by content or name
  • SFC by content or name

Differences in messages

Differences in messages are not displayed.

Differences in the declaration lists of blocks

Differences in the declaration lists of two data blocks are ignored under certain conditions in order to prevent the difference declaration list from being displayed multiple times when the declaration list is changed and the instance DBs are properly updated. The differences are ignored if:

  • the two data blocks instance DBs and the numbers of the assigned function blocks are the same
  • both function blocks exist
  • the respective declaration lists of FB/DB are the same

Initial values for block connections in CFCs

When connecting a block in a CFC, initial values are managed by the SIMATIC S7 Manager. This means that the initial values are ignored during the comparison if the S7_server attribute has the value alarm_archiv.

When the CFC is copied, a different number is usually specified in the source module when the message number is assigned. If the initial values are taken into account, differences between the blocks are then recognized incorrectly.

Code timestamp during comparison

The code timestamp is not used to compare two blocks, as a new code timestamp is assigned for each compilation process for blocks that are created with external editors (e.g. SCL). This applies from including version 3.2.

Changes in Step 7 HW Config

The hardware configurations made in Step 7 HW Config must be accepted with the S7 command Save and translate before they are recognized during versioning.

Changes in Step 7 Properties Blocks

In order for the changes made to be displayed in Properties Blocks, the compare settings of the S7 component must be changed. To do this, proceed as follows:

  1. Open the Comparison configuration dialog.
  2. In the DB compare area, select the Compare content option.
  3. Select OK for confirmation.

If a new version of the component is now created, the difference in the Property Blocks is recognized.

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