Cisco Catalyst 2960-24TC, Catalyst 2960G-48TC, Catalyst 2960-48PST, Catalyst 2960G, Catalyst 2960S-48FPD Datasheet

Data Sheet

Cisco Catalyst 2960 Series Switches with LAN Base
Software

Cisco® Catalyst® 2960 Series Switches with LAN Base software are a family of fixed­configuration, standalone intelligent Ethernet devices with Power Over Ethernet (PoE) or
non-PoE configurations that provide desktop Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet
connectivity, enabling enhanced LAN services for entry-level enterprise, midmarket, and
branch office networks (See Figure 1). The Cisco Catalyst 2960 LAN Base Series offers
integrated security, including Network Admission Control (NAC), advanced quality of
service (QoS), and resiliency to deliver intelligent services for the network edge.

The Cisco Catalyst 2960 LAN Base Series offers:

●

PoE configurations up to 48 ports

●

Intelligent features at the network edge, such as sophisticated access control lists (ACLs)
and enhanced security

●

Networked Sustainability: Cisco EnergyWise to measure, report and reduce energy usage
across the entire organization

●

Dual-purpose uplinks for Gigabit Ethernet uplink flexibility, allowing use of either a copper
or a fiber uplink; each dual-purpose uplink port has one 10/100/1000 Ethernet port and one
Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP)-based Gigabit Ethernet port, with one port active at a
time

●

Network control and bandwidth optimization using advanced QoS, granular rate limiting,
ACLs, and multicast services

●

Network security through a wide range of authentication methods, data encryption
technologies, and NAC based on users, ports, and MAC addresses

●

Easy network configuration, upgrades, and troubleshooting using Cisco Network Assistant
software

●

Autoconfiguration for specialized applications using Auto Smartports

●

Limited lifetime hardware warranty

●

Software updates at no additional charge

Figure 1. Cisco Catalyst 2960 Series Switches

© 2009 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 1 of 21

Data Sheet

Configurations

The Cisco Catalyst 2960 LAN Base Series includes the following switches (Table 1):

Table 1. Switch Configurations of Cisco Catalyst 2960 LAN Base Switches

Feature Description

Cisco Catalyst 2960PD-8TT-L 8 Ethernet 10/100 ports and 1 10/100/1000 PoE input port; compact size with no fan
Cisco Catalyst 2960-8TC-L 8 Ethernet 10/100 ports and 1 dual-purpose uplink port (10/100/1000 or SFP); compact size

Cisco Catalyst 2960-24TT-L 24 Ethernet 10/100 ports and 2 fixed Ethernet 10/100/1000 uplink ports
Cisco Catalyst 2960-48TT-L 48 Ethernet 10/100 ports and 2 fixed Ethernet 10/100/1000 uplink ports
Cisco Catalyst 2960-24LT-L 24 Ethernet 10/100 ports (PoE supported on 8 ports) and 2 fixed Ethernet 10/100/1000

Cisco Catalyst 2960-24PC-L 24 Ethernet 10/100 PoE ports and 2 dual-purpose uplink ports
Cisco Catalyst 2960-48PST-L 48 Ethernet 10/100 PoE ports with 2 fixed Ethernet 10/100/1000 uplinks and 2 SFP uplinks

Cisco Catalyst 2960-24TC-L 24 Ethernet 10/100 ports and 2 dual-purpose uplink ports
Cisco Catalyst 2960-48TC-L 48 Ethernet 10/100 ports and 2 dual-purpose uplink ports
Cisco Catalyst 2960G-8TC-L 8 Ethernet 10/100/1000 ports, 1 of which is dual-purpose; compact size with no fan
Cisco Catalyst 2960G-24TC-L 24 Ethernet 10/100/1000 ports, 4 of which are dual-purpose
Cisco Catalyst 2960G-48-TC-L 48 Ethernet 10/100/1000 ports, 4 of which are dual-purpose

with no fan

uplink ports

ports

The Cisco Catalyst 2960 LAN Base software image is a rich suite of intelligent services, including
advanced QoS, rate limiting, ACLs, and IPv6 management. The SFP-based Gigabit Ethernet ports
accommodate a range of SFP transceivers, including the Cisco 1000BASE-SX, 1000BASE-LX,
1000BASE-BX, 1000BASE-ZX, 100BASE-FX, 100BASE-LX, 100BASE-BX, and coarse
wavelength-division multiplexing (CWDM) SFP transceivers.

Cisco EnergyWise Technology: Good for Business, Better for Environment

Cisco EnergyWise is an innovative architecture, added to the Cisco Catalyst 2960 switches, that
enable the measurement of power consumption in the network infrastructure and network attached
devices. EnergyWise encompasses a highly intelligent network based approach to communicate
messages that measure and control energy between network devices and end points. The network
discovers Cisco EnergyWise manageable devices, monitors their power consumption, and takes
action based on business rules to reduce power consumption. EnergyWise uses a unique domain
naming system to query and summarize information from large sets of devices making it simpler
than traditional network management capabilities. Cisco EnergyWise’s management interfaces
allow facilities and network management applications to communicate with end points and each
other using the network as a unifying fabric. The management interface uses standard SNMP or
SSL to integrate Cisco and third party management systems.

Cisco EnergyWise extends the network as a platform for power control plane for gathering,
managing and reducing power consumption of all devices, resulting in company-wide optimized
power delivery and reduced energy costs. Together, Cisco EnergyWise technology and Catalyst
switches enable Greenhouse Gas (GhG) emissions reduction, increased energy cost savings and
sustainable business behavior.

© 2009 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 2 of 21

Data Sheet

Power over Ethernet

The Cisco Catalyst 2960 Series provide PoE to allow easy connectivity to Ethernet-powered
devices including Cisco IP phones and wireless access points. Cisco Catalyst 2960 PoE models
comply with Cisco pre-standard PoE and IEEE 802.3af. PoE removes the need for wall power to
each PoE-enabled device and eliminates the cost for additional electrical cable and circuits that
would otherwise be necessary in IP phone and WLAN deployments. PoE switches also eliminate
the need for power injectors and PoE mid-spans for powering IP devices. The Cisco Catalyst
2960-48PST-L can support 48 PoE ports with total PoE power output capacity at 370W. Taking
advantage of Cisco Catalyst Intelligent Power Management, the Cisco Catalyst 2960-48PST-L
configuration can deliver the necessary power to support 24 ports at 15.4W, 48 ports at 7.7W, or
any combination in between. Cisco Catalyst 2960-24PC-L can support 24 simultaneous full­powered PoE port at 15.4W. The Cisco Catalyst 2960-24LT-L has 24 10/100 ports with 8
simultaneous full-powered PoE ports at 15.4W.

The Cisco Catalyst 2960-8TT-L has eight 10/100 ports with one 10/100/1000 PoE input port. This
switch does not need a power supply and receives power over the uplink from an upstream PoE
device, providing deployment flexibility and availability. It is ideal for wiring and space-constraint
applications. The power adaptor (PWR-A=) and power cord are optional and may be ordered
separately.

Gigabit Ethernet

At speeds of 1000 Mbps, Gigabit Ethernet provides the bandwidth to meet new and evolving
network demands, alleviate bottlenecks, and boost performance while increasing the return on
existing infrastructure investments. Today’s workers are placing higher demands on networks,
running multiple concurrent applications. For example, a worker joins a team conference call
through an IP videoconference, sends a 10-MB spreadsheet to meeting participants, broadcasts
the latest marketing video for the team to evaluate, and queries the customer relationship
management (CRM) database for the latest real-time feedback. Meanwhile, a multigigabyte
system backup starts in the background and the latest virus updates are delivered to the client.

Redundant Power System

The Cisco Catalyst 2960 Series Switches support the new generation of the Cisco Redundant
Power System (RPS) 2300, which increases availability in a converged data, voice, and video
network by providing transparent power backup to two of six attached switches at the same time.

Intelligence in the Network

Networks of today are evolving to address four new developments at the network edge:

●

Increase in desktop computing power

●

Introduction of bandwidth-intensive applications

●

Expansion of highly sensitive data on the network

●

Presence of multiple device types, such as IP phones, WLAN access points, and IP video
cameras

These new demands contend for resources with existing mission-critical applications. As a result,
IT professionals must view the edge of the network as critical to effectively manage the delivery of
information and applications.

© 2009 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 3 of 21

Data Sheet

As companies increasingly rely on networks as their strategic business infrastructure, it is more
important than ever to help ensure their high availability, security, scalability, and control. By
adding Cisco intelligent functions for LAN access, you can now deploy networkwide intelligent
services that consistently address these requirements from the desktop to the core and through
the WAN.

Cisco Catalyst Intelligent Ethernet switches help you realize the full benefits of adding intelligent
services into your networks. Deploying capabilities that make the network infrastructure highly
available to accommodate time-critical needs, scalable to accommodate growth, secure enough to
protect confidential information, and capable of differentiating and controlling traffic flows is critical
to further optimizing network operations.

Enhanced Security

The wide range of security features that the Cisco Catalyst 2960 LAN Base Series offers helps you
protect important information, keep unauthorized people off the network, guard privacy, and
maintain uninterrupted operation.

The Cisco Identity-Based Networking Services (IBNS) solution provides authentication, access
control, and security policy administration to secure network connectivity and resources. Cisco
IBNS in the Cisco Catalyst 2960 LAN Base Series prevents unauthorized access and helps ensure
that users get only their designated privileges. It provides the ability to dynamically administer
granular levels of network access. Using the 802.1x standard and the Cisco Secure Access
Control Server (ACS), users can be assigned a VLAN upon authentication, regardless of where
they connect to the network. This setup allows IT departments to enable strong security policies
without compromising user mobility and with minimal administrative overhead.

To guard against denial-of-service (DoS) and other attacks, ACLs can be used to restrict access to
sensitive portions of the network by denying packets based on source and destination MAC
addresses, IP addresses, or TCP/User Datagram Protocol (UDP) ports. ACL lookups are done in
hardware, so forwarding performance is not compromised when ACL-based security is
implemented.

Port security can be used to limit access on an Ethernet port based on the MAC address of the
device to which it is connected. It also can be used to limit the total number of devices plugged into
a switch port, thereby protecting the switch from a MAC flooding attack as well as reducing the
risks of rogue wireless access points or hubs.

With Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) snooping, DHCP spoofing can be thwarted by
allowing only DHCP requests (but not responses) from untrusted user-facing ports. Additionally,
the DHCP Interface Tracker (Option 82) feature helps enable granular control over IP address
assignment by augmenting a host IP address request with the switch port ID.

The MAC Address Notification feature can be used to monitor the network and track users by
sending an alert to a management station so that network administrators know when and where
users entered the network. Secure Shell Protocol Version 2 (SSHv2) and Simple Network
Management Protocol Version 3 (SNMPv3) encrypt administrative and network-management
information, protecting the network from tampering or eavesdropping. TACACS+ or RADIUS
authentication enables centralized access control of switches and restricts unauthorized users
from altering the configurations. Alternatively, a local username and password database can be
configured on the switch itself. Fifteen levels of authorization on the switch console and two levels

© 2009 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 4 of 21

Data Sheet

on the Web-based management interface provide the ability to give different levels of configuration
capabilities to different administrators.

Intelligent PoE Management

The Cisco Catalyst 2960 PoE models support Cisco IP phones and Cisco Aironet® wireless LAN
access points, as well as any IEEE 802.3af-compliant end device.

●

Cisco Discovery Protocol version 2 allows the Cisco Catalyst 2960 Series Switch to
negotiate a more granular power setting when connecting to a Cisco powered device, such
as IP phones or access points, than what is provided by IEEE classification.

●

The PoE MIB provides proactive visibility into power usage and allows you to set different
power level thresholds.

●

Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP and LLDP-MED) adds support for IEEE 802.1AB link
layer discovery protocol for interoperability in multivendor networks. Switches exchange
speed, duplex, and power settings with end devices such as IP phones.

Availability and Scalability

The Cisco Catalyst 2960 LAN Base Series is equipped with a large set of features that allow for
network scalability and higher availability through multicast filtering as well as a complete suite of
Spanning Tree Protocol enhancements aimed to maximize availability in a Layer 2 network.

Voice-aware 802.1x port security disables the offending data VLAN when a violation is detected
without affecting Voice VLAN on the same switch port. Enhancements to the standard Spanning
Tree Protocol, such as Per-VLAN Spanning Tree Plus (PVST+), UplinkFast, and PortFast help
maximize network uptime. PVST+ allows for Layer 2 load sharing on redundant links to efficiently
use the extra capacity inherent in a redundant design. UplinkFast, PortFast, and BackboneFast all
greatly reduce the standard 30- to 60-second Spanning Tree Protocol convergence time. Flexlink
provides bidirectional, fast convergence in less than 100 milliseconds. The Loopguard and bridge
protocol data unit (BPDU) guard enhancements provide Spanning Tree Protocol loop avoidance.

Advanced QoS

The Cisco Catalyst 2960 LAN Base Series offers superior multilayer QoS features to help ensure
that network traffic is classified and prioritized and that congestion is avoided in the best possible
manner. Configuration of QoS is greatly simplified through automatic QoS (Auto QoS), a feature
that detects Cisco IP phones and automatically configures the switch for the appropriate
classification and egress queuing. This optimizes traffic prioritization and network availability
without the challenge of a complex configuration.

The Cisco Catalyst 2960 LAN Base Series can classify, reclassify, police, mark, queue, and
schedule incoming packets and can queue and schedule packets at egress. Packet classification
allows the network elements to discriminate between various traffic flows and enforce policies
based on Layer 2 and Layer 3 QoS fields.

To implement QoS, the Cisco Catalyst 2960 LAN Base Series Switch first identifies traffic flows or
packet groups, then classifies or reclassifies these groups using the differentiated services code
point (DSCP) field or the 802.1p class of service (CoS) field. Classification and reclassification can
be based on criteria as specific as the source or destination IP address, source or destination
MAC address, or the Layer 4 TCP or UDP port. At the ingress, the Cisco Catalyst 2960 LAN Base
Series also polices to determine whether a packet is in or out of profile, marks to change the

© 2009 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 5 of 21

Data Sheet

classification label, passes through or drops out of profile packets, and queues packets based on
classification. Control-plane and data-plane ACLs are supported on all ports to help ensure proper
treatment on a per-packet basis.

The Cisco Catalyst 2960 LAN Base Series supports four egress queues per port, giving network
administrators more control in assigning priorities for the various applications on the LAN. At
egress, the switch performs congestion control and scheduling, the algorithm or process that
determines the order in which queues are processed. The Cisco Catalyst 2960 LAN Base Series
Switch supports Shaped Round Robin (SRR) and strict priority queuing. The SRR algorithm helps
ensure differential prioritization.

These QoS features allow network administrators to prioritize mission-critical and bandwidth­intensive traffic, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), voice (IP telephony traffic), and
computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM), over applications such as FTP or e-mail.
For example, it would be undesirable to have a large file download destined to one port on a switch
increase latency in voice traffic destined to another port on this switch. This condition is avoided by
making sure that voice traffic is properly classified and prioritized throughout the network. Other
applications, such as Web browsing, can be handled on a lower-priority basis.

The Cisco Catalyst 2960 Series LAN Base can perform rate limiting through its support of the
Cisco committed information rate (CIR) function. Through CIR, bandwidth can be guaranteed in
increments as small as 1 Mbps. Bandwidth can be allocated based on several criteria, including
MAC source address, MAC destination address, IP source address, IP destination address, and
TCP or UDP port number. Bandwidth allocation is essential when network environments require
service-level agreements or when it is necessary to control the bandwidth given to certain users.

Management

The new Express Setup feature simplifies the initial configuration of a switch. Now you can set up
the switch through a Web browser, eliminating the need for terminal-emulation programs and the
command-line interface (CLI). Express Setup reduces the cost of deployment by helping less­skilled personnel quickly and easily set up switches.

Cisco Network Assistant is a PC-based network-management application optimized for LANs with
up to 250 users. Cisco Network Assistant offers centralized management of Cisco switches,
routers, and WLAN access points. It supports a wide range of Cisco Catalyst intelligent switches
from Cisco Catalyst 2960 through Cisco Catalyst 4506. Through a user-friendly GUI, users can
configure and manage a wide array of switch functions and start the device manager of Cisco
routers and Cisco wireless access points. A few mouse clicks enable the Cisco recommended
security, availability, and QoS features without the need to consult a detailed design guide. The
Security wizard automatically restricts unauthorized access to servers with sensitive data.
Smartports and wizards save time for network administrators, reduce human errors, and help
ensure that the configuration of the switch is optimized for these applications. Available at no cost,
Cisco Network Assistant can be downloaded from the Cisco Website.

In addition to Cisco Network Assistant, Cisco Catalyst 2960 LAN Base Series Switches provide for
extensive management using SNMP network-management platforms such as the CiscoWorks
LAN Management Solution (LMS). CiscoWorks LMS is a suite of powerful management tools that
simplify the configuration, administration, monitoring, and troubleshooting of Cisco networks. It
integrates these capabilities into a world-class solution for improving the accuracy and efficiency of

© 2009 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 6 of 21

Data Sheet

your operations staff, while increasing the overall availability of your network. CiscoWorks LMS
supports over 400 different device types, providing:

●

Network discovery, topology views, end-station tracking, and VLAN management

●

Real-time network fault analysis with easy-to-deploy device-specific best-practice templates

●

Hardware and software inventory management, centralized configuration tools, and Syslog
monitoring

●

Network response time and availability monitoring and tracking

●

Real-time device, link, and port traffic management, analysis, and reporting

Table 2 gives the features and benefits of the Cisco Catalyst 2960 LAN Base Series. Table 3 gives
the hardware specifications, and Table 4 gives the power specifications. Table 5 lists the
management and standards support, and Table 6 provides the safety and compliance information.

Table 2. Features and Benefits of Cisco Catalyst 2960 LAN Base Switches

Feature Benefit

Ease of Use and Deployment ● Express Setup simplifies initial configuration with a Web browser, eliminating the need for

more complex terminal emulation programs and CLI knowledge.

●

IEEE 802.3af and Cisco prestandard PoE support comes with automatic discovery to
detect a Cisco prestandard or IEEE 802.3af endpoint and provide the necessary power
without any user configuration.

●

Auto Install for configuration and Image update: Simplify management of large number of
switches, by automatically downloading specified configuration and image

●

DHCP autoconfiguration of multiple switches through a boot server eases switch
deployment.

●

Automatic QoS (Auto QoS) simplifies QoS configuration in voice-over-IP (VoIP) networks
by issuing interface and global switch commands to detect Cisco IP phones, classify
traffic, and enable egress queue configuration.

●

Autosensing on each 10/100 port detects the speed of the attached device and
automatically configures the port for 10- or 100-Mbps operation, easing switch deployment
in mixed 10- and 100-Mbps environments.

●

Autonegotiating on all ports automatically selects half- or full-duplex transmission mode to
optimize bandwidth.

●

Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP) helps enable dynamic trunk configuration across all
switch ports.

●

Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP) automates the creation of Cisco Fast EtherChannel®
groups or Gigabit EtherChannel groups to link to another switch, router, or server.

●

Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) allows the creation of Ethernet channeling with
devices that conform to IEEE 802.3ad. This feature is similar to Cisco EtherChannel
technology and PAgP.

●

DHCP Server enables a convenient deployment option for the assignment of IP
addresses in networks that do not have without a dedicated DHCP server.

●

DHCP Relay allows a DHCP relay agent to broadcast DHCP requests to the network
DHCP server.

●

1000BASE-SX, 1000BASE-LX/LH, 1000BASE-ZX, 1000BASE-BX, 100BASE-FX,
100BASE-LX, 100BASE-BX, and coarse wavelength-division multiplexing (CWDM)
physical interface support through a field-replaceable SFP module provides
unprecedented flexibility in switch deployment.

●

The default configuration stored in flash memory ensures that the switch can be quickly
connected to the network and can pass traffic with minimal user intervention.

●

Automatic medium-dependent interface crossover (Auto-MDIX) automatically adjusts
transmit and receive pairs if an incorrect cable type (crossover or straight-through) is
installed on a copper port.

●

Time-domain reflectometer (TDR) to diagnose and resolve cabling problems on copper
ports.

●

Configuration Rollback provides the capability to replace the current running configuration
with any saved Cisco IOS® Software configuration file. This functionality can be used to
revert to a previous configuration state, effectively rolling back any configuration changes
that were made since that configuration file was saved.

●

DHCP Auto Install (Boot Host DHCP) and Auto Image Update allows the switch to
automatically download a configuration file and IOS image (future).

© 2009 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 7 of 21