Siemens Enhanced Driver Randomly Disconnected

Ignition
1

Hi everyone,

I am facing a severe stability issue connecting a Siemens S7-1510SP to Ignition 8.3.3 using the Siemens S7-1500 (Symbolic) driver.

The Issue: The device connects successfully and reads tags, but experiences random disconnects.

  • Unlike the issue described in this thread, my disconnects do not seem triggered by adding specific tags.

  • The behavior is time-based but irregular: sometimes it stays connected for 5 minutes, sometimes 10 minutes, then drops.

Crucially, it does not auto-reconnect.

  • The connection does not change to "Bad" but It won’t update the data.

  • The only way to get data back is to go into the Gateway and manually "Refresh & Browse". Immediately after I do this manual step, the data returns instantly.

Troubleshooting Done:

  1. Firmware: My PLC is already on the latest firmware (V4.0.4).

  2. TIA Portal Security:

    • "Only allow secure PG/PC/HMI communication" is UNCHECKED.

    • "Permit access with PUT/GET..." is CHECKED.

  3. Ignition Settings:

    • Host: 192.168.10.10

    • Rack: 0, Slot: 1

    • Optimize Write: True

Do we have any solutions for this?

2 Likes
2

This happened to me also, I have opened a ticket minutes ago.

3

Sounds like this: Siemens Redundant CPU forcing Refresh Browse to update values - #4 by Cody_Morgan

It has been fixed for the 8.3.4 release. An updated module is available in the 8.3.5 nightly release stream as well.

6 Likes
4

You guys should remove that 8.3.3, this bug is huge.

5

For Siemens users. :man_shrugging:

3 Likes
6

You could say that for any bug :face_with_tongue:

A “critical” bug is only critical if it affects something you personally use

Even a security hole that let's anyone in to run malicious code is only critical if you have a means to access the system remotely :person_shrugging:

2 Likes
7

Siemens holds absolute market share in Europe. Ignition without reliable OPC is like having a car without wheels.

1 Like
8

Then go to Siemens and ask them to make a correct OPC UA server onboard the PLC or explaining the S7+ protocol…

2 Likes
9

I appreciate the feedback. You're right, this was a huge issue for the driver. I apologize for the inconvenience. It would have been nice if I caught this before it shipped, but it's too late to change that. Once we became aware of the issue, the fix was immediately prioritized.

Pulling the 8.3.3 release would mean pulling the fixes for a few dozen other bugs in other parts of Ignition. The best that I can do is get the fix for this issue out as soon as possible and work diligently to prevent bugs like this in the future.

Affected users can downgrade the module to 8.3.2 or upgrade to the 8.3.5 nightly. Once 8.3.4 is released, the fix for this issue will be available in a stable version.

Thanks again for the feedback. Even though you are catching a bit of heat on the forum, it is really valuable to have users tell us how severe a problem is for them. A majority of Ignition users will never know this bug exists. However, there are also many users that have a perspective similar to yours. I recognize that quickly releasing a fix for this issue does not erase the inconvenience and costs you have experienced.

6 Likes
10

Hi everyone, sorry for the delay in getting back to this as I’ve been busy tied up with the project. I wanted to share an update because I think I’ve found some interesting results.

Initially, I tested the project on a different laptop that has a built-in RJ45 port running the same Ignition 8.3.3 version, and it worked perfectly with no disconnections. This led me to suspect the hardware on my original laptop, specifically the USB-A to RJ45 converter I was using.

I swapped it for a USB-C to RJ45 adapter and the connection became stable, which seemed to confirm a hardware issue. However, I then decided to take the suggestion to upgrade to the 8.3.5 nightly build while switching back to the original "problem" USB-A adapter. Surprisingly, it now works perfectly without any drops.

I’m not entirely sure why the newer software version stabilized that specific hardware, but I wanted to share this experience in case it helps others facing similar irregular stability issues.

11

My guess is that if your hardware is still dropping the connection, the driver detects the error and reconnects quickly enough that you may not notice. If you enable debug logs for the siemens driver, you may seem some indication of this.

As a general update for everyone- the fix is available in 8.3.4 RC2 as well as 8.3.5 nightly.