Siemens SIMATIC 3964(R) CW communication protocol 

Supported device types and versions 
Communication line configuration
Line protocol parameters
Communication station configuration
I/O tag configuration
Literature
Changes and modifications
Document revisions

Supported device types and versions


The protocol is an implementation of the Control Web "SIMATIC 3964R" protocol and was created to facilitate the replacement of Control Web applications with D2000 technology.

On the link layer, this protocol implements the Siemens SIMATIC 3964R protocol and uses it to read from and write to the PLC. The protocol only supports database block (DB) addressing 0-255.

The protocol contains the following header defined by Control Web:

ByteNameDescription
1IdZone identifier ('D' = data block)
2DBNumber of zone (data block)
3-4DWWord address within a zone (lower byte, upper byte)
5CmdCommand ('R' - reading, 'W' - writing)
6-7CountNumber of read / written words (lower byte, upper byte)

The protocol supports reading data from control PLC automats of Siemens SIMATIC of the S5 and S7 series. PLC Simatic must be equipped with the serial communication point-to-point modules - for more details see the decription of Siemens SIMATIC 3964(R) protocol.

Communication line configuration


Line protocol parameters


A dialog window of communication line configuration - Protocol parameters tab.
They influence some optional protocol parameters.

The following line protocol parameters are defined:

ParameterMeaningUnit / sizeDefault value

Mode

A mode of communication:

  • Active - active communication (sending requests and receiving replies).
  • Passive - eavesdropping of Control Web communication with the PLC. This mode requires that only PLC responses are intercepted.
  • Passive (duplex) - eavesdropping of Control Web communication with the PLC. This mode requires that both Control Web requests and PLC responses are intercepted.

Note: Active communication is used when Control Web is replaced by D2000.
The eavesdropping is used during D2000 deployment and allows parallel operation with the Control Web system.

Active
Passive
Passive (duplex)
Active

Max Data Size

Maximum size (in bytes) of data read by a single requestl. Add to this size a 7-byte Control Web header to obtain full length of response (without duplicated DLE bytes) according to the SIMATIC 3964(R) standard.

4 až 249 B128 B

Retry Count (hex)

Maximum number of request retries in case of communication error.

-2

Retry Timeout

A delay before resending a request in case of communication error.

ms100 ms

Debug Values

Activates a debug info about the loaded values of I/O tags. Use this parameter only when communication must be debug because it highly uses CPU and slows down the communication.YES/NONO

Communication station configuration


  • Communication protocol: Siemens SIMATIC 3964(R) CW.
  • No address is specified, only a single Simatic PLC can be attached to one communication line.


Station protocol parameters

The Communication station dialog box - tab Protocol parameters.
Parameters defined in the input field have effect on some optional protocol parameters. The following station protocol parameters can be defined (the same as parameters of protocol Siemens SIMATIC 3964(R))::

Table 1

ParameterMeaningUnitDefault value
Wait Timeout
Delay between response readings till its finalization.ms50 ms
Max Wait Retry
Repetition count of response readings till its finalization.-600
3964 (without BCC)
Enable the 3964 protocol, i.e. version with no transmission security using the checksum. By default, the 3964R protocol with the BCC checksum is used.YES/NONO

I/O tag configuration


Possible I/O tag types: Ai, Ci, Di.

The I/O tag address is compatible with the I/O tag addressing in the  Siemens SIMATIC S7 ISO on TCP protocol with the following limitations:

  • only "DB" addresses can be used, i. e. only variables in data blocks are available.
  • the protocol implements a 1-byte address of the data block, i. e. it supports addressing of data blocks 0-255
  • all value types except STRING are available:
Identifier <type>Description
XBit (boolean). Specify a bit number 0 to 7 - e.g. DB9,X8.3
BByte (8 bits unsigned).
WWord (16 bits unsigned).
DDouble word (32 bits unsigned).
CHARCharacter (8 bits signed).
INTInteger (16 bits signed).
DINTDouble integer (32 bits signed).
BCDBCD-coded 2-byte number (0-9 999)
LBCDBCD-kódované 4-byte number (0-99 999 999)
REALFloating point number (32 bits according to IEEE754 standard).
LREALLong floating point number (64 bits according to IEEE754 standard).
DTDate and Time, 8 bytes in BCD format.
TIMETime (32 bits signed) in ms.
TODTime of day (32 bits unsigned) in ms.
  • address examples:
    DB3,REAL0
    DB3,W4
    DB3,B6

Literature


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Changes and modifications


-

Document revisions


  • Ver. 1.0 - January 16th, 2020 - document creation.
  • Ver. 1.1 - July 10, 2020 - Support for BCD and LBCD.
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