All of the questions on this page will help to determine the type of infrastructure that is required. Each question does not need to be answered but understanding the answer to more of them will enable the most economical and robust solutions. Understanding the environment that the infrastructure is being deployed in, as mentioned on the previous slide, the type of equipment that the connections are going to and how many connections there are, creates an understanding of the complexity of the network. Validating what architecture is being used, such as a structured cabling approach with a main ‘trunk’ line, and then connections to the various Zones of the plant, will allow a change from a more expensive/harsh type of a connection to a more home-run one, therefore reducing the cost and increasing the capability/flexibility of the network. The bandwidth required for today and into the future, and the distances required are important in choosing the main ‘trunk’ as well as the individual connection points. One of the last points is security as it continues to be a major concern in the industrial space. There are infrastructure choices that are more secure than others. These questions are all part of understanding that the solution that is required is more than just a bunch of piece parts connected together, but more of an approach on how to deliver the most robust system and an economical cost that will handle requirements today and into the future. Now to the decision of Fiber or Copper. Typically, fiber is used as the main backbone with the connections to the devices occurring in copper, however depending on the distance and bandwidth required, there are applications where the backbone is solid copper. Here is a list of answers to the discussion points mentioned above that would point to a copper solution: The distance required for the run is less than 100 meters, the connections are going to end devices and are more a point to point solution, the bandwidth is well within the capability of copper cabling, electrical noise would typically point to fiber, however if going to an end device this may prove to be challenging so if fiber is not an option make sure the proper copper is chosen and that the proper grounding is in place, there are going to be field connections, along with future moves, adds and changes, and PoE is a requirement. This is not an exact science in choosing copper vs fiber, but the above are guides that will lead down one path or the other.