Posts tagged "Siemens S7"
11 articles across the Voltrus blog.
This collection brings together every Siemens S7 article published on the Voltrus blog. "Siemens S7-1200 vs S7-1500: Which PLC for Your Project", "S7 Protocol vs OPC UA for Siemens PLCs: Direct or Standardized", "How to Read a Siemens S7 Data Block (DB) Over the Network" — each one is a practical, hands-on guide written for engineers and system integrators. Whether you are choosing between protocols, troubleshooting a connection, or planning an integration, these articles cover the concepts, the trade-offs, and the step-by-step details you need.
Siemens S7-1200 vs S7-1500: Which PLC for Your Project
Siemens S7-1200 vs S7-1500 compared. Performance, memory, I/O count, motion, safety, PROFINET, price, and which Siemens PLC fits small machines vs large process lines.
Read articleS7 Protocol vs OPC UA for Siemens PLCs: Direct or Standardized
S7 protocol vs OPC UA for Siemens PLCs compared. Native direct access vs the cross-vendor standard, performance, security, setup, and when to use each.
Read articleHow to Read a Siemens S7 Data Block (DB) Over the Network
How to read a Siemens S7 data block. DB number and offset addressing, data types, the rack/slot connection, enabling PUT/GET, and reading S7-1200/1500 DBs.
Read articleHow to Enable PUT/GET on S7-1200/1500 (and Why Siemens Disables It)
How to enable PUT/GET on Siemens S7-1200/1500. Why Siemens disables it by default, the TIA Portal steps, the security trade-off, and safer alternatives like OPC UA.
Read articleSiemens S7 vs Modbus TCP: Native PLC Access vs Universal Register
Siemens S7 vs Modbus TCP compared. Native data-block access vs universal register addressing, typed vs flat data, where each wins, and how Siemens sites run both.
Read articlePROFINET vs S7 Communication: What's the Difference
PROFINET IO and S7 communication are not competing protocols — they coexist on every Siemens controller. PN-IO is the deterministic fieldbus for cyclic I/O; S7 is the acyclic read/write protocol over TCP port 102. Ports, RFC 1006, RT/IRT timing, GSDML, and macOS tooling explained.
Read articleSiemens S7 Rack and Slot Addressing: How PLC Routing Works
S7 connections need the right rack and slot (S7-1200/1500: rack 0 slot 0; S7-300: rack 0 slot 2). Get it wrong and you get a connection-refused — here is why and how to fix it.
Read articleTIA Portal on Mac (2026): Why It Doesn't Work & What to Use Instead
TIA Portal doesn't run on macOS. Here's why, what your options are (Parallels, Remote Desktop), and the native macOS alternative for PLC programming.
Read articleS7 Communication Protocol Guide: Memory Areas, Addressing, and Data Types
How the Siemens S7 protocol accesses PLC memory. Data blocks, inputs, outputs, markers, timers, counters. Rack/slot addressing and data type mapping.
Read articleConnect to Siemens S7-1200/1500 from macOS Without TIA Portal
Read and write Siemens S7 PLC data blocks from macOS. No TIA Portal, no Parallels, no Windows. Native S7 communication tool for Mac.
Read articleConnecting Siemens S7 and Allen-Bradley PLCs to Your SCADA Without Kepware
The "protocol tax" costs $1K-$5K per PLC brand for OPC server licenses. Voltrus Enterprise ($999) includes Modbus, OPC-UA, Siemens S7, and Allen-Bradley EtherNet/IP — no separate server needed.
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