Good day.

There is a PCS7 v8.0 SP2 system already working with all single AS connected to a server pair. They only use normal onboard LAN card on ES and OS servers for plant bus (no CP1613).

Now we want to add their first redundant S7-410H to this system. I read many thread that for redundant S7-400H to communicate to ES and Server you need CP1613 and Redconnect license, but most discussion I see are old ones.

I want to confirm if this is still needed for PCS7 v8.0 SP2 system? Because I also seem to find a section in PCS v8.1 manual that appears to say plant bus can accommodate fault-tolerant S7400H without CP1613? But on the next paragraph it appears to say if using S7-410H CP1613 + redconnect is always needed..

I also find a thread in which someone said he managed to make it work in PCS7v8.0 SP1 (PCS7 with F/FH Systems:PCS 7 V8.0 Update 1 vs PCS 7 V8.0 SP1 - Siemens SiePortal).

Please clarify experts.

Thank you so much.

PCS7 v8.0 SP2 does not officially support redundant communication for S7-410H controllers using only onboard LAN cards. The manual for PCS7 v8.1 mentions that fault-tolerant S7-400H systems can work without CP1613, but this does not apply to S7-410H controllers. For S7-410H redundancy, CP1613 or CP1623 communication processors and the "SOFTNET-IE S7 REDCONNECT" license are mandatory.

While later versions of PCS7 (e.g., v8.1 and beyond) may have introduced configurations that allow fault-tolerant communication without CP1613, this is not applicable to PCS7 v8.0 SP2. Ensure that you procure the CP1613 cards and the required Red connect license for your system.