Overview of PLCcom for S7 functions

PLCcom for S7 is a developer library for .net and java that provides high-performance access to Siemens S7 PLCs.
The focus is on symbolic access (legacy communication and secure communication/TLS) – supplemented by classic put/get access (depending on the control type).

PLCcom for S7 is available in two editions: Standard and Expert.

Usage, Support & Maintenance

Feature	Standard Edition	Expert Edition
For commercial or commercial use
Professional top-level support

Devices & Connections

Feature	Type of Access	Standard Edition	Expert Edition
Connection to S7 controllers of the 1200, 1200 G2, 1500, ET200SP series and compatible CPUs from other manufacturers	Put/Get + Symbolic
Connection to S7 controllers of the 200, 300, and 400 series, SoftPLC WinAC RTX, and compatible CPUs from other manufacturers	Put/Get
Connection to S7 controllers Logo! 0BA7, 0BA8, 0BA0, 0BA1, and 0BA2	Put/Get
Access via TCP/IP, MPI, or PPI (depending on the type of controller)	Put/Get + Symbolic

Put/Get: Basic Functions

Feature	Type of Access	Standard Edition	Expert Edition
Reading and writing data using Put/Get	Put/Get

Symbolic Access: Basic Functions

Feature	Type of Access	Standard Edition	Expert Edition
Symbolic Access Access to older controllers via legacy communication Access to newer controllers via Secure Communication	Symbolic
Reading and writing data from optimized or non-optimized areas	Symbolic
Subscribing to variables from optimized or non-optimized areas	Symbolic
Subscribing of alarms	Symbolic
Acknowledging alarms	Symbolic

Optimization & Performance

Feature	Type of Access	Standard Edition	Expert Edition
Multiple read and write accesses in a common function call	Put/Get
Reading or writing multiple values simultaneously in different areas	Put/Get
Optimierungsmethoden für gleichzeitiges Lesen von Werten (COMBINE_AREAS und CROSS_AREAS)	Put/Get
Automatic detection of the best optimization method (AUTO)	Put/Get
Optimization methods for ReadSymbolicRequest (OBJECT_BASED, CROSS_OBJECT, SMART)	Symbolic
Deep Lookup	Symbolic
DualChannelMode	Symbolic
Parallelized requests	Put/Get + Symbolic

CPU Control & System Information

Feature	Type of Access	Standard Edition	Expert Edition
Starting and stopping the CPU	Put/Get
Reading and setting the PLC system time	Put/Get
Read information like model, order number, firmware etc.	Put/Get
Get mode and state from CPU	Put/Get
Get LEDs mode from PLC (on, off, indicating)	Put/Get

Diagnosis & System Status

Feature	Type of Access	Standard Edition	Expert Edition
Reading system status list SSL	Put/Get
Query of the diagnostic data of PLC	Put/Get

Security & Authentication

Feature	Type of Access	Standard Edition	Expert Edition
Enabling a password-protected Put/Get connection using password transmission	Put/Get
Activating a protected connection using (user) password transmission	Symbolic

Blocks, Backup & Restore

Feature	Type of Access	Standard Edition	Expert Edition
Read a list of created PLC objects. (All or specific block type e.g. only OBs)	Put/Get
Read length of a specific block	Put/Get
Read a specific block in MC7-format and save to a select file (Backup)	Put/Get
Querying specific block properties (e.g., version, author, creation language, etc.)	Put/Get
Restore block data from a selectable MC7-file (Restore)	Put/Get
Restore in different block number	Put/Get
Delete blocks	Put/Get

Data Server & Logging

Feature	Type of Access	Standard Edition	Expert Edition
Data server for event controlled variable monitoring on the SPS	Put/Get
Progressive logging of SPS data to file system or SQL database	Put/Get
Progressive logging of SPS data to SQL database	Put/Get
Writing the latest image of SPS data to file system	Put/Get
Writing the latest image of SPS data to SQL database	Put/Get
Encoded data storage to filesystem	Put/Get
Free database choice by developer	Put/Get

Functions depending on the type of PLC

Feature	S7-1200 S7-1500 ET200SP Symbolic Legacy Communication *1)	S7-1200 (G2) S7-1500 ET200SP Symbolic Secure Communication	S7‑200Put/Get *6)	S7‑300Put/Get	S7‑400Put/Get	S7‑1200Put/Get	S7-1500 ET200SP Put/Get	WinAC RTXPut/Get *2)	Logo!Put/Get *3)
Read data
Write data
Subscribing of variables	native	native	via dataserver	via dataserver	via dataserver	via dataserver	via dataserver	via dataserver	via dataserver
Subscribing of alarms	*4)	*4)
Reading the current alarm list	*4)	*4)
Acknowledging alarms	*4)	*4)
Reading data from multiple areas combined
Multiple read and write accesses in a common function call
Reading or writing multiple values simultaneously in different areas
Starting and stopping the CPU
Reading and setting the PLC system time
Get basic info from PLC e.g. Modell, ordernumber, Firmware etc.
Get mode and state from CPU
Get LEDs mode from PLC (on, off, indicating)
Reading system status list SSL (if existing)
Get diagnostic data
Unlocking a protected connection via (user) password transfer	*5)
Read a list of created PLC objects (All or specific block type e.g. only OBs)
Read length of a specific block
Read a specific block in MC7-format and save to a select file (Backup)
Get specific block properties e.g. (version, author, Create language and many more)	restricted	restricted
Restore block data from a selectable MC7-file (Restore)
Restore in different blocks
Delete blocks
*1) Legacy Communication not for S7-1200 G2
*2) WinAC RTX from version 2010 onwards
*3) Logo! Controller from 0BA7
*4) Not available for S7-1200
*5) Connections to simulated controllers only without password entry
*6) Due to the lack of availability of S7-200 SMART controllers in Europe, these controllers are not officially supported.