First, a clarification. "EKB" is a German acronym loosely standing for Entwicklungskompakt-Baugruppe or, in practical terms, . Officially, Siemens distributes licenses via hardware dongles (like the Cm-PLUG or memory cards) and digital certificates managed through the Automation License Manager (ALM) .
The SIMATIC EKB (Electronic Key Book) Install program is a heuristic tool that mimics the logic of Siemens' proprietary licensing systems. It was originally developed to help engineers install license keys for software like , STEP 7 , and WinCC when original physical license disks were lost or when working in remote areas without internet access. The "2013 12 25" release specifically added support for newer software versions, such as Simatic Net v12 , which at the time used the newer Siemens Automation License Manager (ALM). Legal and Ethical Implications simatic ekb install 2013 12 25 zip new