Cisco Catalyst 2960-X

The Cisco Catalyst 2960-X is a line of tower switches with support for Gigabit Ethernet access technology. The Cisco Catalyst 2960-X models provide second layer (L2 layer) switching and are equipped with one main power supply with the ability to install an additional backup power source. These switches feature 48 Gigabit Ethernet ports, support Power Over Ethernet / Power over Ethernet Plus(PoE / PoE+), and four Gigabit Ethernet Small Form-Factor Pluggable(SFP) or two 10 Gigabit Ethernet Small Form-Factor Pluggable Plus(SFP+) channels. The switches operate with two 600 Mhz core processors. FlexStack-Plus technology allows you to build a stack of 8 switches and provides 80 GB/s throughput. To provide visualization and control of the traffic of various applications on the network, Cisco added the NetFlow Lite feature, which allows engineers to monitor and manage data streams across all network segments.

Energy efficiency and great functionality

Leveraging technologies such as Cisco EnergyWise and Energy Efficient Ethernet, the Catalyst 2960 X-Series Switches deliver best-in-class energy efficiency, and the Switch Hibernation Mode mechanism achieves dramatic reductions in power consumption with up to 80% power savings in some cases.

Thesoftware (feature set) for Cisco Catalyst 2960-X switches is available in LAN Base and Lan Lite Image. LAN Base has enhanced functionality, including improved security (ACLs), DHCP Snooping, and additional access control features-Web authentication and 802.1 x extensions, additional QoS installation capabilities, support for redundant RPS power, and a large number of SFP ports. Flex Links and link state tracking features, increased number of supported VLANs (up to 256), Host IPv6, MLD Snooping, LLDP-MED, RSPAN, MVR, DHCP 82 and IP SLA (responder) option and so on. The LAN Lite image supports basic Layer 2 features and is primarily designed for use in small organizations, while LAN Base fully supports Layer 2 features and is designed for use in medium to large organizations. Cisco Catalyst 2960-XR switches are available with the IP Lite feature set. The IP Lite feature set already supports Layer 3 (i.e., has routing features) and is also targeted for medium and large organizations.

Key Features

• 48 Gigabit Ethernet ports with line-rate performance
• 2 fixed 10 Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ links
• PoE+ support with up to 740W power budget and Perpetual PoE
• Cisco IOS LAN Base or LAN Lite1 and Cisco IOS IP Lite
• Device management via web interface, Bluetooth access, Command Line Interface (CLI), Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and RJ-45 or USB console access
• Network management with Cisco Prime® , Cisco Network Plug and Play and Cisco DNA Center
• Stacking with FlexStack-Plus and FlexStack-Extended
• Layer 3 features with routed access (Open Shortest Path First [OSPF]), static routing and Routing Information Protocol (RIP)
• Visibility with domain name system as authoritative source (DNS-AS) and full (flexible) NetFlow
• Security with 802.1 X, Serial Port Analyzer (SPAN) and Bridge Protocol Data Unit (BPDU) Guards
• Reliability with higher Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) and extended Limited Lifetime Warranty (E-LLW)
• Ruggedness with optional dual field power supplies2