1. Process communication
   1. Communication and processing

The communication channels for the connection to the controllers (e.g., SIMATIC S7 Protocol Suite, SIMATIC S7-1200/1500 channel, SIMATIC S5 [Ethernet Layer 4, AS511, serial, PROFIBUS FDL], Omron Ethernet-IP various communication media shall be included in the scope of delivery of the control system; the same applies to drivers for simple types of coupling such as point-to-point via the MPI or Ethernet TCP/IP.

If this is a system migration, the following shall be noted: The communication channels for the connection to the controllers (e.g., SIMATIC S7 Protocol Suite, SIMATIC S7-1200/1500 channel, SIMATIC S5 [Ethernet Layer 4, AS511, serial, PROFIBUS FDL], SIMOTION, MODBUS TCP/IP, Allen Bradley E/IP PLC5, Allen Bradley E/IP SLC50x, Mitsubishi controllers of the FX3U and Q series), Omron (CJ1M, CJ2H, CJ2M, CS1G, CS1H) via various communication media shall be included in the scope of delivery of the control system; the same applies to drivers for simple types of coupling such as point-to-point via the MPI or Ethernet TCP/IP.

In addition, it shall be possible to easily establish the communication to other devices and applications from various manufacturers via the standardized interface OPC, OPC UA, MQTT and Rest.

Communication and processing may need to be event-driven. Within the system, values are transmitted or processed only when changes are made.

The system shall permit the transfer of real-time time stamps from the I/O system (remote control unit, PLC). Alternatively, for logs without external time stamps, input time stamping shall be performed by the system itself.

The SCADA system shall be based on Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This enables global solutions to be implemented across time zones. Recognizing the UTC and the time zone shall enable the correct time stamps to be transmitted and recognized.

On request, additional drivers can be integrated and/or developed independently via an API.

2. Native support for redundant PLCs and networks

The SCADA system shall have a native driver for the I/O connection to Siemens SIMATIC S7 controllers. The driver shall be able to communicate with S7-300, S7-400, S7-1200 and S7-1500 series. The native S7 driver shall support the following functionalities:

• Sending data to the PLC
• Querying data from the PLC
• Receiving spontaneous data from the PLC (In order to receive spontaneous data from the PLC, the extension TSPP [for S7-300 and S7-400] or cyclic services are used.)
• Receiving and acknowledging S7 alarms

The connection to peripheral devices (both the device and the connections shall be redundantly configurable) that use the specific S7 data transfer protocol (for PLCs of the S7-300 and S7-400 series) for communication shall be established with the native S7 driver. By using the native S7 driver, it shall be possible to establish an easy way to connect to Siemens peripherals without long engineering times. The addressing is to be performed using protocol-specific notation. In addition, it is possible to use symbolic addresses when parameterizing peripheral addresses.

An optimized driver for the new generation of Siemens PLCs (SIMATIC S7-1200/S7-1500) shall be available to support optimized communication with Siemens data terminal equipment and the new PLC symbols. Optimization for Siemens devices ensures more efficient engineering and optimized communication. Complete end-to-end encryption of data shall be ensured between the PLC and the SCADA system. The driver shall make it possible to query the alarms of the PLC directly in addition to the symbols, as well as to search online for data points on the PLC.

This driver shall also be able to support the redundant SIMATIC S7-1500H control, as in this case the redundancy is not provided by the SCADA system but already in advance by means of a specific SIEMENS component before transmission to the SCADA system, and the SCADA system at the end communicates with exactly one device.

3. TIA Portal configuration support

A tool shall be provided that can be used to integrate existing data into the SCADA system from existing TIA Portal projects. This option shall be provided for projects created in TIA Portal V17 and V18. This shall enable efficient integration of SIMATIC S7-1200 and S7-1500 as well as existing and new projects based on TIA Portal. In addition, symbolic access shall also be possible by browsing the data points directly from the controller.

In addition, it shall be possible to integrate exports from TIA Portal and thus work with the same set of symbols in both systems.

4. Integration of remote terminal units

The SCADA system shall facilitate the connection of remote terminal units via a WAN and make this connection flexibly into the central SCADA system of the overall system. The SCADA system shall support the three most important telecontrol protocols, IEC 60870-5 101/104, DNP V3 (serial or TCP/IP), and SINAUT ST7 (serial or TCP/IP). It shall be possible to design redundant transmission paths to the stations. On the failure of one connection path, it shall be possible to use the substitute path automatically.

The SCADA system shall be capable of being adapted individually to the requirements of a plant. A uniform user interface shall be provided for local and remote processes.

5. Support for Rockwell controllers

Based on the integrated Rockwell PLC driver, the SCADA system shall support connections to the following controllers:

• ControlLogix
• SLC5
• PLC5

6. Support for Mitsubishi controllers

Based on the integrated Mitsubishi PLC driver, the SCADA system shall support connections to the following Mitsubishi controllers via the MELSEC communication protocol (MC protocol):

• Mitsubishi FX3U series
• Mitsubishi Q series
• Mitsubishi iQ-R series
• Mitsubishi iQ-F series

7. Support for Omron controllers

Based on the integrated Omron PLC driver, the SCADA system shall support connections to the following controllers:

• Omron CJ1M
• Omron CJ2H, CJ2M
• Omron CS1G, CS1H

2. Server communication
   1. Cloud connectivity

The SCADA system shall be capable of accommodating a native connection to an industrial cloud. Transfer rates to the cloud of up to 20,000 values every 10 seconds shall be achieved.

A connection to SIEMENS MindSphere shall be possible. It shall be possible to integrate SIEMENS MindSphere apps into the solution.

A native driver for MQTT connections shall be available. This shall enable connections to cloud services and the development of M2M solutions.

In addition, a REST interface shall be provided that allows connection to web applications. Reading and writing of process tags shall be possible via this interface.

The transmission shall be encrypted and secured by means of an SSL certificate.

2. Simple configurable connection with third-party systems or the IT world

The SCADA system shall use standard interfaces to connect the automation level (controls) with the IT world and ensure a bidirectional flow of information.

SCADA systems from different manufacturers can thus be integrated by using a variety of standard interfaces (e.g., OPC, OLE-DB, SQL, MQTT, Rest). The integration into the system and its user administration, as well as the alternative use as a system service, shall guarantee the security of the transmission.

 
The SCADA system shall support the following configurable connections:

• Connection of SIMATIC WinCC to databases and IT systems
• Support for standard interfaces (such as OPC, MQTT, Rest, SQL, ODBC, OLE-DB, Office formats)
• High-performance, bidirectional data exchange between different systems
• Display of information on web pages
• Configuration instead of programming (prevention of errors)
• Application options:
  - Start as system service for unmanned servers in computer centers
  - For management of the RT data connections with SIMATIC WinCC
  - Integrated management of the connections to the runtime in the SIMATIC WinCC user interface (also via web)

3. Interfaces

In addition to those mentioned in the “Process communication” section, the SCADA system shall also have all the essential communication and database interfaces available (depending on the operating system):

Parameterization interfaces

• ASCII import/export
• XML import/export

Database interfaces

• OLE-DB
• ADO/ODBC
• SOAP

Program interfaces

• API
• COM
• ActiveX
• XML

Communication

• OPC UA server/client
• HTTP/HTTPS
• RS232/V24
• MQTT
• REST

If required, customer-specific interfaces are to be integrated and/or developed.