Cisco Catalyst WS-C2960-24LC-L Full English Product Description
1. Short Sales Title (For Quotation & E-commerce Listing)
Cisco WS-C2960-24LC-L 1RU Rack-Mount Layer 2 Fast Ethernet Managed Switch, 24×10/100BASE-TX Ports (8 IEEE 802.3af PoE Ports + 16 Non-PoE Ports), 2 Dual-Purpose Combo Gigabit Uplinks (RJ45 + SFP Mutually Exclusive), LAN Base IOS Image, 123W Limited PoE Budget, Full NAC Security, Multilayer QoS, DHCP Snooping, DAI & Cisco EnergyWise, Cost-Effective Partial PoE Edge Switch, Ideal for Small Offices, Retail Stores, Classrooms & Remote Branches with Limited PoE Device Demand
2. Official Product Overview
The Cisco Catalyst WS-C2960-24LC-L is a partial PoE fixed-port Layer 2 managed Fast Ethernet switch from the original Catalyst 2960 Series, designed for environments that only require a small number of PoE-powered endpoints without the full 24-port PoE budget of WS-C2960-24PC-L. It features 24 Fast Ethernet copper ports: only the first 8 ports support IEEE 802.3af PoE, while the remaining 16 ports are standard non-PoE copper interfaces. Two independent dual-purpose combo Gigabit uplink ports provide flexible media selection between 10/100/1000BASE-T copper or hot-swappable Gigabit SFP fiber transceivers (one media active per combo port at a time). The suffix -L represents factory preloaded full-feature LAN Base IOS firmware, delivering complete enterprise edge security, multilayer QoS, anti-spoofing protection and power management functions unavailable on entry-level LAN Lite (-S) images.
Model Suffix Breakdown
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2960: Classic Catalyst 2960 standalone fixed managed switch platform
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24: Total twenty-four 10/100BASE-TX Fast Ethernet downlink ports
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LC: L = Limited PoE (8 PoE ports out of 24 total); C = two dual-purpose combo Gigabit uplink ports (shared RJ45 + SFP slot)
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L: LAN Base full-feature IOS image with advanced NAC, security, QoS and monitoring capabilities
This standard 1U metal rack-mount chassis integrates an internal autoranging AC power supply with a limited 123W PoE power budget and built-in cooling fan for reliable wiring closet operation. It supports Cisco Cluster Management Suite (CMS) to aggregate multiple compatible Catalyst switches under a single management IP, simplifying centralized configuration for multi-unit deployments. All RJ45 ports support auto-negotiation, auto MDI-X and full-duplex flow control. The 8 PoE ports deliver up to 15.4W IEEE 802.3af power to IP phones, wireless APs and small IP cameras without external power injectors, while the 16 non-PoE ports connect wall-powered PCs, printers and workstations. Hot-swappable SFP slots support live transceiver replacement without full power cycle, compatible with Cisco GLC-SX-MM, GLC-LH-SM, GLC-ZX-SM and GLC-T copper SFP transceivers.
Equipped with 64MB DRAM and 32MB onboard flash memory, the WS-C2960-24LC-L delivers 16 Gbps non-blocking switching capacity and 6.5 Mpps wire-speed forwarding rate for 64-byte frames, supporting lossless concurrent VoIP voice, wireless data, IP surveillance and office business traffic across all access ports and two Gigabit combo uplinks. It adopts store-and-forward switching architecture to isolate corrupted frames and suppress broadcast flooding across LAN segments.
3. Port & Hardware Specifications
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24 × 10/100BASE-TX RJ45 auto-sensing copper access ports, auto MDI-X, IEEE 802.3x full-duplex flow control:
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Ports 1–8: IEEE 802.3af PoE capable (max 15.4W per PoE port)
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Ports 9–24: Non-PoE standard copper ports
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Total integrated PoE power budget: 123W (supports up to eight full Class 3 15.4W PoE devices simultaneously)
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2 × independent dual-purpose combo Gigabit uplink ports (mutually exclusive operation per port):
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1×10/100/1000BASE-T RJ45 copper interface per combo port
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1×hot-swappable 1000BASE-X SFP slot per combo port
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1 × RJ45 RS232 serial console port for out-of-band CLI configuration
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No FlexStack stacking capability; supports Cisco CMS cluster management via copper or SFP fiber trunk links
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Power supply: Internal fixed autoranging AC input (100–240 VAC 50/60Hz), max total system power consumption 150W including PoE load
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Rear RPS connector: Compatible with optional Cisco RPS 2300 external redundant power supply for power failure resilience
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Front panel LED indicators: Per-port link/activity, speed, duplex, PoE power delivery status (ports 1–8); combo uplink media status, system health, power/PoE overload fault alarm
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Mounting options: 19-inch 1RU rack-mount brackets included; rubber feet for standalone desktop placement
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Thermal design: Active fan cooling for standard indoor wiring closet ambient environments
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Environmental operating range: 0°C to 45°C (32°F–113°F); storage -25°C to 70°C; relative humidity 10–85% non-condensing
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Safety & EMI certifications: CE, FCC Class A, UL listed, VCCI Class A, RoHS compliant
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Physical dimensions: 444.5mm (W) × 43.9mm (H, 1RU) × 236.2mm (D)
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Unit weight: 3.8 kg (8.4 lbs)
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MAC address table capacity: Up to 8,192 MAC entries
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MTBF: 510,000 hours under standard office operating conditions
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Warranty: Cisco Limited Lifetime Hardware Warranty with free IOS software updates
4. Layer 2 Switching, QoS & LAN Base IOS Full Feature Set
Core Base Switching, Limited PoE & QoS Functions
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Up to 250 active IEEE 802.1Q tagged VLANs, full VLAN ID range 1–4094, VTPv2 dynamic VLAN synchronization
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IEEE 802.1p CoS / DSCP multilayer QoS with 4 egress priority queues; Strict Priority / WRR scheduling for voice/video/data classification
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IEEE 802.3ad Gigabit EtherChannel static link aggregation for multi-port copper/SFP trunk bundling
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IEEE 802.1D STP + Rapid STP (802.1w), BPDU guard / Root guard to eliminate Layer 2 switching loops
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Port security: Static MAC binding, sticky dynamic MAC learning, port shutdown violation mode
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Broadcast/multicast/unicast storm control to mitigate Layer 2 flooding DoS attacks
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SPAN local port mirroring + RSPAN remote span for cross-switch traffic capture and troubleshooting
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IGMP Snooping v1/v2/v3 to reduce redundant multicast bandwidth for video surveillance and IPTV
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Voice VLAN, Auto QoS for automatic Cisco IP Phone traffic priority marking
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Limited PoE management: PoE port priority classification, real-time 123W budget monitoring, automatic port power shutdown to prevent overload
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Cisco EnergyWise intelligent port power management to reduce idle PoE and non-PoE device power draw
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Cisco Cluster Management Suite (CMS) single-pane unified management for clustered switch groups
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RMON Groups 1,2,3,9 real-time traffic statistics monitoring
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NTP time synchronization for consistent system log timestamps
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CDP Cisco Discovery Protocol, Cisco IP SAA Service Assurance Agent for end-to-end network performance testing
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Web-based embedded Device Manager for zero-CLI initial deployment
Exclusive Advanced LAN Base Security & Management Features (Not Supported on LAN Lite -S)
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IEEE 802.1X port-based NAC authentication with RADIUS/TACACS+ AAA remote access control
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SSHv2 encrypted remote CLI management; SNMPv3 secure encrypted monitoring
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Layer 2/Layer 3/Layer 4 ingress access control lists (ACLs) for granular inbound traffic filtering
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Private VLAN edge for isolated host segmentation on shared access ports
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Ingress port bandwidth rate limiting and traffic policing
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Time-based ACLs for scheduled differentiated network access policies
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DHCP Snooping + Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI) + IP Source Guard to mitigate IP/MAC spoofing attacks
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Encrypted local user passwords and encrypted startup-config file storage
5. Full Management Interfaces
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Local Out-of-Band: RJ45 RS232 serial console port for direct Cisco IOS CLI access without live network connectivity
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Secure Remote CLI: SSHv2 encrypted command-line access; fallback password-authenticated Telnet
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Embedded Web GUI: Browser-based Cisco Device Manager visual port, VLAN, QoS and PoE configuration panel
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SNMP v1/v2c/v3: Standard enterprise monitoring compatible with CiscoWorks and third-party NMS platforms
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RMON Traffic Analytics: Built-in bandwidth, error and utilization reporting for fault diagnosis and capacity planning
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Local Storage: 32 MB onboard flash memory to store IOS operating image, startup-config and running-config files
6. Integrated Enhanced Security Suite
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Multi-level privilege CLI access with encrypted local user password storage
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IEEE 802.1X port authentication to validate end-user devices before granting network access
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Port security to restrict unauthorized end-device MAC addresses per access port
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STP BPDU guard and root guard to block rogue unmanaged switches from corrupting Layer 2 topology
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Broadcast storm control to suppress flooding-based denial-of-service threats
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Private VLAN edge to isolate connected endpoints from each other on shared switch ports
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DHCP Snooping + DAI ARP inspection + IP Source Guard to eliminate address spoofing attacks
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SSHv2 and SNMPv3 encryption to secure remote switch management traffic over the LAN
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Manual permanent shutdown of unused ports to reduce unauthorized network attack vectors
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Dedicated management VLAN isolation to segregate switch control plane traffic from end-user data
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PoE overload protection logic to cut power to low-priority PoE ports when total power consumption exceeds 123W budget
7. Typical Deployment Scenarios
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Small enterprise mixed PoE/non-PoE access layer switch: 8 PoE ports power a small number of IP phones and wireless APs; 16 non-PoE ports connect staff PCs and printers; dual combo uplinks support fiber or copper Gigabit trunking to building core switches
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Retail store back-office aggregation: Limited PoE budget powers store POS wireless APs and security cameras; remaining copper ports connect cashier workstations, fiber SFP uplinks link to regional retail headquarters
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Small classroom & lab auxiliary switch: Low PoE requirement for a handful of classroom IP phones, flexible combo uplink media matches campus fiber cabling infrastructure
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Tiny remote branch office wiring closet core switch: Cost-saving partial PoE design avoids the higher cost of full 24-port PoE models, fiber uplinks deliver long-distance backhaul to corporate HQ
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Small manufacturing auxiliary workshop edge LAN: 8 PoE ports power low-quantity IP surveillance cameras; non-PoE ports connect HMIs and desktop monitoring terminals
8. Standard Package Contents
1 × Cisco Catalyst WS-C2960-24LC-L Limited PoE Fast Ethernet Switch (LAN Base IOS Image Preinstalled)
1 × AC power cord
1 × RJ45-to-RS232 console rollover cable
1 × 19-inch 1RU rack mounting bracket kit
Rubber desktop stand feet
Hardware installation guide & Cisco IOS configuration documentation
*SFP fiber/copper transceivers and external redundant power supply sold separately as optional accessories
Short Commercial Version (For Quotation & Product Catalog)
The Cisco Catalyst WS-C2960-24LC-L is a classic 1RU rack-mount fan-cooled limited-PoE Layer 2 managed Fast Ethernet access switch from the Cisco Catalyst 2960 Series, factory preloaded with full LAN Base IOS advanced feature set, equipped with 24×10/100BASE-TX RJ45 ports (8 IEEE 802.3af PoE ports with 123W total PoE budget + 16 non-PoE ports) plus two dual-purpose combo Gigabit uplink ports (shared 10/100/1000T RJ45 + hot-swappable SFP slot). It supports Cisco CMS multi-switch cluster unified management and Cisco EnergyWise power saving, delivers 16 Gbps non-blocking switching capacity, 8K MAC address table, 802.1Q VLAN, multilayer DSCP/CoS QoS, IGMP Snooping, Rapid STP, port security, 802.1X NAC authentication, SSHv2, DHCP Snooping, DAI and full multi-layer ACL filtering. Cost-effective partial PoE edge switch for small offices, retail stores and compact branch mixed fiber/copper LAN deployments, covered by Cisco Limited Lifetime Hardware Warranty.
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