Cisco Catalyst 2960-CX & 3560-CX-Over 5 Points & Tips You Should Read1. The Catalyst Compact Switches are available in seven switch models. They vary by whether they support both Layer 2 and Layer 3 services or Layer 2 services only; whether they support Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE+); by the number of Gigabit Ethernet ports; the aggregate power provided, and the type of cabling connections they support.

2. Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX and 2960-CX Series Compact Switch Highlights 8 or 12 Gigabit Ethernet ports with line rate forwarding performance Gigabit copper, small form factor pluggable (SFP) or 10G SFP+ uplinks Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE+) support with up to 240W of PoE budget Advanced Layer 2 (LAN Base) and Layer 3 (IP Base) support with an option to upgrade to IP services Fan-less design and silent operation Enhanced Limited Lifetime Warranty (E-LLW)

3. Tables 2 and 3 compare the available switch models and list the software package that ships by default with each model.

More Switch Comparison: 3560-CG vs. 3560-CX and 2960-CG vs. 2960-CX3560-CG vs. 3560-CXParameterFeature3560-CG3560-CX

PortsUplinks2 x 1 G Copper or 2 x 1 G SFP2 x 1 G Copper and 2 x 10 G SFP+*(SKU Option)

Downlinks8 x 1 G Copper12 x 1 G Copper

PoEPoE124W PoE+240W PoE+

Perpetual PoENOYES**

Ease of ManagementInstant AccessNOYES (10 G SKUs)

SoftwareCisco IOS SoftwareIP Base OnlyIP Base, IP Services (upgradable)

HardwareDRAM, Flash128 MB, 64 MB512 MB, 128 MB

OtherSecurity802.1x, MACsec802.1x, MACsec, SGT, SGACL**

AVCNONetFlow Lite

IPv6BasicEnhanced

*Uplinks are all active at the same time.**On Roadmap

Comparison of 2960-CG and 2960-CX Compact SwitchesParameterFeature2960-CG2960-CX

PortsUplinks2 x 1 G Copper or 2 x 1 G SFP2 x 1 G Copper and 2 x 1 G SFP+*

Downlinks8 x 1 G Copper8 x 1 G Copper

PoEPoENO124W PoE+

Perpetual PoENOYES**

HardwareDRAM, Flash128 MB, 64 MB512 MB, 128 MB

*Uplinks are all active at the same time.**On roadmap

4. Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX and 2960-CX compact switches, what are they? Fan-less, small form-factor, Gigabit Ethernet (GE) switches, These compact switches are ideal for building next-generation workspaces and extending wireless LAN networks, as well as for deployments where space is at a premium and multiple cable runs could be difficult or costly. What kind of organization and environment will they be used? Catalyst 3560-CX and 2960-CX, these switches address unique requirements in the education, retail, hospitality, health care, and manufacturing sectors. Typical deployment scenarios include classrooms, conference rooms, retail branch locations, and places that need secure end-to-end connectivity.

5. New on the 3560-CX and 2960-CX compact switches Support 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity over SFP+ uplinks Power over Ethernet (PoE)/PoE+ scale with up to 240W of PoE+ Network Plug and Play (PNP) for easy configuration An option to run in Instant Access mode, NetFlow Lite, Perpetual PoE, Switch Hibernation Mode Also an option to upgrade to the advanced Layer 3 IP Services feature set More Questions from users talking about the Catalyst Switches2960S and 2960X Catalyst Switches2960S and 2960X doesn't perform IPv4/IPv6 routing. It's not a software/IOS feature, it'sseparatehardware.Cisco Catalyst 2960-XR IP-Liteis a the different hardware, if you have this exact hardware, you can run the L3 IP routing as stated below:Cisco Catalyst 2960-XR IP-Lite High-Performance RoutingThe Cisco hardware routing architecture delivers extremely high-performance IP routing in the Cisco Catalyst 2960-XR IP-Lite Switches: IP unicast routing protocols (Static, Routing Information Protocol Version 1 [RIPv1], RIPv2, RIPng, and EIGRP-Stub)are supported for network routing applications.Advanced IP unicast routing protocols (OSPF for Routed Access)are supported for load balancing and constructing scalable LANs. IPv6 routing (OSPFv3) is supported in hardware for maximum performance.EIGRPv3-Stub and PIMv6-Stub are supported as a part of the IPv6 routing suite.Equal-cost routingfacilitates Layer 3 load balancing and redundancy across the stack.Policy-based routing (PBR)allows superior control by facilitating flow redirection regardless of the routing protocol configured (for both IPv4 and IPv6).Hot Standby Routing Protocol (HSRP) and Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP)provides dynamic load balancing and failover for routed links.Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM)for IP multicast is supported, including PIM sparse mode (PIM-SM), PIM dense mode (PIM-DM), PIM sparse-dense mode and Source Specific Multicast (SSM).See more at: https://supportforums.cisco.com/discussion/12434026/ipv4-and-ipv6-static-routing-cisco-catalyst-switches-2960-series?utm_content=http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/switches/catalyst-3560-cx-series-switches/tsd-products-support-series-home.html&utm_source=polydor.gen&utm_medium=Related-Discussions-Widgetcomment-10295766 More Topics Related to Cisco Compact SwitchesCisco Catalyst 3560-CX & 2960-CX Model ComparisonNew Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX and 2960-CX Series Switches ReviewAbout Cisco Catalyst Multigigabit Ethernet & Cisco Multigigabit Ethernet SwitchesThe Time of Multigigabit, Cisco s New Campus LAN Switches