Hello everyone,

I’m trying to access both a Siemens PLC and HMI via a VPN tunnel (SonicWall NetExtender).
The PLC connection works perfectly — I can go online and even download remotely without any issues.

However, I cannot connect to the HMI at all.

• I can ping the HMI successfully.
• But TIA Portal cannot find any reachable devices, and I cannot “Go Online” with the HMI.
• The communication between PLC ↔ HMI on site is working normally.
• I can do the download onsite, without issue.

My setup:

• HMI: Comfort Panel TP1200, Version 17.0.0
  (6AV2 124-0MC01-0AX0)
• PLC: CPU 1515F-2 PN, FW v2.9
  (6ES7 515-2FM02-0AB0)
• TIA Portal: V18.0.3
• VPN: SonicWall NetExtender

Is there something additional in TIA Portal or the HMI network settings that needs to be configured for access over VPN?
The available settings in the Comfort Panel are quite limited, so I’m not sure what else I may be missing.

Appreciate any advice or experience with remote HMI connections via VPN.

ps. I used EWON modem for certain project too, the EWON tunnel is ok and i can download to HMI remotely without any issue

Hello,

Are you familiar with the following articles on communication between CPU and HMI?

Connecting older HMI to S7-1500/1200 with newer firmware

No connection to PLC after WinCC Panel Images V17 Update 6

Fix Certificate Error between HMI Unified Panel and SIMATIC S7-1500/S7-1200 or Software Controller

Best regards

Hi dsi-eng,

As far as I know, the NetExtender VPN server is integrated with SonicWall firewalls. Therefore, I would assume that a firewall rule is blocking the traffic. Perhaps a firewall administrator could check if the ports used by WinCC Panels are available.

However, going online with a panel is a rather useless task since you will not be able to obtain usable information. Are you having trouble downloading to the panel or connecting using Sm@rt Client?

Kind regards
Stefan

Hi Stefan,

Yes, my intention to go online is to confirm if I can access to the HMI remotely via the VPN tunnel without downloading to the HMI. The machine is in production now and I cannot do the download directly to verify the connection.

I am able to connect using smart client and ping the HMI, but i fail to download the program to HMI

Hi Tarwar,

Yes, I am familiar with this. The PLC and HMI communication is fine.

Attached image show the fail connection via TIA PORTAL