Cisco Catalyst 2960-CX Series Switches - Be free to connect devices anywhere
When space is tight, start compact with a 2960-CX switch. And expand your network as your company grows. Gain the enterprise features of a larger Cisco switch without using a lot of physical space. Our Catalyst switches bring wired and wireless together through unified access, so you gain scale, security, and mobility.
Compact design
Created for organizations where space is tight, the 2960-CX is a compact, powerful, 8-port, fanless Gigabit switch. You can place it outside the wiring closet to shorten the cabling. And it has flexible mounting options.
Works with Internet-of-Things devices
Whether in a hospital, retail store, office, classroom, or branch location, the 2960-CX supports IP connections for devices with PoE+. You don’t need to install electrical circuits to power access points, IP phones, cameras, and other devices.
Models
2960CX-8PC
- 8 Gigabit Ethernet ports
- 2 x 1 GE Copper uplinks
- 2 x 1 GE SFP uplinks
- Advanced Layer 2 (LAN Base) support
- PoE+ support with up to 124W of PoE budget
- Enhanced Limited Lifetime Warranty (E-LLW)
2960CX-8TC
- 8 Gigabit Ethernet ports
- 2 x 1 GE Copper uplinks
- 2 x 1 GE SFP uplinks
- Advanced Layer 2 (LAN Base) support
- Enhanced Limited Lifetime Warranty (E-LLW)
Cisco Catalyst 2960-CX Series Compact Switch Product Overview
The Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX and 2960-CX Series Compact Switches help optimize network deployments. These Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) and Multigigabit Ethernet (mGig) managed switches are ideal for high-speed data connectivity, Wi-Fi backhaul, and Power over Ethernet (PoE+) connectivity in places where space is at a premium. With a single copper or fiber cable from the wiring closet, Cisco Catalyst compact switches enable IP connectivity for devices such as IP phones, wireless access points, surveillance cameras, PCs, and video endpoints.
With their quiet, fanless design and compact footprint, these switches can come out of the data closet and be placed closer to the users. This means shorter cable runs and greater flexibility as you grow your network.
Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX and 2960-CX Series Compact Switch Highlights
● 8 or 12 Gigabit Ethernet ports with line rate forwarding performance
● 6 Gigabit Ethernet plus 2 Multigigabit Ethernet (100 Mbps/1/2.5/5/10 Gbps) ports with line rate forwarding performance (selected model)
● Gigabit and Multigigabit (100 Mbps/1/2.5/5/10 Gbps) copper, small form-factor pluggable (SFP) or 10G SFP+ uplinks
● Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE+) support with up to 240W of PoE budget
● Power over Ethernet (PoE) pass-through enables the compact switch to draw Cisco Universal PoE (Cisco UPOE™) power from the wiring closet and pass it to end devices (selected model) with the additional option to be powered by auxiliary AC-DC or DC-DC power adapter
● Cisco Instant Access mode to enable single point of management and simplify operation (selected models)
● Advanced Layer 2 (LAN Base) and Layer 3 (IP Base) support with an option to upgrade to IP services
● Fanless design and silent operation
● Enhanced Limited Lifetime Warranty (E-LLW)
Features and Benefits
Like the larger Cisco Catalyst switches typically used in wiring closets, the Cisco Catalyst Compact switches are
a managed option for consistency across your LAN switching network. Unlike unmanaged switches and hubs, they provide advanced networking features for flexibility, security, and scale.
Table 1 lists many of the Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX and 2960-CX switch features and benefits.
Table 1. Compact Switch Features and Benefits Summary
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Feature |
Benefits |
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Hardware |
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Small form factor; fanless design; silent operation |
The switch can be used in open workspaces and other areas that cannot tolerate equipment noise and where multiple cable runs could be difficult, expensive, and intrusive. |
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Flexible mounting options |
The switch can be mounted on the wall, under a desk, rack, DIN rail, or practically anywhere they are needed. |
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Cisco Multigigabit Ethernet |
With the enormous growth of 802.11ac and new wireless applications, wireless devices are driving the demand for more network bandwidth. This creates a need for a technology that supports speeds higher than 1 Gbps on all cabling infrastructure. Cisco Multigigabit Ethernet technology is a unique Cisco innovation that allows you to achieve bandwidth between speeds of 100Mbps and 10 Gbps over traditional Cat 5e cabling or above. In addition, the Multigigabit ports on the Cisco Catalyst Compact switch support PoE+, which is increasingly important for next-generation workspaces and Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystems. The Multigigabit Ethernet ports can also be used as uplinks to connect to traditional access switches such as the Cisco Catalyst 3850/4500 switches. Cisco Multigigabit technology offers significant benefits for a diverse range of speeds, cable types, and PoE power. The benefits can be grouped into three different areas: ● Multiple speeds: Cisco Multigigabit technology supports autonegotiation of multiple speeds on switch ports. The supported speeds are 100 Mbps, 1 Gbps, 2.5 Gbps, and 5 Gbps on Cat 5e cable and up to 10 Gbps over Cat 6a cabling.
● Cable type: The technology supports a wide range of cable types, including Cat 5e, Cat 6, and Cat 6a or above.
● PoE power: The technology supports PoE and PoE+ for all the supported speeds and cable types.
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10-Gigabit SFP+ uplinks |
Accommodates business growth and increased traffic, such as aggregate upstream gigabit traffic loads from 802.11ac Wi-Fi access points. |
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Increased PoE+ Scale |
Provides up to 240W of PoE+ budget (twice the power per switch than previous series). |
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Perpetual PoE |
Provides uninterrupted power to a powered-down device even when the switch is booting. This eliminates the need for a backup power source. |
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PoE pass-through |
PoE pass-through gives the ability to power PoE end devices through drawing Cisco UPOE from the wiring closet. The Cisco Catalyst WS-C3560CX-8PT-S has eight downlink ports with two Cisco UPOE input ports that allow it to be powered by another switch. These switches do not need a power supply and receive power over the uplink from an upstream PoE or Cisco UPOE device, providing deployment flexibility and availability. These switches are ideal for wiring-constrained and space-constrained applications. |
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Management and Operations |
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Available on Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX switches with 10 G SFP+ uplinks, this optional mode enables a single point of management and operation for campus networks. Multiple Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX compact switches with 10 G SFP+ uplinks can be connected to Cisco Catalyst 6500 or 6800 core switches, and the entire configuration can then work as a single extended switch with a common management domain. In this mode, compact switches inherit all the features of the Cisco Catalyst 6500 or 6800. Advanced Cisco Catalyst 6500 and 6800 features like MPLS and EVN can be extended to the access layer, so the Cisco Catalyst Instant Access solution can be deployed on all or a subset of the campus network. |
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Cisco Network Plug ‘n Play (PnP) |
Network Plug-n-Play (PnP) is a secure, scalable solution that accelerates network device deployments by automating the installation and configuration of Cisco IOS software. The Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX and 2960-CX switches are |
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This comprehensive set of Cisco Catalyst technologies and Cisco IOS Software features simplify LAN deployment, configuration, and troubleshooting. ● Cisco Smart Install enables the configuration of the Cisco IOS Software image and switch without user intervention.
● Cisco Auto Smartports provides automatic configuration as end devices connect to the switch port, allowing autodetection and plug-and-play of the device onto the network. Interface templates containing configurations or policies that can be applied to ports are also supported.
● Cisco Smart Troubleshooting is an extensive array of debug diagnostic commands and system health checks, includingGeneric Online Diagnostics (GOLD) andOnboard Failure Logging (OBFL).
● Embedded Event Manager (EEM), supported on the Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX, provides real-time network event detection and onboard automation. You can adapt the behavior of your network devices to align with business needs.
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Cloud and System Management |
● Cisco Prime® Infrastructure provides comprehensive network lifecycle management with an extensive library of features that automate initial and day-to-day management. Cisco Prime integrates hardware and software platform expertise and operational experience into a powerful set of workflow-driven configuration, monitoring, troubleshooting, reporting, and administrative tools.
● Cisco Network Assistant is a PC-based, centralized network management and configuration application for small and medium-sized business (SMB) with up to 250 users. An intuitive GUI lets you easily apply common services across Cisco switches, routers, and access points.
● Cisco Active Advisor is a cloud-based service that provides essential lifecycle information about your network inventory. Available by itself or as a component of other Cisco network management applications, it helps you reduce your network’s overall risk by keeping you up-to-date on the status of your products.
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Note: All four uplink ports (two copper and two fiber) can be used simultaneously and also as downlinks.
Switch Software
Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX compact switches ship with the IP Base version of Cisco IOS® Software. The 3560-CX switches can be upgraded to use the IP Services version of IOS Software with a right-to-use (RTU) License. The
IP Base and IP Services feature set on Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX switches provides baseline enterprise services in addition to all LAN Base features. They support Layer 3 networking features, including support for routed access, Cisco TrustSec, media access control security (MACsec), and other advanced network services. The IP Services feature set provides full Layer 3 routing capabilities with Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), Enhanced Internal Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), Policy-Based Routing (PBR), Multicast Routing, and Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) Lite.
Cisco Catalyst 2960-CX Series compact switches ship with the LAN Base version of Cisco IOS Software. These switches deliver advanced Layer 2 switching with intelligent Layer 2 through 4 services for the network edge, such as voice, video, and wireless LAN services.
