Configure Separate PCS 7 Plant and Terminal Buses with TCP/IP

Yes. Siemens documents TCP/IP on the PCS 7 plant bus, so the plant bus is not limited to ISO communication. For a separated design, give the plant bus and terminal bus distinct network adapters and IP subnets, then assign each PCS 7 station's project interfaces to the intended adapter. The exact setup depends on the PCS 7 release, network design, virtualization platform and plant-bus communication license; the ticket does not identify its software version.

What TCP/IP Means for the PCS 7 Plant Bus

The plant bus and terminal bus are functional networks, not a rule that one must use IP while the other uses MAC addressing only. Siemens' PCS 7 V9.1 SP1 PC Configuration Installation Manual documents setting TCP/IP properties on standard adapters used for the plant bus. The V9.1 Readme also prescribes enabling the SIMATIC Industrial Ethernet (ISO) protocol in its plant-bus TCP/IP adapter settings. Therefore, an IP-based plant bus can still require the Siemens ISO protocol component; do not remove it based on the mistaken assumption that IP and ISO cannot coexist. PCS 7 PC Configuration V9.1 SP1, §5.7.8 PCS 7 Readme V9.1, §3.4.6.1

Prerequisites

Before making changes, identify the installed PCS 7 release and its applicable PC Configuration, Operator Station and virtualization manuals. Confirm which virtual or physical adapters are mapped to the plant and terminal networks on every relevant ES, OS server and OS client. Obtain the approved IP address, subnet mask, gateway and routing plan from the site network design; the example ranges below are illustrative only. Determine whether the plant-bus connection uses a standard Ethernet adapter or a CP, and verify the matching SIMATIC NET/BCE license package and connection capacity for the actual topology. In PCS 7 V9.1 SP2 virtualization guidance, example VM configurations assign adapter 1 to the terminal bus and adapter 2 to the plant bus; treat this as a version- and role-specific example, not a universal ordering rule. PCS 7 Virtualization V9.1 SP2, §4.3

Method: Separate the Buses on Two Adapters

Use this method when the site design calls for distinct plant and terminal networks and the host or VM is provisioned with a dedicated adapter for each.

Back up the PCS 7 project and record the current adapter mappings, IP settings, station configuration and working communication paths. Schedule changes under the site's change-control and process-availability procedures.
In the hypervisor or physical host network design, map one adapter to the plant-bus network and the other to the terminal-bus network. On virtual machines, verify that each virtual NIC is connected to the intended virtual switch or network. Siemens' V9.1 SP2 virtualization examples list separate adapters for the terminal and plant buses.
Assign addresses on the site-approved subnets. For example only, a plant subnet might use 192.168.10.x and a terminal subnet might use 192.168.20.x with masks chosen by the network plan. The two interfaces on the same station must not be assigned overlapping subnet ranges. Do not copy these example addresses into a live plant without an address-allocation review.
In Windows Network Connections, open the properties for the adapter connected to the plant bus, select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), open Properties, and enter the approved IP address and subnet mask. Repeat for the terminal-bus adapter using its own approved values. Siemens' PC Configuration procedure documents assigning TCP/IP addresses to standard plant-bus adapters. Set gateways and routes only as required by the approved topology; two networks being separate does not by itself justify two default gateways.
Apply the adapter protocol and Windows network-profile settings specified by the exact PCS 7 Readme and PC Configuration release. For PCS 7 V9.1 TCP/IP plant-bus settings, Siemens specifies disabling File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks and Client for Microsoft Networks, and activating SIMATIC Industrial Ethernet (ISO). Preserve the terminal-bus settings separately; do not copy plant-bus settings onto every adapter indiscriminately.
In the PCS 7 station configuration, map the intended standard adapter as IE General for the plant bus where the applicable release and station design call for it. Configure terminal-bus communication on its designated adapter. Check SIMATIC Shell and station communication settings using the matching PCS 7 manuals; do not assume Windows IP configuration alone completes the PCS 7 project configuration.
Verify the plant-bus communication software and license for the actual adapter, number of automation systems and redundancy requirements. Siemens' V9.1 virtualization manual lists PCS 7 BCE V9.1 or SIMATIC NET SOFTNET-IE S7 LEAN V16 for stated configurations communicating with eight or fewer AS, and different license packages for other connection cases. These are release-specific examples, not a universal license rule.
Test from the engineering station and operator stations in a controlled maintenance window. Confirm that the terminal-bus functions use the terminal interface and that the required AS connections use the plant interface. Check station diagnostics and process communication; do not regard a configured IP address or a successful ping alone as proof that PCS 7 communication is correctly configured.

Method: Keep a Single Shared Network

A shared physical network is a separate architecture choice. The ticket's forum reply reports that PCS 7 can be configured with merged or separated buses, but the exact implications depend on the release and approved design. A shared network removes physical path separation, so it cannot provide the same containment of a terminal-network fault from the plant network as separate infrastructure. Use it only when the site architecture, availability assessment and applicable Siemens documentation support it; do not merge networks solely to avoid adding an adapter.

Expected Results

With two adapters mapped and configured correctly, plant-bus and terminal-bus traffic use their assigned interfaces and IP networks. In a virtual setup, this depends both on the guest adapter configuration and on the hypervisor's virtual network mapping. Siemens' virtualization examples distinguish terminal-bus and plant-bus adapters; they do not establish that every three-VM design can be changed identically without checking role-specific requirements.

Verification

Check the adapter name, MAC address, virtual-switch or physical-port mapping, IP address and subnet mask against the approved network plan on each ES, OS server and OS client. Confirm that the plant and terminal subnets do not overlap and that required routes are explicitly configured where communication crosses subnet boundaries. Then verify SIMATIC Shell visibility and the configured PCS 7 station paths, followed by the expected OS-to-AS communication and engineering connectivity. Review the relevant PCS 7 diagnostics and network-device status during the test. A ping test confirms only IP reachability between endpoints; it does not confirm the PCS 7 communication path, license, protocol binding or redundancy behavior.

Limitations and Operational Precautions

The ticket does not state the PCS 7 version, hypervisor, adapter models, number of AS connections or whether the OS server is redundant. Apply the cited V9.1 instructions only when that release is applicable; check the corresponding manuals and license overview for another release. The source's recommendation to use two subnets is consistent with a separated design, but exact addressing, gateways, firewall rules, adapter order and protocol bindings must come from the site design and release-specific Siemens documentation. Network reconfiguration can interrupt operator or engineering communication; prepare rollback settings and coordinate testing with operations. Do not change the live plant-bus connection or disable protocols without an approved maintenance procedure.

Engineer FAQ

Can both buses use TCP/IP? Siemens' PCS 7 V9.1 documentation describes TCP/IP on the plant bus as well as terminal-bus networking. The plant adapter can still require SIMATIC Industrial Ethernet (ISO) enabled as specified by the V9.1 Readme.

Must I use a Siemens CP? The cited virtualization guidance supports plant-bus communication through a virtual standard adapter using BCE for its specified configuration. Whether a conventional adapter is suitable and licensed depends on PCS 7 version and connection requirements.

Should the two adapters use different subnets? For the separated architecture described here, assign distinct, non-overlapping IP networks according to the approved network plan. The sample subnets are not a prescribed address plan.

Can I use two NICs in each VM? The V9.1 SP2 virtualization manual shows separate plant- and terminal-bus adapters for specified VM roles. Check the exact current virtualization guide and supported VM topology for each station type.

Does ping prove PCS 7 is working? No. Ping checks IP reachability only. Also verify adapter assignment, Siemens protocol settings, SIMATIC Shell/station configuration, licensing and actual OS-to-AS communication.

Technical References

Siemens, PCS 7 - PC Configuration (V9.1 SP1), Installation Manual, §5.7.8, “How to make settings for standard network adapters” (TCP/IP plant-bus adapter procedure): https://support.industry.siemens.com/cs/attachments/109805407/ps7pck_b.pdf
Siemens, PCS 7 Readme V9.1, §3.4.6.1, “Plant bus with TCP/IP protocol” (Windows and ISO protocol settings): https://support.industry.siemens.com/cs/attachments/109780270/pcs7-readme_en-US.pdf
Siemens, PCS 7 Virtualization V9.1 SP2, §4.3 and communication/license configuration chapters (VM adapter roles and plant-bus communication): https://support.industry.siemens.com/cs/attachments/109812895/109812895_Manual_PCS7V91SP2_Virtualization_en.pdf
Siemens, PCS 7 Virtualization V9.1 SP1, §§4.5.5–4.5.6 (BCE/standard adapter plant-bus communication and license applicability): https://support.industry.siemens.com/cs/attachments/109806611/109806611_Manual_PCS7V91SP1_Virtualization_en.pdf

Configure Separate PCS 7 Plant and Terminal Buses with TCP/IP