Cisco Catalyst WS-C3850-48F-E Full English Product Description

1. Short Sales Title

2. Official Product Overview

Model Suffix Breakdown

• 3850: Next-gen stackable unified access multilayer switch platform with UADP ASIC, StackWise-480 stacking, hot-swappable power/fan modules, integrated embedded wireless mobility controller
• 48: Forty-eight front-panel standard Gigabit RJ45 downlink ports
• F: Full PoE+ power design, 30W PoE+ support on all 48 ports, 1100W PSU with 800W total usable PoE budget
• E: IP Services IOS XE feature set (Enhanced Multilayer Image, full advanced Layer 3 routing, BGP, full multicast, complete IPv6, VRF-Lite, MACsec encryption, WIDS/WIPS wireless intrusion prevention)

Three IOS XE Feature Tier Comparison for Catalyst 3850 F-series

1. LAN Base (WS-C3850-48F-L): Pure Layer 2 only, limited static inter-VLAN routing, max 255 VLANs, lightweight limited CAPWAP AP termination only, all dynamic routing protocols disabled, no HSRP/VRRP gateway redundancy, restricted Flexible NetFlow Lite, maximum 50 APs per stack.
2. IP Base (WS-C3850-48F-S): All LAN Base features + Static / RIP / EIGRP stub / PIM stub multicast routing, HSRP/VRRP gateway redundancy, full cross-stack wireless mobility controller, 4000 VLAN IDs, complete Flexible NetFlow Lite, IPv6 stub dynamic routing, cross-stack Layer 3 replication, support for up to 100 CAPWAP APs and 2000 concurrent wireless clients per stack.
3. IP Services (WS-C3850-48F-E): All IP Base features + full multi-area OSPF, full EIGRP, BGPv4/BGPv6, full PIM sparse-dense multicast, complete end-to-end IPv6 dynamic routing (OSPFv3/EIGRPv6/BGPv6), Policy-Based Routing (PBR), WCCP v2 web cache redirection, DVMRP multicast tunneling, VRF-Lite multi-tenancy, full Flexible NetFlow v9, advanced WIDS/WIPS wireless intrusion prevention, TrustSec SXP, IEEE 802.1AE MACsec link encryptionCisco.

Stacking Architecture

• StackWise-480 480Gbps full-duplex stacking bus: Up to nine identical Catalyst 3850 F switches can be interconnected into a single logical stack under unified IP management plane, supporting distributed wire-speed Layer 2/Layer 3 forwarding, cross-stack EtherChannel link aggregation, cross-stack RSPAN port mirroring, cross-stack HSRP gateway redundancy, and cross-stack wireless AP mobility replication. StackWise-480 stacking cables sold separately as optional accessoriesCisco.
• Unified wireless stack domain: IP Services license supports full CAPWAP mobility, centralized AP licensing, full CleanAir RF spectrum analysis, rogue AP detection & automated containment, seamless cross-stack fast roaming, up to 100 APs and 2000 wireless clients per stack, maximum 40G wireless throughput per 48-port F modelCisco.
• StackPower compatible: Enables power sharing across stacked switches when paired with StackPower cables and optional dual power supply tray kit for redundant PoE+ power distribution across stack unitsCisco.

Power & Port Hardware Design

3. Port & Hardware Specifications

• Front Downlink Ports: 48 × 10/100/1000BASE-T RJ45 auto-sensing Gigabit copper, auto MDI/MDI-X, IEEE 802.3at PoE+ (30W max per port, full PoE+ on all ports)
• Modular Uplink Slot: 1 field-replaceable network module slot (supports C3850-NM-4-1G / C3850-NM-2-10G / C3850-NM-4-10G)
• Local Management Interfaces: RJ45 serial console, USB Type-A flash storage, dedicated out-of-band 10/100/1000BASE-T RJ45 management port
• Stack Interfaces: Dual StackWise-480 480Gbps stacking connectors
• Power Supply: Single modular 1100W AC auto-ranging unit; optional second redundant 1100W AC PSU for dual power redundancy; input 100–240V AC 50/60Hz; total usable PoE+ power budget 800W
• Front Panel LEDs: Per-port link/activity/speed/PoE+ indicators; global system fault, power, stack member ID, wireless status, UID beacon LEDs
• Mounting: Standard 19-inch 1RU rack-mount brackets included; wall-mount adapter optional, desktop rubber anti-slip feet supplied
• Thermal Envelope: Triple redundant hot-swappable variable-speed fan trays; operating temperature -5°C ~ +45°C up to 1500m altitude, storage -40°C ~ +70°C, relative humidity 10–95% non-condensing
• Compliance Certifications: CE, FCC Class A, UL listed, VCCI Class A, RoHS compliant, NEBS Level 3 certified
• Physical Dimensions: 445 mm (W) × 44.5 mm (H, 1RU) × 488 mm (D) / 17.5 × 1.75 × 19.2 inches
• Unit Weight: 7.9 kg (17.4 lbs) with single 1100W power supply
• Memory: 4 GB DRAM, 2 GB onboard flash memory (standard Gigabit 3850 model memory)
• Switching Fabric: 176 Gbps full-duplex non-blocking per-chassis capacity
• Forwarding Rate: 130.95 Mpps wire-speed Layer 2 / full Layer 3 forwarding for 64-byte packets
• MAC Address Table: Up to 32,000 unicast MAC entries
• VLAN Capacity: IP Services full limit 4000 active IEEE 802.1Q tagged VLANs (VLAN ID range 1–4094)
• Multicast Groups: Up to 1024 IPv4 CGMP snooping + full PIM sparse-dense multicast routing groups
• Jumbo Frame Support: Up to 9198 bytes on all PoE+ Gigabit downlinks and uplink module ports
• Wireless Scale: Supports up to 100 CAPWAP wireless APs per standalone switch/stack, maximum 2000 concurrent wireless clients, 64 unique WLAN profiles, full RF monitoring, CleanAir spectrum analysis
• IPv4 Route Scale: Up to 24,000 IPv4 routed entries
• NetFlow Scale: 48,000 Flexible NetFlow v9 full flow entries (complete v9 export features, no Lite restrictions)
• MTBF: 241,050 hours under standard office enterprise operating conditions
• Warranty: Cisco Enhanced Limited Lifetime Warranty (E-LLW) with next-business-day advance hardware replacement and 90-day TAC supportCisco

4. Layer 2 + Full IP Services Multilayer IOS XE Complete Feature Set

Core Layer 2 Switching & Converged Wired-Wireless QoS Functions

• Up to 4000 IEEE 802.1Q tagged VLANs, VTPv3 dynamic VLAN synchronization, MSTP 802.1s multiple spanning tree
• Dual trunk encapsulation: Cisco ISL trunk + IEEE 802.1Q standard trunk on all Gigabit copper and SFP/SFP+ uplink ports
• Hierarchical IEEE 802.1p CoS / DSCP MQC QoS, 4 egress priority queues per port; Auto-QoS template optimized for VoIP, video conferencing and IPTV traffic prioritization
• Gigabit / 10G EtherChannel link aggregation (LACP / static PAgP), up to 8 bundled ports for uplink redundancy and cross-stack load balancing
• Rapid STP (802.1w), UplinkFast, BackboneFast, BPDU Guard, Root Guard, UDLD to eliminate Layer 2 switching loops
• Port security: Static MAC assignment, sticky dynamic MAC learning, configurable port shutdown violation actions
• Per-port broadcast/multicast/unicast storm control to mitigate flooding DoS attacks
• Local SPAN + cross-stack RSPAN port mirroring supported via StackWise-480 stacking
• CGMP (Cisco Group Management Protocol) to reduce redundant multicast flooding across unified wired/wireless domains
• Voice VLAN dedicated VoIP traffic segmentation, automated Auto QoS marking for PoE+ IP voice endpoints
• Cisco EnergyWise intelligent power management to lower idle chassis and PoE+ power consumption
• RMON Groups 1,2,3,9 real-time traffic statistics monitoring
• NTP time synchronization, CDP Cisco Discovery Protocol for end-to-end network device visibility
• Embedded web-based Device Manager, Cisco Network Assistant zero-touch stack-wide provisioning
• Full IPv6 dual-stack Layer 2 switching: IPv6 Snooping, IPv6 ACL, IPv6 QoS marking, IPv6 neighbor discovery
• Integrated Full Unified Wireless Controller: Mobility Agent & Mobility Controller dual modes, CAPWAP AP termination, CleanAir RF spectrum analysis, unified wired/wireless ACL/QoS/policy enforcement, wireless rogue AP detection & containment, 802.11r fast roaming support, full WIDS/WIPS wireless intrusion detection system
• Full Flexible NetFlow v9 for end-to-end granular wired/wireless traffic visibility (Lite version restricted on IP Base/LAN Base)

Exclusive IP Services Full Multilayer Layer 3 Routing Suite (Not Available in IP Base / LAN Base)

• Hardware wire-speed IPv4 inter-VLAN routing via SVI switched virtual interfaces (maximum 1000 SVIs)
• Static default routing, static prefix routing, RIP v1 / RIP v2 interior gateway protocols
• Complete interior gateway protocols: Full multi-area OSPF, full EIGRP, EIGRPv3 for IPv6
• Exterior gateway protocol: BGPv4 for IPv4 inter-domain core routing, full IPv6 BGPv6 support
• Multicast routing suite: Full PIM sparse / dense / sparse-dense mode, DVMRP multicast tunneling, full IPv6 PIM multicast routing, SSM multicast support
• First-hop redundancy protocols: HSRP, VRRP for IPv4 and IPv6 gateway redundancy, cross-stack HSRP fully supported
• Policy-Based Routing (PBR) for flexible traffic steering based on ACL match criteria
• WCCP v2 web cache redirection support for centralized web proxy load balancing
• Full Layer 3 ingress / egress access control lists for granular routed subnet traffic filtering
• Equal-cost multi-path (ECMP) routing for Layer 3 load balancing across multiple fiber uplinks
• Complete full IPv6 dynamic routing: OSPFv3, EIGRPv6, BGPv6
• Fallback bridging for non-IP inter-VLAN traffic forwarding
• VRF-Lite multi-tenancy support for segmented enterprise network domains

Enterprise Security Feature Suite

• IEEE 802.1X port-based NAC authentication with RADIUS/TACACS+ AAA remote access control (unified wired/wireless NAC enforcement)
• SSH v2 encrypted CLI management; SNMPv3 secure monitoring (fallback unencrypted Telnet/SNMPv1/v2c available)
• Combined Layer 2 + Layer 3 ingress / egress access control lists for inbound/outbound traffic filtering
• Time-based ACL policy scheduling for restricted network access hours
• Private VLAN edge isolation to separate host communication within the same broadcast domain
• DHCP Snooping, Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI), IP Source Guard, uRPF anti-spoofing to block IP/MAC spoofing attacks
• Encrypted startup-config files, strong password encryption for local administrative credentials
• Advanced enterprise security toolkit: Cisco TrustSec SXP, IEEE 802.1AE MACsec link encryption, multi-domain authentication, MAC address notification
• Wireless advanced security suite: WPA2/WPA3 enterprise, 802.1X wireless authentication, deep ISE identity services engine integration, wireless intrusion detection and rogue containment

5. Full Management Interfaces

1. Local Out-of-Band: RJ45 serial console port for offline configuration without network connectivity
2. Secure Remote CLI: SSH v2 encrypted command-line access; fallback unencrypted Telnet
3. In-Band Management: Embedded web GUI, SNMP v1/v2c/v3, CDP Cisco Discovery Protocol, NTP time synchronization
4. Auxiliary Interfaces: USB Type-A flash storage port for IOS XE image / config backup, dedicated out-of-band 10/100/1000BASE-T RJ45 management port
5. Stack & Wireless Management: Single unified IP management plane for entire StackWise-480 stack; centralized wireless AP licensing, CleanAir RF spectrum and policy management across all stack members

6. Integrated Security Mitigation Suite

• Multi-level privilege CLI access with encrypted local user password storage
• IEEE 802.1X port authentication to validate wired/wireless endpoints before granting LAN access
• Port MAC address security to restrict unauthorized device connection
• STP BPDU guard and root guard to block rogue switches from altering spanning-tree topology
• Broadcast/multicast storm control to suppress flooding-based denial-of-service threats
• Private VLAN edge to isolate peer hosts on the same access VLAN
• DHCP Snooping + DAI ARP Inspection + IP Source Guard + uRPF to eliminate address spoofing attacks
• SSHv2 and SNMPv3 encryption to secure remote switch management traffic over the LAN
• Manual permanent shutdown of unused RJ45/SFP/SFP+ uplink ports to reduce unauthorized network attack vectors
• Dedicated management VLAN isolation to segregate switch control plane traffic from end-user data traffic
• Per-port PoE priority scheduling to protect critical voice/Wi-Fi devices during power budget shortages

7. Typical Deployment Scenarios

1. Medium/Large Enterprise Stackable Full-Feature Converged Wired-Wireless Routed Access Switch: 48 full PoE+ Gigabit ports power bulk enterprise PoE telepresence units, high-power Wave2 Wi-Fi 6/6E fiber-uplink APs and PoE surveillance cameras; hot-swappable modular uplink slot supports flexible 1G or 10G fiber trunking to campus core BGP routers. Full IP Services advanced routing suite (OSPF/EIGRP/BGP/PIM/IPv6) eliminates standalone aggregation routers for multi-building fiber campus segmentation, StackWise-480 stacking enables linear access-layer capacity expansion as high-power PoE endpoint count grows.
2. Multi-Building K-12 / Higher Education Campus Fiber Backbone Converged Network: Full PoE+ Gigabit ports link classroom workstation banks, student Wi-Fi AP trunk switches and campus video surveillance endpoints; interchangeable 1G/10G uplink modules connect to central school high-speed data center backbone for cross-building IPTV and distance learning video traffic. Full PIM multicast optimizes cross-building video broadcast distribution, complete OSPF/BGP dynamic routing supports multi-campus inter-subnet communication without external border routers.
3. Large Regional Headquarters Wiring Closet Main Multilayer Switch: Standard full PoE+ Gigabit downlinks connect multi-department desktop racks, conference room high-density Wi-Fi APs and backend file servers; optional 4×10G SFP+ uplink module provides ultra-high-speed fiber backhaul to corporate headquarters core distribution layer. Complete IP Services full dynamic routing suite enables multi-subnet branch design with HSRP gateway redundancy, meeting full enterprise branch routing, multicast and IPv6 compliance without external dedicated aggregation routers.
4. Large Hotel / Retail Mall / Healthcare Access Pod: Bulk full PoE+ Gigabit ports power lobby video walls, high-concurrency guest Wi-Fi aggregation gateways, backend POS servers and medical PoE thin clients; four 10G uplinks support heavy wireless user concurrent bandwidth loads, integrated full wireless controller manages mass guest wireless networks with built-in WIDS/WIPS wireless threat detection.
5. Legacy Catalyst 3750 PoE+ Access Network Refresh Hardware: Drop-in stackable full-feature replacement for lower-tier IP Base WS-C3850-48F-S switches, fully compatible with existing campus fiber uplink infrastructure, upgrades to complete dynamic Layer 3 inter-VLAN routing, full multicast control, BGP and VRF-Lite multi-tenancy for gradual migration to Catalyst 9300 unified access platforms without intermediate core router upgrades.

8. Standard Package Contents

Short Commercial Version (For Quotation & Product Catalog)