It is even more convenient to keep lean virtual machines with Windows XP. The novelties are not essential for old projects.
I could have stayed under Windows XP, of course. Then I discovered that the matter is not with the version of Step 7, but with the operation system - thus the old Step7 v5.5 lags under Windows 7 likewise. I tried Step7 v5.6 under Windows 7 - same problem. Thus, for example, block comparison took 20 seconds vs 3 seconds in the old version. It was especially obvious with demanding operations. I installed Step7 5.6 under Windows 10 and discovered that it lags significantly, with intensive load on HDD. Recent release of the new version Step7 v5.6 (Step 7 Professional 2017) with Windows 10 support and my switching to Linux have induced a couple of issues I want to describe here.
New Siemens PLCs S7-1200 and S7-1500, and TIA Portal software have already become quite mature products and they can be recommended for new projects now, but Step7 will be required for the support of old projects for a long time still.
