SIMATIC WinCC/DataMonitor V6.2 is now available

SIMATIC WinCC V6.2 is now available

August 2007

SIMATIC WinCC Version 6.2 is the latest version of SCADA software from Siemens, offering new features for the standard visualization as well as for the optimization of the production through Plant Intelligence.

Effective immediately, Windows elements such as menus and toolbars can be integrated into the user interface of the runtime application.
SThe alarm system receives the function "Alarm Hiding". By selectively hiding alarms at times when large numbers of messages are coming up provides greater clarity, specifically for the use in larger plants.
At the same time, Microsoft's latest database - Microsoft SQL Server 2005 - was integrated. Optionally, a central archive server for the central process data archiving of up to 120000 archive tags can be set up with it.
If desired, a Windows computer can be set up as a Connectivity Station with access to all current and historical WinCC data in the database.

Furthermore, a SIMATIC WinCC station, in addition to its function as process visualization and operator station can now also be configured as a SIMATIC Maintenance Stationfor the efficient plant maintenance.

Process visualization using Plant Intelligence

New Features

Runtime User Interface with Windows Look & Feel

With SIMATIC WinCC V6.2, Windows objects can now be integrated into the visualization user interface of the runtime application. With them, the plant operator can visualize and operate the process via Windows user interfaces employing familiar menus and toolbars.

he configuration of the menus and toolbars takes place via a separate configuration editor.

The structure of the menus can be freely defined. For the icons on the toolbar, user-defined graphic can be used. These new user interface elements can be utilized in screens and screen windows, be configured "fixed" or movable, and be operated in the familiar Windows manner. In this context, text lists for the selection of options can now also be shown as combo boxes.

For the user interface of WinCC, the "Windows Themes" offered can be applied. The layout of the editors in the CS as well as the project user interface in runtime can be adapted to them. For different projects, project-specific user interfaces can thus be created.

Hiding of Alarms

The highlight of the expanded alarm system is the improved clarity concerning the alarm display and alarm operation achieved through Alarm Hiding. With the function "Alarm Hiding", the operator suppresses unimportant system status messages on the screen display, though they continue to be archived in the background. The "Hiding List" can of course be viewed at any time and individual or all alarms be displayed again by selection.

The hiding of alarms can also be performed automatically. Depending on the current plant status (e.g. in operation, being cleaned, maintenance), less relevant alarms can automatically be hidden.

New Trend Display Functionality

The new functionality of the WinCC Online Trend Control rounds out the system operation.

Report Function via CSV Export

With the new button "Save Report", the WinCC Online Trend Control offers a quick and convenient export possibility for the current trend data. The displayed trend data is transferred as a snapshot into a CSV file and can be processed further in Excel.

When displaying multiple trends in a Control, WinCC offers new possibilities for increasing the clarity:

In a single trend window, archived values as well as online values can be shown simultaneously.
Process values in the trend window can be shown scaled.
The display of the Y axis can automatically be reduced to the scale of the selected trend.
When comparing trends, the color of the common X axis can be selected as desired.

Expansions to the Redundancy Concept

The redundancy concept has been rounded out with new functions, thus increasing the safety of redundant WinCC projects:

Redundant Alarm Display / Archiving

Alarms are fully synchronized. The synchronization now includes all elements of an alarm, so that the following elements are synchronized as well in WinCC V6.2:

Acknowledgment
Alarm lists
Status
Comments

Internal Tags

Internal tags, just like process tags, can be fully synchronized.

Increased Reliability

For the synchronization of the computer statuses, a serial computer connection between the redundant servers was recommended up to now. With WinCC V6.2, a second computer connection needs to be set up when using the option Redundancy. This one does not have to be serially, but can also be carried out via Ethernet, which enables a computer connection also over larger distances.

Further Innovations

SQL Server 2005

With the integration of the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 SP1, WinCC relies on the latest Microsoft database. Building on the strengths of the SQL Server 2000, the SQL Server 2005 offers an integrated solution for the data management and for the analysis.

Project-based Access Protection

The access protection integrated in STEP 7 can now also be employed for WinCC projects. The access rights are set up in the SIMATIC Manager.

Operation with Firewall and Virus Scanners

To increase the security during runtime, WinCC V6.2 is now designed for use with activated Windows firewall.

In addition to the Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition, Trend Micro ServerProtect and Trend Micro OfficeScan NT, the McAfee virus scanner is now permitted as well. Further information can be found in the release notes of WinCC in the chapter "Operating Notes"

SIMATIC Logon

Starting with WinCC V6.2, SIMATIC Logon is also supported on WinCC clients with and without own project.

Transparent OLE DB Access

With the option Connectivity Pack, an access to WinCC data via OPC A&E, OPC HDA and OLE DB is possible. With the Connectivity Pack V6.2 it is possible to also access WinCC server data from a client with its own project via OLE DB. For process values, this access takes place transparently, i.e. the requested process data is automatically compiled from the archive databases - independent of the current distribution of the data by redundancy or central archiving.

Expansions for the Project Handling with SIMATIC NCM PC or SIMATIC Manager

The supplied SIMATIC NET CD-ROM contains - as a central component - the product SIMATIC NCM PC. The use of the SIMATIC NCM PC has been released since WinCC V6.0 SP4. It enables a considerably improved handling of WinCC projects without the presence of STEP 7. With the SIMATIC NCM PC, WinCC projects can be loaded onto the corresponding target systems. For redundant systems as well, there is now a convenient method for loading the target systems.

Independent of whether the SIMATIC NCM PC or the SIMATIC Manager is employed, the concept of the application references has been expanded. Up to now, WinCC single-user projects could be loaded onto several computers without having to duplicated the WinCC project. With WinCC V6.2, this is also possible for client projects. The project thus only has to be updated once and can then be loaded centrally to all clients.

License Management For WinCC V6.2, the Automation License Manager (ALM) V3.0 with new license keys is employed. If an older version of the ALM is still installed on a computer, the WinCC V6.2 licenses will not be displayed.

Floating licenses for engineering (RC) licenses for on-demand use by engineering users
Transportation of licenses via USB memory sticks

ALM V3.0 can be used for existing licenses as well. New for Archive Licenses For archive licenses, the new license type "Count-Relevant" is being introduced starting with WinCC V6.2. It enables a much finer stacking of the licenses. If, for example, a WinCC project uses a license for 1500 archive tags as well as a license for 5000 archive tags, then a total of 6500 archive tags are available on this computer.
On the other hand, the 512 free archive tags included in the delivery scope of the basic packages are not added up.

New Options

WinCC /Central Archive Server (CAS) V6.2

For the central process data archiving and analysis, the archive data of all servers present in the system can be swapped out to a computer with the new option CAS. For the display and analysis, the data access is transparent and - among other things - continues to be possible via the standard WinCC clients. In doing so, it is unimportant for the clients whether the data is still located on the WinCC server or is already on the CAS.

Process value as well as alarm archives are created on the individual WinCC servers and - at the conclusion of individual database segments - transferred to the CAS. Thanks to "Store&Forward", the data is safely transferred even in the case of network interruptions between the WinCC server and the CAS (as soon as the network is operational again).

WinCC /CAS V6.2 includes all licenses for the central archive server including 1,500 archive tags. The number of archive tags can be increased up to 120,000 via PowerPacks.

WinCC /CAS V6.2 is trilingual (German, English and French).

WinCC /Connectivity Station V6.2

For an easy access by external computers to archive data as well as current process values and alarms, the Connectivity Station was designed. The Connectivity Station is an expansion of the already available Connectivity Pack.

In contrast to the Connectivity Pack, the installation of a WinCC runtime is not necessary on a Connectivity Station. The Connectivity Station offers OPC interfaces as well as an OLE DB Provider, via which WinCC server data can be accessed. The transparent access automatically compiles the requested process data from the archive databases. For the client software it is thus unimportant whether the data is read from a specific server, its redundant partner or even the CAS. Supported interfaces include OPC DA, OPC A&E, OPC HDA and OLE DB for process values.

The Connectivity Station is configured on an NCM PC or in the SIMATIC Manager.

SIMATIC WinCC/DataMonitor V6.2

With Version 6.2, new functions, new names as well as a new license are introduced. The SIMATIC WinCC/DataMonitor (formerly Dat@Monitor) is a component of SIMATIC WinCC/Plant Intelligence. With the WinCC/DataMonitor, data from the process level can be provided to the office world. The newly set up WinCC/DataMonitor V6.2 offers a collection of powerful functions for the analysis and depiction of data from the production. With it, you gain direct access to the production

data via the Intranet or Internet. With the tools of the WinCC/DataMonitor, the user can:

Efficiently monitor and analyze production lines
Support decisions with reports
View the production status at any time and from anywhere

To the proven functions, the two components WebCenter and Reports have been newly added. In addition, the Trends & Alarms were expanded and adapted to the new WebCenter. The WinCC/DataMonitor consists of the functions:

Published Reports (new)
Excel Workbooks (formerly Dat@Workbook)
Process Screens (formerly Dat@Symphony)
WebCenter (new)
Trends & Alarms (formerly Dat@View)

Furthermore, a single license is available starting with Version 6.2.

For further information please see the separate DataMonitor release.

SIMATIC Maintenance Station Furthermore, a SIMATIC WinCC station, in addition to its function as process visualization and operator station, can now also be configured as a SIMATIC Maintenance Station or the efficient plant maintenance.

Software Requirements

WinCC V6.2 is released for the following operating systems:

Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (client / single-user station)
Windows 2000 Professional Service Pack 4 (client / single-user station)
Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (client / single-user station / server)
Windows Server 2003 R2 (client / single-user station / server)

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 SP1 is used as the database and is supplied with WinCC Version 6.2. The SQL Server system administrator password can be assigned by the user and supports adherence to company password conventions.

Hardware Requirements

Compared to WinCC V6.0, WinCC V6.2 has slightly increased hardware requirements. The most important data is summarized in the following table:

	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	Client: Intel Pentium III, 600 MHz, Single-User Station: Intel Pentium III, 1 GHz Server: Intel Pentium III, 1 GHz Central Archive Server: Intel Pentium 4, 2 GHz	Client: Intel Pentium III, 1 GHz Single-User Station: Intel Pentium 4, 2 GHz Server: Intel Pentium 4, 2 GHz Central Archive Server: Intel Pentium 4, 2.5 GHz
Main Memory (RAM)	Client: 512 MB Single-User Station: 512 MB Server: 1 GB Central Archive Server: 1 GB	Client: 512 MB Single-User Station: >1 GB Server: >1 GB Central Archive Server: >= 2 GB

For further hardware requirements, please refer to the product documentation.

Option packages compatability

The following WinCC options are also released or are compatable with WinCC V6.2:

WinCC/Server V6.2
WinCC/Redundancy V6.2
WinCC/User Archives V6.2
WinCC/Connectivity Pack V6.2
WinCC/Connectivity Station V6.2
WinCC/CAS V6.2
WinCC/IndustrialX V6.2
WinCC/Client Access License
WinCC/Client Access License per Processor
WinCC/ODK V6.0 SP4 (compatibility with WinCC V6.2)
SIMATIC Logon V1.3 SP1 (compatibility with WinCC V6.2)
WinCC/IndustrialDataBridge V6.1 (compatibility with WinCC V6.2)
WinCC/WebNavigator V6.2
SIMATIC Maintenance Station
WinCC/DataMonitor V6.2
WinCC/Audit V6.2
WinCC/ProAgent V6.0 SP4

Upgrades

Customers with current WinCC Comprehensive Support (Software Update Service) contracts will automatically receive WinCC V6.2. Upgrade packages from WinCC V5.x and V6.x are available (see ordering data).

Ordering Data

For more information, see PDF

Further Information

For more information on WinCC, please visit:

http://www.siemens.com/wincc
Contact:

iac.sales.au@siemens.com