S7 (Step7)

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Connection String Options

Name Value Description

Code

s7

Name

Siemens S7 Protocol

Maven Dependency

 
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.apache.plc4x</groupId>
  <artifactId>plc4j-driver-s7</artifactId>
  <version>{current-last-released-version}</version>
</dependency>

Default Transport:

 tcp

Compatible Transports:

  • tcp (Default Port: 102)

Supported Operations

read

Only supported with tcp transport.

write

Only supported with tcp transport.

Options

local-rack (1)

Rack value for the client (PLC4X device). Defaults to 1.

local-slot (1)

Slot value for the client (PLC4X device). Defaults to 1.

remote-rack (0)

Rack value for the remote (PLC). Defaults to 0.

remote-slot (0)

Slot value for the remote (PLC). Defaults to 0.

pdu-size (1024)

Maximum size of a data-packet sent to and received from the remote PLC. During the connection process both parties will negotiate a maximum size both parties can work with and is equal or smaller than the given value is used. The driver will automatically split up large requests to not exceed this value in a request or expected response.

max-amq-caller (8)

Maximum number of unconfirmed requests the PLC will accept in parallel before discarding with errors. This parameter also will be negotiated during the connection process and the maximum both parties can work with and is equal or smaller than the given value is used. The driver will automatically take care not exceeding this value while processing requests. Too many requests can cause a growing queue.

max-amq-callee (8)

Maximum number of unconfirmed responses or requests PLC4X will accept in parallel before discarding with errors. This option is available for completeness and is correctly handled out during the connection process, however it is currently not enforced on PLC4X’s side. So if a PLC would send more messages than agreed upon, these would still be processed.

controller-type

As part of the connection process, usually the PLC4X S7 driver would try to identify the remote device. However some devices seem to have problems with this and hang up or cause other problems. In such a case, providing the controller-type will skip the identification process and hereby avoid this type of problem. Possible values are:

  • S7_300

  • S7_400

  • S7_1200

  • S7_1500

  • LOGO

Individual Resource Address Format

When programming Siemens PLCs, usually the tool used to do that is called TIA Portal.

The PLC4X S7 Driver is therefore sticking to the address format defined by this tool as it simplifies exchanging address information.

General Format

In general all S7 addresses have this format:

%{Memory-Area}{start-address}:{Data-Type}[{array-size}]

If the array-part is omitted, the size-default of 1 is assumed.

Generally there are two types of addresses:

  • Bit-Addresses {Memory-Area-Code}{Start-Byte-Address}.{Bit-Offset}:BOOL[{Count}]

  • Byte-Addresses {Memory-Area-Code}{Start-Byte-Address}:{Data-Type-Code}[{count}]

Bit addresses are only used if the datatype: BOOL is used.

The array notation of these can be omitted. In this case a Count of 1 is used per default.

Start-Byte-Address and Bit-Offset in above list both represent unsigned integer values.

In case of accessing data in the data block memory area, the syntax is quite a bit more complex:

  • DB{Data-Block-Number}.DB{Short-Data-Type-Code}{Start-Byte-Address}.{Bit-Offset}:BOOL[{Count}]

  • DB{Data-Block-Number}.DB{Short-Data-Type-Code}{Start-Byte-Address}:{Data-Type-Code}[{Count}]

When reading a STRING datatype, currently 254 characters would automatically be fetched from the PLC.

In order to limit the amount of data, we extended the STRING type declaration syntax to allow limiting this.

With the following format less than 254 characters can be read:

  • DB{Data-Block-Number}.DB{Short-Data-Type-Code}{Start-Byte-Address}:STRING({string-length})[{Count}]

These addresses can usually be copied directly out of TIA portal. However we also implemented a shorter version, as above version does have some unnecesary boilerplate parts (The .DB in the middle as well as the Short-Data-Type-Code)

The shorter syntax looks like this:

  • DB{Data-Block-Number}.{Start-Byte-Address}.{Bit-Offset}:BOOL[{Count}]

  • DB{Data-Block-Number}.{Start-Byte-Address}:{Data-Type-Code}[{Count}]

  • DB{Data-Block-Number}.{Start-Byte-Address}:STRING({string-length})[{Count}]

The S7 driver will handle both types of notation equally.

Memory Areas

The S7 driver currently allows access to the following memory areas.

The Code column represents the code that is used in above general address syntax:

Not all S7 device types support the same full set of memory areas, so the last column gives more information on which types a given memory area is supported on.

Code Name Description Supported PLC Types

C

COUNTERS

TODO: Document this

TODO: Document this

T

TIMERS

TODO: Document this

TODO: Document this

D

DIRECT_PERIPHERAL_ACCESS

TODO: Document this

TODO: Document this

I

INPUTS

Inputs (Digital and Analog …​ usually Analog Inputs just have a start-address offset to separate them from the digital ones)

All

Q

OUTPUTS

Outputs (Digital and Analog …​ usually Analog Outputs just have a start-address offset to separate them from the digital ones)

All

M

FLAGS_MARKERS

TODO: Document this

TODO: Document this

DB

DATA_BLOCKS

Memory areas containing user-defined data structures usually accessed by the integer data block number. Please note that data block addresses have a little more complex address format.

All

DBI

INSTANCE_DATA_BLOCKS

TODO: Document this

TODO: Document this

LD

LOCAL_DATA

TODO: Document this

TODO: Document this

Data Types

Code Short-Code Name Description Size in bits  Supported PLC Types

Bit-Strings (Will all interpreted as sequence of boolean values in PLC4X)

BOOL

X

Bit

Single boolean value

1

All

BYTE

B 

Byte 

Array of 8 boolean values 

1

All

WORD

W 

Word 

Array of 16 boolean values 

2

All

DWORD

D 

Double-Word 

Array of 32 boolean values 

4

All

LWORD

X 

Long-Word 

Array of 64 boolean values

8

S7_1500

Integer values

SINT

B 

Small int 

8 bit integer (signed) 

1

S7_1200, S7_1500

USINT

B 

Small unsigned int 

8 bit integer (unsigned)

1

S7_1200, S7_1500

INT

W 

Integer 

16 bit integer (signed)  

2

All

UINT

W 

Unsigned integer

16 bit integer (unsigned)

2

S7_1200, S7_1500

DINT

D 

Double integer 

32 bit integer (signed) 

4

All

UDINT

D 

Unsigned Double Integer 

32 bit integer (unsigned) 

4

S7_1200, S7_1500

LINT

X 

Long integer 

64 bit integer (signed)

8

S7_1500

ULINT

X 

Unsigned long integer

64 bit integer (unsigned) 

8

S7_1500

Floaring pooint values

REAL

D 

Real 

32 bit IEEE 754 full precision floating point value (signed) 

4

All

LREAL

X 

Long Real 

64 bit IEEE 754 double precision floating point value (signed) 

8

S7_1200, S7_1500

Character values

CHAR

B 

Character 

8 bit character 

1

All

WCHAR

X 

Double byte character 

16 bit character value 

2

S7_1200, S7_1500

STRING

X 

String 

String 2 + n bytes

1

All

WSTRING

X 

Double byte String  

String of 16 bit characters 2 + n bytes

1

S7_1200, S7_1500

Temporal values

S5TIME

X 

S5 Time 

S5 Time (like in duration)

2

S7_300, S7_400, S7_1500

TIME

X 

Time 

Time (like in duration) (Minutes, Seconds, Milliseconds) 

4

All

LTIME

X 

Long Time 

Long Time (like in duration) (Minutes, Seconds, Milliseconds, Microseconds, Nanoseconds)  

8

S7_1500

DATE

X 

Date 

Date

2

All

TIME_OF_DAY

X 

Time of day 

Time (like in 4:40PM) 

4

All

DATE_AND_TIME

X 

Date and Time 

Date and time (like in 03.05.2020 4:40 PM) 

8

S7_300, S7_400, S7_1500

S7 Event Subscription

The S7 driver allows the subscription to asynchronous events generated in the PLC.

This type of event is generated by S7-300, S7-400 controllers and VIPA devices. Unfortunately for the S7-1200 and S7-1500 series this functionality has been superseded.

For a complete list of compatibility between the S7-300,400 and S7-1200 & S7-1500, you can see the document in [1] provided by Siemens.

In applications

  1. MODE: Change of operating state in the controller, change from STOP to RUN and vice versa.

  2. SYS: System events, associated with internal events of the controller or events previously parameterized for their indication.

  3. USR: Events programmed by the user and that are registered in the internal diagnostic buffer.

  4. ALM: Alarm events generated by the user program, ALARM_S, ALARM_8, NOTIFY.

Diagnostic request

TODO

Some useful tips

Especially when it comes to the input- and output addresses for analog channels, the start addresses are configurable and hereby don’t always start at the same address. In order to find out what addresses these ports have, please go to the device setting of your PLC in TIA Portal

devsettings

Especially pay attention to this part:

iosettings

In above image you can see that this device has 8 digital inputs (DI 8) and 2 analog inputs (AI 2_1) as well as 6 digital outputs (DQ 6).

The start addresses of the digital inputs and outputs start directly at 0.

The analog inputs however start at address 64.

Each digital input and output can be addresses by a single bit-address (start-address and offset) or can be read in a block by reading a full byte starting at the given start address without providing a bit offset.

Resources

  1. https://support.industry.siemens.com/cs/document/109797648/simatic-comparison-list-for-s7-300-s7-400-s7-1200-s7-1500?dti=0&lc=en-WW