TIA Portal V21 is Siemens’ latest major release of the Totally Integrated Automation platform. This version focuses on faster engineering workflows, stronger OT/IT connectivity, improved runtime scalability, and modernized visualization—while keeping the integrated “one-toolchain” advantage that TIA Portal is known for.
Below is a structured walkthrough of the most important updates for PLC engineers, drive specialists, and HMI/SCADA developers.
SINAMICS Startdrive V21: Faster, Cleaner Drive Engineering
Native support for SINAMICS S220 multi-axis servos
Startdrive V21 adds full integration of SINAMICS S220 multi-axis servo systems directly as Startdrive objects. That means consistent device configuration, diagnostics, and commissioning without GSDML workarounds.
R/H redundancy support for high-availability systems
Drives including G220, S120, and S220 can now be engineered for S7-1500 R/H redundant PLCs with S2 redundancy. For OEMs building high-availability lines, this removes a common integration friction point.
Background download mode (big workflow win)
In V21, drive downloads no longer freeze the TIA Portal interface during drive restart. You can continue editing while downloads complete in the background—especially valuable when commissioning several drives in a row.
Better comparison, faster maintenance
- Compare up to five drive objects at once, edit parameters inside the compare view, and export results.
- Upgrade multiple drives’ offline firmware versions in one batch.
- Configure traces directly on drives, store results, and read them later for troubleshooting.
SINAMICS DCC now for G220/S220
Drive Control Chart expands to G220 and S220 with a more forgiving licensing model: up to 20 blocks free on these devices. It’s a strong step toward modular, reusable drive-level automation.
WinCC Unified V21: Next-Gen HMI Engineering and Edge Runtime
Unified for Industrial Edge (new runtime target)
V21 introduces “WinCC Unified for Industrial Edge” as a new RT device engineered directly in TIA Portal. You get the same HMI project structure, but with Industrial Edge deployment flexibility and open data flow to Edge apps.
Next-Generation Screen Editor
The new Unified Screen Editor moves engineering closer to a true WYSIWYG experience. Core boosts include:
- live previews inside screen windows and static faceplate containers,
- snap-to-line/grid, direct text editing, improved rotation handling,
- smoother zoom/pan workflows, multi-selection resize, and better line/polyline editing.
Result: less compile/download iteration, faster screen build, cleaner reuse.
Alarming improvements for operators
- New Alarm Indicator widget gives instant alarm state and counts.
- Integer-based discrete alarms broaden compatibility with third-party controllers.
- Multi-alarm text wrapping makes long alarm messages readable at a glance.
PaCo (Parameter Control) becomes more practical
PaCo gains decimal formatting, faceplate integration, better runtime usability, multilingual labels, Excel import/export, and delta downloads. For recipe or format-change workflows, this reduces downtime and improves standardization.
MQTT + OPC UA struct support
Unified PC Runtime can publish/subscribe tag data via MQTT with a Siemens add-in for quick configuration (TLS, broker options, payload types). OPC UA client support for structured tags also simplifies complex data integration.
“Pay for what you use” tag optimization
If tag optimization is enabled, only directly used tags count for licensing and runtime download. This can lower costs in large SCADA projects—but engineers must disable optimization when relying on indirect tag addressing.
S7-1200 G2 / S7-1500 / R/H: More Capacity and Better Web-First Diagnostics
More runtime meters (RTM)
On S7-1500 and ET200 CPUs, runtime meters jump from 16 to 64, enabling higher-resolution monitoring and better maintenance analysis.
Dynamic IP forwarding
Controllers can switch IP forwarding on/off from the user program at runtime without a PLC stop. That’s handy for secure, temporary maintenance tunnels.
Modern System Web Pages + Web API
HTML5-based system pages are standard in V21/FW 4.1, offering diagnostics, alarms/logging, file browsing, and WebAPI access over the PLC IP address (light/dark themes supported).
R/H redundant system upgrades (FW 4.1)
Redundant S7-1500 R/H systems benefit from:
- initial Configuration-in-RUN capability,
- larger PN IO and OPC UA limits,
- dynamic certificate renewal during operation,
- full Web API support and usability enhancements.
OPC UA capacity and control improvements
V21 lifts R/H OPC UA server limits and improves role-based access control and interface handling. S7-1200 G2 keeps full OPC UA compatibility with G1 hardware.
TIA Portal Openness & Add-Ins: CI/CD-Ready Automation Engineering
SIMATIC Source Documents (text-based blocks)
V21 expands SIMATIC Source Documents to serve as a text-exchange format for LAD, FBD, SCL, safety variants, mixed blocks, data blocks, and PLC types. This is a key enabler for continuous integration and Git-based engineering.
Wider Openness API coverage
New openness functions include:
- actual-value snapshots for DBs,
- richer block property read/write,
- multilingual comments, group/object rename, write-protection management,
- per-device PLC tag access, and NVT library workflows.
Improved Add-In management
Add-Ins are easier to organize and safer to trust:
- user vs system Add-Ins clearly separated,
- user Add-Ins can be added/removed without admin rights,
- certificate details shown before activation,
- deployment paths simplified.
SiVArc, MTP, and CFL: More Automated HMI Generation
SiVArc V21 brings Unified Edge RT generation support, rotation-aware layouts, YAML layout reuse, better expressions, and new openness APIs. CFL is now supported as an automation client for object generation, strengthening modular plant engineering workflows.
Final takeaways
TIA Portal V21 is less about a single headline feature and more about engineering acceleration across the stack:
- faster drive commissioning (background download, multi-compare, batch FW upgrade),
- modern HMI engineering for panels, PCs, and Industrial Edge,
- stronger redundant/high-availability and OT/IT diagnostics,
- and a real push toward CI/CD automation through Openness and Source Documents.