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Testing in Simulation Mode

Use simulation mode for testing and debugging your program when you do not have a physical target device. In this mode, the application is started on a simulated device.

The command is available only when you are logged out.

Requirement: Your program contains no errors (compiler error messages or compile errors) and you are not logged in.

  1. Activate simulation mode.

    • Click “Online  Simulation”.

    • In the device tree, select the PLC and in the context menu click “Simulation”.

    The name of the PLC in the device tree is displayed in italics. In the status line, "Simulation" is highlighted in red. The “Simulation” option is selected in the menu bar.

  2. Click “Online  Login”.

  3. When logging in with the active application, you will be prompted whether the application "Sim.<device name>.<application name>" should be created and loaded. Click “Yes” to confirm.

    The application is logged onto the PLC.

  4. Now you can check and correct the program flow. The corresponding commands are available in the “Debug” menu for this.

  5. Logout from the PLC and end the simulation mode.

Limitations

  • The focus of the simulation mode is testing and debugging your program of the PLC. That means the functionality of the simulated PLC is limited. Keep in mind that some POUs have no function. They are not creating any compile or download errors, they will simple not work.

  • Without an extra available “Virtual Commissioning” license the “Online mode” of the simulated PLC is limited to 2 hours. After 2 hours starting from the “Login”, the “Online mode” is automatically terminated and the PLC is logged out.

  • It is not possible to create a “Boot Application” in the simulated PLC. Every “Login” starts with an empty simulated PLC and a download of the application is required.

  • When logging in to a simulated PLC the first time a “Windows Security Alert” is displayed. Depending on the application, e.g. if any network communication is implemented, it might be necessary to allow the “Virtual AC500” to communicate on one or multiple network types.