WinCC

SIMATIC WinCC
Basic data
developer	Siemens
Publishing year	1996
Current  version	7.5 (October 8, 2018)
operating system	Windows
category	SCADA
License	proprietary
German speaking	Yes
www.siemens.com

WinCC ( Win dows C ontrol C enter ) is a PC-based process visualization system of the company Siemens . It is used as an independent SCADA system or as a human-machine interface for process control systems such as SIMATIC PCS 7 . A first prototype and basic concepts were created in 1993, and from 1996 the software was widely marketed in German-speaking countries .

Product features

The visualization system has a modular structure and enables the monitoring and control of technical processes in machines and systems. WinCC is designed as a client-server system that runs on different versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system . Both simple single-user applications and complex multi-user solutions with distributed clients and servers can be implemented with WinCC.

Essential product features are the freely configurable user interface for the visualization and operation of machines and systems, the acquisition and long-term data storage of measured values, the acquisition, storage and visualization of alarms and messages as well as the provision of data interfaces to external systems.

The basic software is basically designed to be industry-neutral and is used as a SCADA system for various industrial applications. Typical areas of application are production technology in mechanical engineering, the automation of process engineering processes and the control and visualization of processes in logistics systems. The software can be adapted to industry-specific requirements through open interfaces, available software options and project-specific implementation. Typical areas of application in industries are:

• Production systems in the chemical, pharmaceutical or food industry for both continuous processes and batch processes
• Process visualization and control in power plants, oil and gas plants, for water treatment and in sewage treatment plants
• Discrete MQL units in production systems such as in mechanical engineering and in the automotive or automotive supplier industry.
• Traffic control technology as an information system for the monitoring of motorways and tunnel systems
• Conveyor technology as a visualization component of the material flow system z. B. in the monitoring and control of mail sorting systems or baggage handling systems in airports.

user interface

Visualization with WinCC on a system control

For process control, individually configurable user interfaces are used for the purpose. The software provides a graphic editor and a selection of standard objects (e.g. graphic objects, buttons, check and radio boxes and sliders, input and output fields, text lists or configurable ActiveX controls for alarms, curves and tables). These standard objects can be expanded to include user-specific objects or ActiveX controls.

Objects are linked with process values ​​and commands in the graphic editor. There are z. B. Measured values ​​are visualized or status messages from valves are displayed. At the same time, it is possible to control these objects through user input using the mouse or keyboard. The software provides various mechanisms for assigning process values ​​and commands. The simplest variant is the direct connection of process variables to an object to display a value or status information. Further options are the dialog-guided interconnection of variables via so-called “wizards” through to complex scenarios that can be implemented using the integrated script languages ​​C-Script and Visual Basic Scripting. Functions provided by the operating system or other external functions can be used ( Windows API ). "Global" scripts and actions can be used to implement context-independent functions such as cyclical queries, triggered events and even script libraries.

Texts in the user interface can be implemented in multiple languages ​​and can be switched during runtime. Up to 34 different languages ​​are supported in one visualization solution.

User administration

WinCC implements an integrated user administration with which access rights can be controlled both during configuration and during runtime (e.g. in the so-called runtime user interface). 128 user groups with up to 128 individual users each can be created and managed. 999 different authorization levels can be defined, which in turn are to be assigned to the users and / or user groups.

Reporting system

The software records and saves process messages and local events in archives and makes them available filtered and sorted if necessary. Messages can be generated directly from binary information or as the result of a limit value violation for analog values. Archiving, logging and the message structure can be freely parameterized.

Archiving system

Values ​​can be saved in process value archives. This archiving in a Microsoft SQL Server - database realized. The values ​​are stored in the database in compressed form without loss. The display in the user interface can be implemented using integrated objects such as Trend Control. Direct access to this data via optional interfaces by external applications is possible.

Reporting and logging system

The log system enables the layout-controlled printout of the recorded data. It includes different protocol types such as B. alarm logs, operating logs or user reports. The reports can be saved as a file and previewed on the screen.

distribution

WinCC was published in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean and Japanese. The main sales markets for the software are in Europe and Asia. Siemens calls itself in various publications and press publications with WinCC as the market leader in Europe and the second most frequently used HMI system worldwide.

WinCC is used by Siemens as the basis in the SIMATIC PCS 7 process control system. SIMATIC PCS 7 is a system with scalable architecture for medium-sized to large plants (up to 100,000 input or output data points), which integrates engineering tools, mass data processing, alarm management and asset management.

Versions

WinCC has been continuously developed since 1995. The following table provides an overview of the published versions and their main features. In this patches and hotfixes not included. In 2008 Siemens released WinCC version 7.0.

Stuxnet worm

→ Main article : Stuxnet

In July 2010, a computer worm named Stuxnet was discovered that specializes in attacks on WinCC and PCS 7 systems. According to the computer security company Symantec , it is the first worm that can not only spy on industrial systems, but also manipulate the way they work. To do this, the worm uses the access data for the Microsoft SQL Server programmed into WinCC and four different, unpatched security holes in Windows.

In September 2010 the Iranian communications minister Resa Taghipur stated that around 30,000 computers in Iran had been infected by Stuxnet, including computers from the Bushehr nuclear power plant .

Since this worm could only be programmed with great effort, experts such as Yevgeny Kaspersky and others assume that it did not come from private individuals but from government organizations.

Web links

• Siemens WinCC Portal
• Manuals and documentation

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "Process visualization based on sequence controls in programmable logic controllers", diploma thesis in computer science at the University of Applied Sciences Würzburg by Andreas Kreß
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Siemens WinCC Portal: WinCC basic functionality
3. ↑ ^{a b} Siemens WinCC Portal: WinCC configuration
4. ↑ Human Machine Interface: An extremely attractive and growing market: press conference , Timothy Shepherd, September 2003, Chemnitz.
5. ↑ SIMATIC PCS 7: Product overview ( Memento from April 18, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
6. ↑ Siemens AG: SIMATIC WinCC V1.1
7. ↑ Siemens AG: SIMATIC WinCC V1.11
8. ↑ Siemens AG: SIMATIC WinCC V3.1
9. ↑ Siemens AG: Delivery release for SIMATIC WinCC Version 4.02 Service Pack 2
10. ↑ Siemens AG: Delivery release for SIMATIC WinCC Version 4.02 Service Pack 3
11. ↑ Siemens AG: SIMATIC WinCC Version 5.0 Service Pack 1
12. ↑ Siemens AG: SIMATIC WinCC Version 5.0 Service Pack 2
13. ↑ Siemens AG: Sales / delivery release for SIMATIC WinCC V5.1 SP1
14. ↑ Siemens AG: SIMATIC WinCC V5.1 SP2 available now (VF / LF)
15. ↑ Siemens AG: Delivery release for SIMATIC WinCC V6.0
16. ↑ Siemens AG: Sales and delivery release for SIMATIC WinCC V6.0 SP1
17. ↑ Siemens AG: SIMATIC WinCC V6.0 SP2 available now (VF / LF)
18. ↑ Siemens AG: Sales and delivery release for SIMATIC WinCC V6.0 SP3
19. ↑ Siemens AG: Delivery release for SIMATIC WinCC V6.0 SP4
20. ↑ Siemens AG: SIMATIC WinCC V6.2 available immediately (VF / LF)
21. ↑ Siemens AG: Delivery release for SIMATIC WinCC V6.2 SP2
22. ↑ Siemens AG: Delivery release for SIMATIC WinCC V6.2 SP3 and SIMATIC WinCC V6.2 SP3 ASIA
23. ↑ Siemens AG: Delivery release for SIMATIC WinCC V7.0
24. ↑ Siemens AG: Delivery release for SIMATIC WinCC V7.0 SP1 and SIMATIC WinCC V7.0 SP1 ASIA
25. ↑ Siemens AG: Delivery release for SIMATIC WinCC V7.0 SP2
26. ↑ Siemens AG: Delivery release for SIMATIC WinCC V7.0 SP3 and WinCC V7.0 SP3 ASIA
27. ↑ Siemens AG: Delivery release for SIMATIC WinCC V7.2 and WinCC V7.2 ASIA
28. ↑ Siemens AG: Delivery release for SIMATIC WinCC V7.3 and SIMATIC WinCC V7.3 ASIA
29. ↑ Siemens AG: Delivery release for SIMATIC WinCC V7.3 Second Edition (EU / ASIA) including update 1
30. ↑ Siemens AG: Delivery release for SIMATIC WinCC V7.4
31. ↑ SIOS. Retrieved December 17, 2018 . 
32. ^ Robert McMillan: Siemens: Stuxnet worm hit industrial systems. (No longer available online.) In: Computerworld. September 14, 2010, archived from the original on May 25, 2012 ; Retrieved September 16, 2010 . 
33. ↑ Stuxnet-Wurm can control industrial plants. In: Heise Online. September 16, 2010, accessed September 16, 2010 . 
34. ↑ Iran confirms cyber attack by Stuxnet. In: Heise online . September 26, 2010, accessed September 26, 2010 . 
35. ^ The "Hack of the Century" on ORF from September 25, 2010, accessed on September 26, 2010
36. ↑ Trojan "stuxnet" - The digital first strike took place Frank Rieger in FAZ.NET on September 22, 2010, accessed on September 27, 2010