The Cisco^® Catalyst^® 2960-Plus Series Switches are fixed-configuration Fast Ethernet switches (Figure 1) that provide enterprise-class Layer 2 switching for branch offices, conventional workspaces, and infrastructure applications. They enable reliable and secure operations with lower total cost of ownership through a range of Cisco IOS^® software features, including Cisco Catalyst SmartOperations.

Figure 1. Cisco Catalyst 2960-Plus Series Switches

Product Highlights

• 24 or 48 Fast Ethernet ports

• Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) and 1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet uplinks

• IEEE 802.3af-compliant Power over Ethernet (PoE)

• LAN Base or LAN Lite Cisco IOS^® Software feature set

• SmartOperations tools that simplify deployment and reduce the cost of network administration

• Cisco EnergyWise technology to manage energy consumed by connected devices

• An enhanced limited lifetime hardware warranty (E-LLW), providing next-business-day replacement

Applications and Benefits

• Branch offices, remote sites, and retail locations

• Conventional desktop workspaces

• Building infrastructure, physical security, and other nontraditional access applications

• Robust quality of service (QoS) that prioritizes voice and critical business applications

• Flexible security features that can limit access to the network and mitigate threats

• Tools that reduce total cost of ownership through simplified operations and automation

Switch Configurations

Table 1. Cisco Catalyst 2960-Plus Series Configurations

Robust Security

• Features to control access to the network, including Flexible Authentication, 802.1x Monitor Mode, and RADIUS Change of Authorization

• Threat defense features including Port Security, Dynamic ARP Inspection, and IP Source Guard

• Private VLAN Edge to provide isolation between switch ports

Enterprise-Class Quality of Service

• Four egress queues per port and strict priority queuing so that the highest priority packets are serviced ahead of all other traffic

• Shaped Round Robin (SRR) scheduling and Weighted Tail Drop (WTD) congestion avoidance

• Flow-based rate limiting and up to 64 aggregate or individual policers per port

• 802.1p class of service (CoS) and differentiated services code point (DSCP) field classification, with marking and reclassification on a per-packet basis by source and destination IP address, MAC address, or Layer 4 TCP/UDP port number

Cisco Catalyst SmartOperations

• Cisco Smart Install enables zero-touch deployment by providing automated Cisco IOS Software image installation and configuration when new switches are connected to the network.

• Cisco Auto Smartports enables automatic configuration of switch ports as devices connect to the switch, with settings optimized for the device type.

• Cisco Smart Troubleshooting is an extensive array of diagnostic commands and system health checks within the switch, including Smart Call Home.

Cisco EnergyWise

Power over Ethernet

Table 2. Switch PoE Power Capacity

Network Management

Cisco Prime Infrastructure

Cisco Network Assistant