This driver is a simple driver. It provides additional functionality to enable ClearSCADA to interface with specific supported devices using a particular protocol. To interact successfully with such devices, you need to:
- Install and run the driver
- Ensure that the driver is licensed
- Configure the required database items and settings on the driver
- Ensure that the database items (and any database items on which they depend) have valid, saved, configuration and are 'In Service'.
The Simatic S7 Driver allows a ClearSCADA system to be populated with data from, and control points on, the Simatic S7-200, S7-300, and S7-400 series of PLCs. The driver provides extra functionality within the server for communicating with such PLCs.
ClearSCADA communicates with Simatic S7 PLCs using either serial or TCP communications (see Communicating with Simatic S7 PLCs).
The Simatic S7 documentation explains how to configure Simatic S7-specific features and items within the ClearSCADA database (see Configuring Simatic S7 Devices in ClearSCADA).
The documentation also explains driver-specific aspects that may be of interest to system administrators and engineers when investigating any unexpected system behavior (see Simatic S7 Specific Status Display Attributes).
NOTE: There are no driver-specific pick actions for database items on this particular driver. However, users with the required privileges can add custom pick actions to a database item by using the User Methods tab on the relevant configuration Form (see Using the User Methods Tab to Define Custom Actions in the ClearSCADA Guide to Core Configuration). See a system administrator for the documentation associated with such custom actions (also known as ‘methods’).