System requirements

The recommended hardware and software are listed in the following table.

Hardware / software	Requirement
Processor	Intel® Core™ i5-6440EQ (up to 3.4 GHz)
RAM	16 GB (min. 8 GB, 32 GB for large projects)
Hard disk	SSD with 50 GB free storage space
Network	1 Gbit (for multi-user)
Monitor	15.6″ Full HD Display (1920 x 1080 or more)
Operating system	Windows 7 (64-bit) Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 * Windows 7 Professional SP1 Windows 7 Enterprise SP1 Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 Windows 10 (64-bit) Windows 10 Home Version 1709, 1803 * Windows 10 Professional Version 1709, 1803 Windows 10 Enterprise Version 1709, 1803 Windows 10 Enterprise 2016 LTSB Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2015 LTSB Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2016 LTSB Windows Server (64-bit) Windows Server 2012 R2 StdE (full installation) Windows Server 2016 Standard (full installation) *only for Basic Edition

Installation

Controller software of the new generation

SIMATIC STEP 7 is the world’s best known and most widely used programming software in industrial automation. SIMATIC STEP 7 (TIA Portal) is a winner thanks to innovative engineering for both proven and new SIMATIC controllers.

SIMATIC STEP 7 V15.1 is now available. SIMATIC STEP 7 V15.1 replaces the direct predecessor version SIMATIC STEP 7 V15 as an independent product and full version. The standard delivery of SIMATIC STEP 7 V15 ends with the availability of SIMATIC STEP 7 V15.1.

The license acquired for the V15.1 is valid for all older TIA Portal versions.

Highlights SIMATIC STEP 7 V15.1

STEP 7 V15.1 includes new features for all phases of the engineering workflow.

Hardware configuration

The following new CPUs of the S7-1500 family complete the portfolio:
- SIMATIC S7-1500R and SIMATIC S7-1500H 109761646
Isochronous mode on the central backplane bus of the S7-1500: For the cost-effective compact implementation of demanding technology tasks in the central structure
MRP Domain Management across project boundaries: Redundancy managers and redundancy clients of an MRP domain can be configured in different projects
»Change firmware version« for IO devices: Quick change of the configured firmware version in the device view using preselection

Software units for S7-1500 as of firmware version V2.6

Free division of the standard program into software units
Separate loading of the software units into the PLC
Defined interfaces between the software units
Purely optimized programming and data storage

Editors for programming languages

Textual interface for SCL blocks: For new SCL blocks, you can specify whether the block interface is to be processed in a table (as before) or in text form. This allows, for example, additional comment sections and line comments in the interface as well as easier exchange with other text editors
Alignment of actual parameters in SCL: For better readability of programs in SCL blocks, you can left-align the actual parameters for block calls.
DB snapshot: Stored snapshots are not lost even after a structural change (such as insertion of a line) of the DB
Monitoring unconnected outputs: When block calls are monitored, the actual values for unconnected outputs are now also displayed.
Changing setting values for tags of the UDT data type: The settings pre-defined in a user-defined data type can be selected or deselected for the instance used.
Monitor UDT: Direct monitoring of UDT on the I/O area in program blocks is supported.
Only export used elements from tag tables: For tags used exclusively in the program, the export function in the tag table also supports the XML format.

Cross-reference indicator for interface parameters

For interface parameters of a function block, the cross-reference list displays both the block-internal access operations and the access operations from outside via the corresponding individual instance data blocks.

Trace

Settings can already be made during configuration
Changes made in online mode can be retained
When changes are made to the trace configuration (signals, OBs, triggers, etc.), the settings are no longer lost

System functions

User-defined keyboard shortcuts
- Adaptations of keyboard shortcuts in the TIA Portal settings
- Existing functions with keyboard shortcuts can be assigned new keyboard shortcuts
- User-defined keyboard shortcuts can be imported and exported

Improved usability for archiving projects
- Projects no longer need to be explicitly opened for archiving
- By default, the projects are completely archived with all data, so that it is not necessary to recreate them.
- Integration of the current file selection dialog for archive selection. Better overview, simplified path selection with history, display of the existing file, direct editing option.
- Extension of TIA Portal settings to include a default path for storing retrieved projects and libraries.
Exporting and importing project texts: For texts in the project and libraries, it is possible to export and import several languages in one operation.

Editions

SIMATIC STEP 7 Professional V15.1
is the high-performance, integrated engineering system for the latest SIMATIC controllers S7-1500, S7-1200, S7-300, S7-400, WinAC and ET 200 CPU. S7-PLCSIM for simulation of the S7-1500, S7-1200 CPU as well as SIMATIC WinCC Basic for configuration of Basic Panels are included in the product package.
SIMATIC STEP 7 Basic V15.1
is the easy-to-use engineering system for the small modular SIMATIC S7-1200 controller and the associated I/Os. It includes S7-PLCSIM for simulating the S7-1200 CPU and SIMATIC WinCC Basic for configuration of the SIMATIC Basic Panels.