# Function Block The current function block is developed only for the following PLC. | Article | Description | Software | | -------------- | --------------------------------- | ----------------- | | SIEMENS S71500 | S7CPU series (cycle time < 20 ms) | TIA Portal >= V16 | The SIEMENS function block provided by ifm is intended to provide a interface between the PLC and the PLC application on the VPU. There are four functions included in the function block! - Establishing a TCP connection to the PLC application of the VPU, - Monitoring the connection to the PLC application, - Receiving the ODS and PDS result data and displaying the outputs, - Sending commands to configure ODS or to trigger PDS. :::{important} This is a beta release and will be followed by an official release soon. In case of any issues, please contact ifm support team at support.efector.object-ident@ifm.com ::: For more details of function block implementation and configuration see the {download}`function block PDF `.