Meela
3 min readNov 7, 2017

Cisco Catalyst 2960 family becomes more and more bigger. The LAN Lite series is Catalyst 2960-L switches.

Do you know what the difference between Catalyst 2960-L and 2960-X?

In this article, we’re going to discuss.

What is Catalyst 2960-L Switch?

Cisco Catalyst 2960-L series switches deliver 8, 16, 24 and 48 ports models in LAN Lite feature. These new switches also provide PoE function, and fanless design. They are ideal for branch offices, conventional workspaces, and out-of-wiring closet applications.

Cisco Catalyst 2960-L switches feature:

☆ 8, 16, 24, or 48 Gigabit Ethernet ports with line-rate forwarding

☆ 2 or 4 Gigabit Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) uplinks

☆ Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE+) support with up to 370W of power budget

☆ Fanless operation and operational temperature up to 55°C for deployment outside the wiring closet

☆ Higher mean time between failure (MTBF) because they have no moving mechanical parts

☆ Less than 11.5-inch depth fit in use cases with space limitation

☆ Reduced power consumption and advanced energy management features

☆ RJ45 and USB console access for simplified operations

☆ Intuitive web UI for easy deployment and management

☆ Cisco IOS® Software features

☆ Enhanced limited lifetime warranty (E-LLW) offering next-business-day hardware replacement.

What is Catalyst 2960-X Switch?

Cisco Catalyst 2960-X series switches are the lay 2 and lay 3 access switches. They can support advantages like dual core, Gigabit Ethernet access, FlexStack-Plus and easy-deployment for enterprises. They are also energy-saving devices which comsume a few power.

Cisco Catalyst 2960-X Series Switches feature:

☆ 24 or 48 Gigabit Ethernet ports with line-rate forwarding performance

☆ Gigabit Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) or 10G SFP+ uplinks

☆ FlexStack-Extended capabilities for out-of-the wiring-closet distance stacking of up to 8 switches with 40 Gbps of stack throughput (optional)

☆ FlexStack-Plus for stacking of up to 8 switches with 80 Gbps of stack throughput (optional)

☆ Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE+) support with up to 740W of PoE budget

☆ 24-port PoE fanless switch for deployment outside the wiring closet

☆ Reduced power consumption and advanced energy management features

☆ USB and Ethernet management interfaces for simplified operations

☆ Application visibility and capacity planning with integrated Full (Flexible) NetFlow and NetFlow-Lite

☆ LAN Base or LAN Lite Cisco IOS software features

☆ Enhanced Limited Lifetime Warranty (E-LLW) offering next-business-day hardware replacement

☆ Identify, classify and control of trusted internal network traffic through Domain Name System as an Authoritative Source (DNS-AS)

Cisco Catalyst 2960-XR Series Switches also offer:

☆ Power resiliency with optional dual field-replaceable power supplies

☆ IP Lite Cisco IOS software with dynamic routing and Layer 3 features

Comparison between Catalyst 2960-L and 2960-X

Sources

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/switches/catalyst-2960-x-series-switches/index.html

http://nhprice.com/cisco-catalyst-2960-l-series-switches-overview.html