Archiving PCS 7 V8.2 Process Tags to Process Historian 2014 Compatibility and Licensing

In SIMATIC PCS 7, archiving long-term historical process values and alarms from a PCS 7 V8.2 system to a central Process Historian (PH) running Process Historian 2014 (SP1/SP2/SP3) is fully compatible and officially released by Siemens. As verified via the Siemens Compatibility Tool, Process Historian 2014 operates as the central archive database for WinCC V7.4 / PCS 7 V8.2 OS Servers. In WinCC Explorer, configure the Process Historian Ready component, set the PH server computer name, and activate OS runtime. Licensing requires a Process Historian Basic package and Process Historian Archive licenses sized by tag tiers (100, 1500, 5000, 10000+ archive tags). Validate license quantities with an authorized Siemens distributor or the Siemens Industry Mall.

Executive Summary

Plant enterprises operating continuous automation under SIMATIC PCS 7 V8.2 require centralized, multi-year historical data storage to meet regulatory reporting and operational analytics requirements. While individual WinCC OS servers retain short-term circular archives on local disks, long-term archiving requires a dedicated SIMATIC Process Historian (PH). Operating teams frequently evaluate whether Process Historian 2014 can be connected to a PCS 7 V8.2 plant without requiring complex upgrades. This technical guide confirms official compatibility, explains the data forwarding architecture, outlines the required licensing packages, and provides the step-by-step configuration procedure.

Architecture and Fundamental Mechanics

The historical archiving architecture between PCS 7 V8.2 and Process Historian 2014 relies on seamless database replication:
1. Role of WinCC OS Local Circular Archives:
- In PCS 7 V8.2, OS servers log cyclic process tags and alarms to local Microsoft SQL Server segmented circular databases (Tag Logging Fast, Tag Logging Slow, Alarm Logging).
- Local archives typically retain 1 to 4 weeks of data before circular overwriting occurs.
2. Process Historian Ready Forwarding Service:
- Process Historian 2014 acts as an enterprise-grade historian running on Microsoft SQL Server on dedicated server hardware (e.g., Windows Server 2012 R2 / 2016).
- The client component, Process Historian Ready (PH-Ready), runs as a background service on every WinCC OS Server.
- As soon as a local archive segment closes, or in near-real-time streaming, PH-Ready transmits historical records across the terminal bus to Process Historian.
- If the connection drops, PH-Ready buffers data locally on the OS server, automatically flushing records once communication restores (store-and-forward architecture).
3. Licensing Architecture for Process Historian 2014:
- Basic Package: SIMATIC Process Historian 2014 Basic Package (includes the server runtime software).
- Archive Tag Capacity Licenses: Sized according to the total number of process tags archived from all connected OS servers (tiers: 100, 1,500, 5,000, 10,000, 50,000 tags).
- OS Server Licenses: WinCC OS servers require the WinCC Process Historian Ready license.

Step-by-Step Implementation Procedure

Verify Compatibility in the Siemens Compatibility Tool:
a. Access the online Siemens Compatibility Tool.
b. Query: Main Product = SIMATIC Process Historian 2014 SP2/SP3, Partner Product = SIMATIC PCS 7 V8.2.
c. Confirm that the matrix displays green (Compatible).
Install and License Process Historian 2014 Server:
a. On a dedicated physical server or virtual machine running Windows Server 2012 R2 / 2016, install Process Historian 2014.
b. In Automation License Manager (ALM), install the Process Historian 2014 Basic license and appropriate Process Historian Archive Tags capacity license.
c. Run the Process Historian Installation Wizard to configure SQL Server storage partitions and database files.
Configure WinCC OS Servers on the Engineering Station:
a. On the PCS 7 V8.2 ES, open SIMATIC Manager and open the master WinCC project for the OS Server.
b. In WinCC Explorer, open Process Historian editor.
c. In the configuration dialog, enter the exact Windows Computer Name (or IP) of the central Process Historian 2014 server.
d. Ensure that the 'Active' checkbox is enabled.
e. Repeat configuration for all redundant OS server pairs.
Configure Terminal Bus Security and Simatic Shell:
a. On the Process Historian server and all OS servers, open Windows Explorer, right-click Simatic Shell, and select Settings....
b. Confirm that all stations bind to the Terminal Bus network adapter and can see each other.
c. Verify that Windows Firewall permits SQL Server (TCP port 1433) and PH communication ports.
Deploy and Verify Historian Archiving:
a. Download the updated OS projects from the ES to the OS servers.
b. Start WinCC Runtime on the OS servers.
c. On the Process Historian server, open Process Historian Management Console: verify that all connected OS servers report status 'Active / Connected'.

Verification

In Process Historian Management Console, inspect the 'Data Sources' dashboard: verify that all PCS 7 V8.2 OS servers display green status indicators.
In WinCC OS Runtime, trigger several alarms and monitor analog trends.
Open SIMATIC Information Server 2014: execute a historical trend report querying the Process Historian database, verifying that process records populate accurately.

Limitations and Operational Precautions

Process Historian requires high-performance disk subsystems (RAID 10 recommended for SQL data and log partitions). Never store PH database files on slow consumer storage or unbuffered network drives.

Engineer FAQ

Is Process Historian 2014 compatible with PCS 7 V8.2?

Yes. Siemens officially certifies Process Historian 2014 (SP1/SP2/SP3) for operation with SIMATIC PCS 7 V8.2.

How does Process Historian receive data from WinCC OS servers?

Via the Process Historian Ready background service running on each OS server, which transmits data across the terminal bus.

What happens to data if the connection between OS and PH is lost?

The WinCC OS server buffers data in local circular archives and automatically synchronizes all buffered records to Process Historian once communication is restored.