Description
Product Overview for the Cisco WS-C2960XR-48FPS-I 48 Ports Ethernet Switch
In the dynamic landscape of networking, the right infrastructure plays a pivotal role in ensuring seamless communication and data transfer. Cisco, a global leader in networking solutions, introduces the WS-C2960XR-48FPS-I, a 48-port Layer 3 Managed Switch designed to meet the evolving demands of modern businesses. In this comprehensive review, we will delve into the key features, benefits, and applications of this powerful networking solution.
Key Features
- Port Density and Flexibility: The WS-C2960XR-48FPS-I boasts 48 ports, providing a high level of connectivity for devices within a network. This impressive port density ensures that businesses can easily accommodate a growing number of devices without compromising performance. The switch supports both Gigabit Ethernet and Fast Ethernet ports, offering flexibility to connect various devices with different speed requirements.
- Layer 3 Routing Capabilities: As a Layer 3 managed switch, the WS-C2960XR-48FPS-I goes beyond the basic functions of Layer 2 switches. It is equipped with advanced routing capabilities, allowing it to make intelligent decisions based on IP addresses. This feature enhances network efficiency by reducing the need for external routers, resulting in a more streamlined and cost-effective network infrastructure.
- Power over Ethernet (PoE) Support: One of the standout features of this Cisco switch is its Power over Ethernet (PoE) support. This functionality enables the switch to deliver both data and electrical power to connected devices, such as IP cameras, VoIP phones, and wireless access points. This simplifies cable management and reduces the need for separate power sources, making it an ideal choice for businesses seeking an integrated and efficient solution.
- High Performance and Reliability: The WS-C2960XR-48FPS-I is engineered for high performance and reliability, ensuring that it can meet the demands of today’s data-intensive applications. With a robust architecture and advanced hardware components, this Cisco switch delivers low latency and high-throughput performance, creating a stable and responsive network environment.
- Scalability and Stackability: Businesses often need to scale their network infrastructure to accommodate growth. The WS-C2960XR-48FPS-I supports stacking, allowing multiple switches to operate as a single, logical unit. This stacking capability simplifies management and enhances scalability, making it easy for businesses to expand their network infrastructure as needed.
Benefits
- Enhanced Network Efficiency: The Layer 3 capabilities of the WS-C2960XR-48FPS-I contribute to enhanced network efficiency. By allowing the switch to make routing decisions based on IP addresses, the network becomes more intelligent and can optimize data transfer paths. This results in reduced latency and improved overall network performance.
- Cost Savings with Integrated PoE: The Power over Ethernet (PoE) support eliminates the need for separate power sources for connected devices. This not only simplifies cable management but also leads to cost savings by reducing the infrastructure required to power devices like IP cameras and VoIP phones. Businesses can achieve greater efficiency without compromising on performance.
- Reliability for Critical Applications: The high performance and reliability of the WS-C2960XR-48FPS-I make it well-suited for critical applications that require a stable and responsive network. Whether supporting real-time communication or data-intensive tasks, this Cisco switch ensures that the network remains dependable even under heavy workloads.
- Streamlined Management with Stacking: The stacking capability of the WS-C2960XR-48FPS-I streamlines network management. Instead of dealing with individual switches, businesses can manage a stack of switches as a single unit. This simplifies configuration, monitoring, and troubleshooting, making it easier for IT teams to maintain a large and growing network.
Applications
- Enterprise Networks: The WS-C2960XR-48FPS-I is well-suited for enterprise networks where a high level of connectivity, reliability, and performance is essential. Its Layer 3 capabilities make it suitable for handling the complexities of large-scale networks, while its PoE support simplifies the deployment of devices like IP phones and access points.
- Surveillance Systems: The Power over Ethernet (PoE) support makes this Cisco switch an ideal choice for surveillance systems. It can power IP cameras, eliminating the need for separate power sources at each camera location. This not only simplifies installation but also ensures a reliable power supply for continuous surveillance operations.
- Unified Communications: Businesses relying on unified communications, including VoIP phones and video conferencing systems, can benefit from the WS-C2960XR-48FPS-I. Its PoE support ensures that these communication devices receive both data and power over a single Ethernet cable, facilitating a clean and organized setup.
- Education Institutions: Educational institutions, with their diverse and growing network needs, can leverage the scalability and flexibility of the WS-C2960XR-48FPS-I. Its ability to stack switches simplifies network management, and the high port density accommodates the increasing number of devices used in modern classrooms.
Performance of 48 Ports Switch
The Cisco WS-C2960XR-48FPS-I is a 48-port managed switch that is designed for use in enterprise networks. It offers many features that can help improve the performance of your network, including
- 48 Gigabit Ethernet ports: These ports provide high-speed connectivity for devices on your network, allowing you to transfer data quickly and efficiently.
- Stackable design: The WS-C2960XR-48FPS-I can be stacked with other switches, allowing you to easily expand your network as needed.
- Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE): This feature helps to reduce power consumption by turning off the transmitters of unused ports.
- FlexStack Plus: This feature allows you to stack up to 8 switches and manage them as a single entity, which can help improve the performance and scalability of your network.
Layer 3 Ethernet Switch
- 48 Gigabit Ethernet ports: These ports provide high-speed connectivity for devices on your network, allowing you to transfer data quickly and efficiently.
- Layer 3 routing capabilities: The WS-C2960XR-48FPS-I supports layer 3 routing, which allows it to forward packets based on their destination IP address and maintain a routing table to determine the best path for packets to reach their destination. This can be useful for building large enterprise networks where the ability to route traffic between different subnets is important.
- Quality of Service (QoS): The WS-C2960XR-48FPS-I supports QoS, which allows you to prioritize certain types of traffic, such as voice and video, for improvement.
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) Configuration
The Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is used to prevent loops in network topologies by blocking redundant paths while allowing for failover. Here’s how to configure STP on the WS-C2960XR-48FPS-I Cisco 48 Ports Layer 3 Managed Switch:
- Enable STP: By default, STP is enabled on Cisco switches. You can verify that STP is enabled by using the “show spanning-tree” command. If it is not enabled, you can enable it with the “spanning-tree mode” command.
- Configure the bridge priority: The bridge priority determines the root bridge in the STP topology. The lower the bridge priority value, the higher the priority. By default, the bridge priority is set to 32768. To change the bridge priority, use the “spanning-tree vlan [vlan-id] priority [priority-value]” command.
- Configure the root bridge: The root bridge is the switch with the lowest bridge priority value. You can manually configure the root bridge by setting its bridge priority to a lower value than the other switches in the network. Alternatively, you can let the switches elect the root bridge automatically.
- Configure port roles: STP determines the role of each port on a switch as either a root port, designated port, or blocked port. A root port is the port with the lowest cost path to the root bridge. A designated port is the port that connects to another switch and is not the root port. A blocked port is a port that is not currently being used for forwarding. By default, all ports are designated ports. You can configure a port as a root port with the “spanning-tree vlan [vlan-id] root [primary|secondary]” command, or configure a port as a blocked port with the “shutdown” command.
- Verify STP configuration: Use the “show spanning-tree” command to verify the STP configuration and view information about the root bridge, port roles, and path cost.
General Information about this Cisco WS-C2960XR-48FPS-I
- Manufacturer: Cisco
- Model Number or SKU# WS-C2960XR-48FPS-I
- Product Line: Catalyst
- Product Series: 2960-XR
- Product Type: Ethernet Switch
Technical Specifications for Cisco Catalyst 2960-XR Managed Switch
- Total Number of Network Ports: 48
- Token Ring Port: No
- LRE Port: No
- Bypass: No
- Modular: No
- Management Port: Yes
- USB: Yes
- Number of PoE (RJ-45) Ports: 24
- Number of PoE+ (RJ-45) Ports: 24
- Port/Expansion Slot Details: 48 x Gigabit Ethernet Network
- Port/Expansion Slot Details: 4 x Gigabit Ethernet Expansion Slot
Performance of Catalyst 2960-XR Managed Switch
- Media Type Supported: Twisted Pair
- Twisted Pair Cable Standard: Category 5
- Ethernet Technology: Gigabit Ethernet
- Network Technology: 10/100/1000Base-T
Features for 48 Ports Switch
- Access Control List (ACL) support
- ARP support, Auto-negotiation
- Auto-uplink (auto MDI/MDI-X)
- Broadcast Storm Control, Cisco EnergyWise technology
- Cisco Fast EtherChannel, Cisco FlexStack Plus
- Class of Service (CoS), DHCP snooping
- Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI)
- Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP) support
- Energy Efficient Ethernet, Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP) support
- IGMP snooping, Intrusion Detection System (IDS)
- IPv4 support, IPv6 support, Jumbo Frames support
- Layer 2 switching, Layer 3 load balancing
- Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP)
- MAC Address Notification, MLD snooping
- Multicast Storm Control, Multicast VLAN Registration (MVR)
- Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MSTP) support
- NetFlow, Per-VLAN Rapid Spanning Tree (PVRST)
- PoE+, Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP) support
- Power over Ethernet (PoE), Quality of Service (QoS)
- RADIUS support, Rapid Per-VLAN Spanning Tree Plus (PVRST+)
- Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) support
- Remote Switch Port Analyzer (RSPAN)
- Shaped Round Robin (SRR), SSH support
- Strict Priority Queuing (SPQ), Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) support
- Uni-Directional Link Detection (UDLD)
- Unicast Storm Control, VLAN support
I/O Expansions
- Number of Total Expansion Slots: 4
- Expansion Slot Type: SFP
- Number of SFP Slots: 4
Network & Communication
- Layer Supported: 3
Memory
- Standard Memory: 512 MB
- Memory Technology: DRAM
- Flash Memory: 128 MB
Reliability
- MTBF: 230,860 Hours
Power Description
- PoE (RJ-45) Port: Yes
- Input Voltage: 110 V AC, 220 V AC
- Power Source: Power Supply
- Redundant Power Supply: Yes
Environmental Ranges
- Operating temperature: Up to 5000 ft (1500 m): 23ºF to 113ºF (-5ºC to 45ºC)
- Short-term exception at sea level: 23ºF to 131ºF (-5ºC to 55ºC)
- Storage temperature: Up to 15,000 feet (4573 m): -13º to 158ºF (-25º to 70ºC)
- Operating altitude: Up to 10,000 (Up to 3000 Meters)
- Storage altitude: Up to 13,000 (Up to 4000 Meters)
- Operating relative humidity: 10% to 95% non-condensing
- Storage relative humidity: 10% to 95% non-condensing
Compliant Standards
- IEEE 802.1ab (LLDP), IEEE 802.1AX
- IEEE 802.1D, IEEE 802.1p
- IEEE 802.1Q, IEEE 802.1s
- IEEE 802.1w, IEEE 802.1x
- IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.3ab
- IEEE 802.3ad (LACP), IEEE 802.3ae
- IEEE 802.3af, IEEE 802.3ah
- IEEE 802.3at, IEEE 802.3az
- IEEE 802.3u, IEEE 802.3x, IEEE 802.3z
In general, the Cisco WS-C2960XR-48FPS-I stands out as a robust and versatile networking solution, offering a blend of advanced features, reliability, and scalability. With its Layer 3 capabilities, Power over Ethernet support, and stacking functionality, this managed switch is well-suited for a variety of applications across different industries. Businesses seeking to enhance their network infrastructure with a focus on performance, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness should consider the WS-C2960XR-48FPS-I as a powerful and reliable choice.
