Siemens SIMATIC Virtualization as a Service

SIMATIC Virtualization as a Service supports maintenance and upgrades of PC-based distributed control systems. The service strategy draws on the opportunities offered by digitalization to virtualize the entire system. According to the vendor, this lets users address core requirements with maximum effectiveness and economic efficiency: supporting the best possible use of hardware, easy system expansions and/or updates, central administration and maintenance, and fast and professional support when the need arises – to ensure maximum availability.

The system platform consists of the HP ProLiant server hardware and a management console. The host server is available in different performance classes. Preinstalled hypervisor A virtualization layer that distributes the resources of the physical hardware to the virtual machines (VMs) is installed on the system platform. VMware vSphere is used as the virtualization software. VMware vCenter Server is available for the optimum management of multiple host systems.

Virtual machines are delivered on the preconfigured system platform. Microsoft Windows Server with an activated license is preinstalled on each virtuall machine. The virtual machines can include individually configurable, unlicensed installations of SIMATIC PCS 7 and SIMATIC WinCC software.