PCS 7 Backup Comparison Made Simple — Here’s How!

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The VXM (Version Cross Manager) in Siemens PCS 7 is a powerful tool for comparing different automation projects. It supports three models:
– COMOS
– PCS 7
– HW (Hardware)

Steps to Compare Two Projects in PCS 7

  1. Open Version Cross Manager (Located in the Siemens Automation folder).

2. Go to File → Open/Compare.

  1. Select the two projects (Project-A & Project-B) for comparison.
  2. If using the HW model, choose Component View.
  3. Click the red triangle at the bottom to display only differences.

For CFC/SFC Differences

  • Select Plant View.
  • Choose PCS 7 as the model during project selection.

You Should Know: Essential Siemens PCS 7 & Industrial Automation Commands

1. Siemens SIMATIC Manager Commands

 Open SIMATIC Manager 
simatic.exe

Compile a project 
STEP7 -compile "ProjectPath"

Backup a project 
STEP7 -archive "ProjectPath" -destination "BackupPath"

2. Windows CMD & PowerShell Automation Scripts

 Check Siemens services running 
Get-Service | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like "Siemens"}

Force restart PCS 7 services 
Restart-Service -Name "S7DOSService" -Force
  1. Linux-Based Industrial Automation (Using OpenPLC & CODESYS)
    Install CODESYS runtime on Linux 
sudo apt-get update 
sudo apt-get install codesys

Start CODESYS service 
sudo systemctl start codesys-control

  2. Comparing Files in Linux (Alternative to VXM)

    Compare two directories 
diff -rq /path/to/ProjectA /path/to/ProjectB

Generate a detailed difference report 
vimdiff file1.cfc file2.cfc

5. Automating Backups with Cron (Linux)

 Daily backup script 
0 2    tar -czvf /backups/pcs7_$(date +\%Y\%m\%d).tar.gz /opt/siemens/projects

What Undercode Say

Industrial automation relies heavily on version control, backups, and comparisons. While Siemens VXM is proprietary, Linux-based tools (diff, rsync, git) offer open alternatives. For cybersecurity in industrial systems, always:
– Encrypt backups (gpg -c backup.tar.gz).
– Monitor unauthorized changes (inotifywait -m /opt/siemens).
– Use SSH for secure transfers (scp backup.tar.gz user@remote:/backups).

For PCS 7 administrators, mastering both Siemens tools and Linux automation ensures reliability and security.

Expected Output:

A detailed comparison report highlighting differences between two PCS 7 projects, along with actionable commands for backup, automation, and security.

🔗 Useful Links:

References:

Reported By: Nagamoorthy G – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅

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