Build a reliable, easy-to-use business network at an affordable price
In today's hyperconnected world, reliable access to network resources is critical to all businesses. However,
you also need to invest wisely to stay competitive, knowing how to separate the essential from the extraneous
and get the most value for your dollar. While building a solid foundation for your business network infrastructure
is essential, it doesn’t mean you need the most advanced feature set on the market.
For businesses requiring high performance, advanced security, and rich manageability from the network, fully
managed switches are an excellent choice. However, they also typically come with high price tags. Smart
switches provide the right level of network features and capabilities for growing businesses at an affordable
price, so you’ll have more dollars to put toward growing your business.
With Cisco® Business 250 Series Smart Switches (Figure 1), you can achieve enterprise-grade network
performance and security without paying for advanced network features that you will not use. When you need a
reliable solution to share online resources and connect computers, phones, and wireless access points, Cisco
Business 250 Series Smart Switches provide the ideal solution at an affordable pricing point.
Figure 1.
Cisco Business 250 Series Smart Switches
The Cisco Business 250 Series is the next generation of affordable smart switches that combine powerful
network performance and reliability with a complete suite of the network features you need for a solid business
network. These powerful Gigabit Ethernet switches, with Gigabit or 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks, provide multiple
management options, sophisticated security capabilities, and fine-tuned Quality of Service (QoS) and Layer 3
static routing features far beyond those of an unmanaged or consumer-grade switch, at a lower cost than for
fully managed switches. And with an easy-to-use web user interface and Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE+)
capability, you can deploy and configure a complete business network in minutes.
Whether you need basic, high-speed connectivity for your computers and servers or a comprehensive voice,
data, and wireless technology solution, Cisco Business 250 Series switches can meet your business needs.
Possible deployment scenarios include:
●
Small office networking: The versatility and affordability of the Cisco Business 250 Series family of
switches provide an ideal enterprise-class networking foundation for small businesses with limited IT
support and budget.
●
High-speed desktop connectivity: Cisco Business 250 Series switches can quickly and securely
connect employees working in small offices with one another and with all of the printers, servers, and
other networking devices. High performance and reliable connectivity help speed up file transfers and
data processing, improve network uptime, and keep your employees productive.
●
Flexible wireless connectivity: Cisco Business 250 Series switches work with Cisco and third-party
wireless solutions to extend the reach of your network. With security features, Power over Ethernet
(PoE), Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN), and QoS, these switches are the perfect foundation to add
enterprise-grade wireless solutions to a network. The capability of up to 30W of power per port provided
through the Ethernet cable means you can easily deploy innovative 802.11ac wireless technology to
maximize workforce productivity.
●
Unified communications: The Cisco Business 250 Series provides QoS features to enable you to
prioritize delay-sensitive traffic in your network and let you converge all of your communications
solutions such as IP telephony and video surveillance onto a single Ethernet network. Cisco offers a
complete portfolio of IP telephony and other unified communications products designed for small
businesses, and Cisco 250 Series switches have been rigorously tested to help ensure easy integration
and full compatibility with these and other vendor products.
Features and benefits
Cisco Business 250 Series Smart Switches provide all of the features you need to create a basic enterpriseclass network at an affordable price. These features include:
●
Easy configuration and management: Cisco Business 250 Series switches are designed to be easy to
deploy and use by small businesses or the partners that serve them:
◦ Cisco Business Dashboard is designed to manage Cisco Business switches, routers, and wireless
access points. It lets you easily customize the interface and widgets to proactively manage your
network. Cisco Business 250 Series switches support embedded probe for Cisco Business
Dashboard, eliminating the need to set up a separate hardware or virtual machine on site. For more
information, visit https://www.cisco.com/go/cbd.
◦ The redesigned modern web user interfaces reduce the time required to deploy, troubleshoot, and
manage the network. Configuration wizards simplify the most common configuration tasks and
provide the ultimate tool for anyone to set up and manage the network.
Reliability and performance: Cisco Business 250 Series switches have been tested to deliver the high
performance and reliability you would expect from a Cisco switch and help you prevent costly downtime.
The switches speed file transfer times, improve slow and sluggish networks, keep your vital business
applications available, and help your employees respond more quickly to customers and each other.
With a network based on Cisco Business 250 Series switches, you can address all of your business
communications and connectivity needs and reduce the total cost of ownership of your technology
infrastructure. Cisco Business 250 Series switches also support 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks on select
models, so you can build a high-performance and future-ready network to support your thriving
business.
●
Layer 3 static routing: This capability allows you to segment your network into separate workgroups and
communicate across VLANs without degrading application performance. As a result, you can manage
internal routing with your switches and dedicate your router to external traffic and security, helping your
network run more efficiently.
●
Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE+): Cisco Business 250 Series switches are available with PoE+ on
Gigabit Ethernet models. This capability enables the deployment of IP telephony, wireless, video
surveillance, and other solutions with just a single network cable, thereby eliminating the need for
separate power supplies or cabling. PoE+ provides up to 30W of power per port, ideal for deployments
of 802.11ac wireless access points, Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) IP cameras, videophones, and thin client
devices, delivering more flexibility and investment protection.
●
Network security: Cisco Business 250 Series switches provide the security and network management
features you need to maintain a high level of security for your business, keep unauthorized users off the
network, and protect your business data. The switches include integrated network security to reduce the
risk of a security breach, with IEEE 802.1X port security to control access to your network, Denial-ofService (DoS) attack prevention to increase network uptime during an attack, and extensive Access
Control Lists (ACLs) to protect sensitive portions of the network from unauthorized users and guard
against network attacks.
●
IPv6 support: As the IP network addressing scheme evolves to accommodate more devices, you can
have peace of mind that your network is ready. Cisco Business 250 Series switches provide native
support for IPv6 alongside traditional IPv4. With USGv6 and IPv6 Gold Logo certifications, these switches
will enable you to take full advantage of IPv6-enabled applications in the future, without having to
upgrade your network equipment.
●
IP telephony support: Cisco Business 250 Series switches include QoS features that prioritize delaysensitive services such as voice and video, simplify unified communications deployments, and help
ensure consistent network performance for all services.
●
Networkwide automatic voice deployment: Using a combination of Cisco Discovery Protocol, Layer
Link Discovery Protocol - Media Endpoint Discovery (LLDP-MED), Auto Smartports, and Voice Services
Discovery Protocol (VSDP, a unique, patented Cisco protocol), customers can deploy an end-to-end
voice network dynamically. The switches in the network automatically converge into a single voice VLAN
and set of QoS parameters and then propagate them out to the phones on the ports where they are
discovered. For example, automated voice VLAN capabilities let you plug any IP phone (including thirdparty phones) into your IP telephony network and receive an immediate dial tone. The switch
automatically configures the device with the right VLAN and QoS parameters to prioritize voice traffic.
Capacity in millions of
packets per second (mpps)
(64-byte packets)
Switching capacity in
gigabits per second (Gbps)
CBS250-8T-E-2G
14.88
20.0
CBS250-8PP-E-2G
14.88
20.0
CBS250-8P-E-2G
14.88
20.0
CBS250-8FP-E-2G
14.88
20.0
CBS250-16T-2G
26.78
36.0
CBS250-16P-2G
26.78
36.0
CBS250-24T-4G
41.66
56.0
CBS250-24PP-4G
41.66
56.0
CBS250-24P-4G
41.66
56.0
●
Flexible and compact design: The sleek and compact design provide additional deployment flexibility,
including outside wiring closet installation such as retail stores, open plan offices, and classrooms
without disturbing the environment.
●
An energy-efficient solution: Cisco Business 250 Series switches are designed to be energy efficient
and eco-friendly without compromising performance. They help conserve energy by optimizing power
use, which helps protect the environment and lowers your energy costs. Power-saving features include:
◦ Support for the Energy Efficient Ethernet (IEEE 802.3az) standard, which reduces energy consumption
by monitoring the amount of traffic on an active link and putting the link into a sleep state during quiet
periods
◦ Automatic power shutoff on ports when a link is down
◦ Embedded intelligence to adjust power based on cable length
◦ Fan-less design in most models, which reduces power consumption, increases reliability, and
provides quieter operation
●
Peace of mind and investment protection: Cisco Business 250 Series switches offer the reliable
performance, investment protection, and peace of mind you expect from a Cisco switch. Complementary
one-year access to our Small Business Support Center for ongoing support. Limited lifetime warranty
with return to factory replacement keeps your business running smoothly
Fast convergence using 802.1w (Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol [RSTP]), enabled by default
Multiple spanning tree instances using 802.1s (MSTP); 8 instances are supported
Per-VLAN Spanning Tree Plus (PVST+); 126 instances are supported
Rapid PVST+ (RPVST+); 126 instances are supported
Port grouping/link
aggregation
Support for IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP)
● Up to 4 groups
● Up to 8 ports per group with 16 candidate ports for each (dynamic) 802.3ad Link Aggregation Group
(LAG)
VLAN
Support for up to 255 active VLANs simultaneously
Port-based and 802.1Q tag-based VLANs
Management VLAN
Guest VLAN
Voice VLAN
Voice traffic is automatically assigned to a voice-specific VLAN and treated with appropriate
levels of QoS. Auto voice capabilities deliver networkwide zero-touch deployment of voice
endpoints and call control devices
Protocols for automatically propagating and configuring VLANs in a bridged domain
IGMP (versions 1, 2, and 3)
snooping
Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) limits bandwidth-intensive multicast traffic to
only the requesters; supports 255 multicast groups (source-specific multicasting is also
supported)
IGMP querier
Used to support a Layer 2 multicast domain of snooping switches in the absence of a
multicast router
Provides protection against loops by transmitting loop protocol packets out of ports on
which loop protection has been enabled. It operates independently of STP.
Layer 3 routing
IPv4 routing
Wire-speed routing of IPv4 packets
Up to 32 static routes and up to 16 IP interfaces
IPv6 routing
Wire-speed routing of IPv6 packets
Layer 3 interface
Configuration of Layer 3 interface on physical port, LAG, VLAN interface, or loopback
interface
Classless Interdomain
Routing (CIDR)
Support for CIDR
Dynamic Host
Configuration Protocol
(DHCP) relay at Layer 3
Relay of DHCP traffic across IP domains
User Datagram Protocol
(UDP) relay
Relay of broadcast information across Layer 3 domains for application discovery or relaying
of Bootstrap Protocol (BootP)/DHCP packets
Security
Secure Sockets Layer
(SSL)
SSL encrypts all HTTPS traffic, allowing secure access to the browser-based management
GUI in the switch
Secure Shell (SSH)
Protocol
SSH is a secure replacement for Telnet traffic. Secure Copy (SCP) also uses SSH. SSH v1
and v2 are supported.
IEEE 802.1X (authenticator
role)
Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) authentication, guest VLAN,
single/multiple host mode, and single/multiple sessions
STP loopback guard
Provides additional protection against Layer 2 forwarding loops (STP loops)
Secure Core Technology
(SCT)
Ensures that the switch will receive and process management and protocol traffic no matter
how much traffic is received
Secure Sensitive Data
(SSD)
A mechanism to manage sensitive data (such as passwords, keys, and so on) securely on
the switch, populating this data to other devices, and secure autoconfig. Access to view the
sensitive data as plain text or encrypted is provided according to the user-configured access
level and the access method of the user
Trustworthy systems
Trustworthy systems provide a highly secure foundation for Cisco products
Run-time defenses (Executable Space Protection [X-Space], Address Space Layout
Randomization [ASLR], Built-In Object Size Checking [BOSC])
Port security
Ability to lock source MAC addresses to ports and limit the number of learned MAC
addresses
RADIUS
Supports RADIUS authentication for management access. Switch functions as a client.
Drop or rate limit based on source and destination MAC, VLAN ID or IPv4 or IPv6 address,
IPv6 flow label, protocol, port, Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP)/IP precedence,
TCP/UDP source and destination ports, 802.1p priority, Ethernet type, Internet Control
Message Protocol (ICMP) packets, IGMP packets, TCP flag; ACL can be applied on both
ingress and egress sides
Time-based ACLs supported
Quality of service
Priority levels
8 hardware queues
Scheduling
Strict priority and Weighted Round-Robin (WRR) queue assignment based on DSCP and
class of service (802.1p/CoS)
Class of service
Port based; 802.1p VLAN priority based; IPv4/v6 IP precedence/Type of Service
(ToS)/DSCP based; Differentiated Services (DiffServ); classification and re-marking ACLs,
trusted QoS
Rate limiting
Ingress policer; egress shaping and rate control; per VLAN, per port, and flow based
Congestion avoidance
A TCP congestion avoidance algorithm is required to reduce and prevent global TCP loss
synchronization
Standards
Standards
IEEE 802.3 10BASE-T Ethernet, IEEE 802.3u 100BASE-TX Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.3ab
1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation Control Protocol, IEEE 802.3z
Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.3x Flow Control, IEEE 802.3 ad LACP, IEEE 802.1D (STP), IEEE
Built-in switch configuration utility for easy browser-based device configuration
(HTTP/HTTPS). Supports configuration, wizards, system dashboard, system maintenance,
and monitoring
Basic and advanced mode for maximum operational efficiency
SNMP
SNMP versions 1, 2c, and 3 with support for traps, and SNMP v3 User-based Security Model
(USM)
Embedded RMON software agent supports 4 RMON groups (history, statistics, alarms, and
events) for enhanced traffic management, monitoring, and analysis
IPv4 and IPv6 dual stack
Coexistence of both protocol stacks to ease migration
Firmware upgrade
Web browser upgrade (HTTP/HTTPS) and TFTP and upgrade over SCP running over SSH
Dual images for resilient firmware upgrades
Port mirroring
Traffic on a port can be mirrored to another port for analysis with a network analyzer or
RMON probe. Up to 4 source ports can be mirrored to one destination port
VLAN mirroring
Traffic from a VLAN can be mirrored to a port for analysis with a network analyzer or RMON
probe. Up to 4 source VLANs can be mirrored to one destination port
DHCP options facilitate tighter control from a central point (DHCP server), to obtain IP
address, autoconfiguration (with configuration file download), DHCP Relay, and host name
Secure Copy (SCP)
Securely transfers files to and from the switch
Autoconfiguration with
SCP file download
Enables mass deployment with protection of sensitive data
Text-editable configs
Config files can be edited with a text editor and downloaded to another switch, facilitating
easier mass deployment
Smartports
Simplified configuration of QoS and security capabilities
Auto Smartports
Automatically applies the intelligence delivered through the Smartports roles to the port
based on the devices discovered over Cisco Discovery Protocol or LLDP-MED. This
facilitates zero-touch deployments.
Text view Command-Line
Interface (CLI)
Scriptable CLI. A full CLI as well as a menu-based CLI is supported. User privilege levels 1,
7, and 15 are supported for the CLI.
Cloud services
Support for Cisco Business Dashboard and Cisco Active Advisor
Embedded Probe for Cisco
Business Dashboard
Support for embedded probe for Cisco Business Dashboard running on the switch.
Eliminates the need to set up a separate hardware or virtual machine for the Cisco Business
Dashboard Probe on site.
The Cisco Network Plug and Play solution provides a simple, secure, unified, and integrated
offering to ease new branch or campus device rollouts or for provisioning updates to an
existing network. The solution provides a unified approach to provision Cisco routers,
switches, and wireless devices with a near-zero-touch deployment experience.
Supports Cisco PnP Connect
Localization
Localization of GUI and documentation into multiple languages
Login banner
Configurable multiple banners for web as well as CLI
Other management
Traceroute; single IP management; HTTP/HTTPS; RADIUS; port mirroring; TFTP upgrade;
DHCP client; Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP); cable diagnostics; Ping; syslog; Telnet
client (SSH secure support); automatic time settings from Management Station
Green (power efficiency)
Energy detect
Automatically turns power off on RJ-45 port when detecting link down. Active mode is
resumed without loss of any packets when the switch detects the link is up
Cable length detection
Adjusts the signal strength based on the cable length. Reduces the power consumption for
shorter cables
EEE compliant (802.3az)
Supports IEEE 802.3az on all copper Gigabit Ethernet ports
Disable port LEDs
LEDs can be manually turned off to save on energy
Time-based port operation
Link up or down based on user-defined schedule (when the port is administratively up)
Time-based PoE
PoE power can be on or off based on user-defined schedule to save energy
General
Jumbo frames
Frame sizes up to 9K bytes. The default MTU is 2K bytes
MAC table
8K addresses
Discovery
Bonjour
The switch advertises itself using the Bonjour protocol
Link Layer Discovery
Protocol (LLDP) (802.1ab)
with LLDP-MED extensions
Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) allows the switch to advertise its identification,
configuration, and capabilities to neighboring devices that store the data in a MIB. LLDPMED is an enhancement to LLDP that adds the extensions needed for IP phones
Cisco Discovery Protocol
The switch advertises itself using the Cisco Discovery Protocol. It also learns the connected
device and its characteristics using Cisco Discovery Protocol
802.3at PoE+ and 802.3af
PoE delivered over any of
the RJ-45 ports within the
listed power budgets
The following switches support 802.3at PoE+, 802.3af, and Cisco prestandard (legacy) PoE.
Maximum power of 30.0W to any 10/100 or Gigabit Ethernet port, until the PoE budget for
the switch is reached. The total power available for PoE per switch is as follows:
● 24 10/100/1000 PoE+ ports with 100W power budget
● 4 Gigabit SFP
CBS250-24P-4G
CBS250-24P-4G-xx
● 24 10/100/1000 PoE+ ports with 195W power budget
● 4 Gigabit SFP
CBS250-24FP-4G
CBS250-24FP-4G-xx
● 24 10/100/1000 PoE+ ports with 370W power budget
● 4 Gigabit SFP
CBS250-48T-4G
CBS250-48T-4G-xx
● 48 10/100/1000 ports
● 4 Gigabit SFP
CBS250-48PP-4G
CBS250-48PP-4G-xx
● 48 10/100/1000 PoE+ ports with 195W power budget
● 4 Gigabit SFP
CBS250-48P-4G
CBS250-48P-4G-xx
● 48 10/100/1000 PoE+ ports with 370W power budget
● 4 Gigabit SFP
Gigabit Ethernet with 10G Uplinks
CBS250-24T-4X
CBS250-24T-4X-xx
● 24 10/100/1000 ports
● 4 10 Gigabit SFP+
CBS250-24P-4X
CBS250-24P-4X-xx
● 24 10/100/1000 PoE+ ports with 195W power budget
● 4 10 Gigabit SFP+
CBS250-24FP-4X
CBS250-24FP-4X-xx
● 24 10/100/1000 PoE+ ports with 370W power budget
● 4 10 Gigabit SFP+
CBS250-48T-4X
CBS250-48T-4X-xx
● 48 10/100/1000 ports
● 4 10 Gigabit SFP+
CBS250-48P-4X
CBS250-48P-4X-xx
● 48 10/100/1000 PoE+ ports with 370W power budget
● 4 10 Gigabit SFP+
Suffix
Country/region
-NA
USA, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and rest of Latin America
-BR
Brazil
-AR
Argentina
-EU
European Economic Area, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Egypt,
South Africa, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Korea
-UK
United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia
-AU
Australia, New Zealand
Each combo port has one 10/100/1000 copper Ethernet port and one SFP Gigabit Ethernet slot, with one port active at a time.
The -xx in the product order ID number is a country/region specific suffix. For example, the complete PID of CBS250-24T-4G for the
United States is CBS250-24T-4G-NA. Please refer to the following table for the suffix to use for your country/region.
Table 3.Country/region suffix for product order ID number
Information on product material content laws and regulations
Materials
Information on electronic waste laws and regulations, including products, batteries, and packaging
WEEE compliance
The products may also be available in countries or regions not listed above. Not all product models are offered in all countries/regions. For
Korea, either the -EU or -KR suffix will be used, depending on product models. Please consult with your local Cisco sales representative or
Cisco partner for more details.
A powerful foundation for the basic business network
As you strive to make your business more competitive and efficient, every dollar counts. Cisco Business 250
Series Smart Switches give you just the right the features, performance, and reliability you need, without
making you pay for advanced features you don’t. With Cisco Business 250 Series switches, you can rest
assured that your business applications and communications tools are resting on a strong technology
foundation, so you can focus on achieving your business goals.
Cisco environmental sustainability
Information about Cisco’s environmental sustainability policies and initiatives for our products, solutions,
operations, and extended operations or supply chain is provided in the “Environment Sustainability” section of
Cisco’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report.
Reference links to information about key environmental sustainability topics (mentioned in the “Environment
Sustainability” section of the CSR Report) are provided in the following table:
Cisco makes the packaging data available for informational purposes only. It may not reflect the most current
legal developments, and Cisco does not represent, warrant, or guarantee that it is complete, accurate, or up to
date. This information is subject to change without notice.
Cisco Capital
Flexible payment solutions to help you achieve your objectives
Cisco Capital makes it easier to get the right technology to achieve your objectives, enable business
transformation and help you stay competitive. We can help you reduce the total cost of ownership, conserve
capital, and accelerate growth. In more than 100 countries, our flexible payment solutions can help you
acquire hardware, software, services and complementary third-party equipment in easy, predictable payments.