Cisco Switches & Routers

Which Cisco family fits the job

The Cisco range on this page splits four ways, and which one you want is decided by where the box sits in the network rather than by budget. Campus and access-layer switching is Catalyst. Data centre leaf and spine switching is Nexus. Branch and WAN routing is the Integrated Services Router line, now succeeded by the Catalyst 8000 edge platforms. Use the routing table below to jump straight to the right listing.

If you would rather browse by type than by series, the full switch listing is under Cisco switches and the full router listing, including the Catalyst 8000 edge platforms, is under used Cisco routers.

Catalyst 2960: the largest switch estate on this page

More than half of the switches listed here are Catalyst 2960s, and the five sub-series are not interchangeable — they differ in access port speed, uplink type and, critically, in which stacking module they accept.

• Catalyst 2960 and 2960+ — 10/100 Fast Ethernet access with Gigabit uplinks, in 24 and 48 port sizes, LAN Base or LAN Lite. The oldest sub-series on the page and the cheapest way to light up a small wiring closet.
• Catalyst 2960-C compact — 8 and 12 port fanless switches for desks, lecterns and camera positions. The CPD models draw their own power from an upstream switch and pass Power over Ethernet through to a device behind them, which removes the need for a local outlet.
• Catalyst 2960-S and 2960-SF — FlexStack stacking. The S models give Gigabit access, the SF models give Fast Ethernet access with SFP uplinks. They take different stack modules: C2960S-STACK on the S, C2960S-F-STACK on the SF. Ordering the wrong one is the single most common mistake on this sub-series.
• Catalyst 2960-X — Gigabit access with FlexStack-Plus, and a choice of two 10 Gigabit SFP+ uplinks or four Gigabit SFP uplinks. The largest 2960 sub-series in our inventory and the one with support still running.
• Catalyst 2960-XR — the same hardware as the 2960-X plus the IP Lite image, which adds static routing and RIP, and a bay for a second internal power supply. The second supply keeps the full Power over Ethernet budget running when one supply fails; it does not raise that budget.

ISR G2 1900, 2900 and 3900 branch platforms

Twenty-two of the routers on this page are second-generation Integrated Services Routers. They are the platform to buy when the job is keeping an existing IOS 15 branch configuration alive, holding spares for a fleet that is not being replaced, or matching a router that already sits at the other end of a tunnel. If the branch is being rebuilt rather than maintained, start at the ISR 4000 series instead, which runs IOS-XE and takes modular service interfaces.

The SEC and VSEC suffixes on these part numbers are licence bundles on identical hardware, not different chassis. A CISCO2921-SEC/K9 and a C2921-VSEC/K9 are the same router; the bundle determines which feature set was licensed and, on the VSEC parts, whether voice DSP resources were fitted. Tell us what the router has to do and we will confirm what the specific unit we are shipping carries before it leaves.

Where each Cisco family sits in its refurbishment window

The best time to buy a Cisco platform refurbished is after Cisco has stopped selling it and before Cisco stops supporting it. In that gap the hardware is only available second-hand, so the price falls, while software maintenance and replacement parts are still available from Cisco. The table below places every family on this page against Cisco's own published milestones, with the notice each date comes from.

Cisco sets these milestones per part number, not per family. The fanless C2960X-24PSQ-L is excluded from EOL13603 and carries a notice of its own, and individual Nexus 9300 platforms carry separate notices from one another. Check the model page before relying on a family date. Where a support window has closed — as it has on the 2960-S and 2960-SF — we say so on the page rather than leaving it implied, because the right buyer for that hardware is someone holding spares for an installed fleet, not someone building something new.

Cisco optics, stacking modules and power supplies

A switch is rarely the whole order. Enterasource holds Cisco transceivers, stacking hardware, expansion modules and spare power supplies as separate line items, and they can be added to a switch build or bought on their own. Common requests are the GLC-T, GLC-SX-MM and GLC-LH-SM Gigabit SFPs, SFP+ direct-attach cables, the FlexStack and FlexStack-Plus stacking modules with their matching CAB-STK-E cables, and the C3KX network modules and power supplies that serve the 3560-X and 3750-X platforms. Browse optical transceivers, switch expansion modules and the wider networking accessories range. Parts and modules carry a 1-year warranty rather than the whole-system term.

How Enterasource sells Cisco hardware

Most whole switches and routers on this page are configured to order rather than sold as a fixed bundle. You choose the uplink optics, the stacking module and cable, the power supplies and airflow direction, the rail kit and the software image, and the configuration is quoted as one line. Where a component is only available on request, the page routes to a quote instead of showing a cart, which is why some models here are marked available by quote.

Every unit is processed through our lab before it ships: inbound test, disassembly and cleaning, inventory, reassembly, configuration, then a final outbound test. Whole switches and routers ship in Refurbished condition with a 2-year Enterasource warranty as standard — included, not sold as an upgrade tier — and qualify for free ground shipping to the lower 48 states. Built-to-order models ship in 5-7 business days; quote-only models are scoped by our team before they ship.

Frequently asked questions

Should a network use Cisco Catalyst switches or Cisco Nexus switches?

Catalyst switches run IOS-XE and are built for campus networks: access layers, distribution, and wired and wireless convergence, with Power over Ethernet for phones, cameras and access points. Nexus switches run NX-OS and are built for data centre fabrics: leaf and spine topologies, heavy east-west traffic between servers, and optionally Cisco ACI. Choose Catalyst for a building or a branch. Choose Nexus for a rack row, a storage fabric or anything where servers talk mostly to each other.

Can Cisco switches run alongside switches from other vendors?

Yes, provided the design stays on standard protocols. Cisco switches implement 802.1Q VLAN tagging, 802.3ad and LACP link aggregation, OSPF, BGP, LLDP and standard rapid spanning tree, and all of those interoperate with Dell, Juniper, Arista and HPE equipment. What does not cross vendor boundaries is the proprietary layer: VTP, PVST+ in its Cisco-only form, StackWise and FlexStack stacking, and Cisco ACI. Build multi-vendor networks on the standard protocols and keep the proprietary features inside single-vendor islands.

What replaced the Catalyst 2960-X, and does an existing 2960-X estate have to move?

Cisco's successor to the Catalyst 2960-X and 2960-XR is the Catalyst 9200 and 9200L line. Nothing has to move yet: under notice EOL13603 for the 2960-X and EOL13602 for the 2960-XR, Cisco stopped taking orders on 31 October 2022 and supports both sub-series until 31 October 2027. That gap is exactly the refurbishment window, so the usual pattern is to hold the existing estate, buy refurbished 2960-X units to expand or replace failures, and phase in Catalyst 9200 switches at sites that need multigigabit access or stacking across a larger group.

How is a refurbished Cisco switch configured before it ships?

Whole switches on this page are built to order. On the product page you select the uplink optics or direct-attach cables, the stacking module and cable where the platform supports stacking, the power supplies and airflow direction, and the rail or mounting kit. Our team then assembles that exact configuration, loads the software image the platform is licensed for, and runs a final outbound test on the assembled unit rather than on the bare chassis. If a part you need is not listed as an option, ask for it on the quote and we will source it against the build.

Does Enterasource sell Cisco optics, stacking modules and power supplies on their own?

Yes. Transceivers, direct-attach cables, stacking modules and cables, expansion modules and spare power supplies are all stocked as individual line items and can be bought without a switch. That includes Gigabit SFPs such as GLC-T, GLC-SX-MM and GLC-LH-SM, the FlexStack and FlexStack-Plus modules and their CAB-STK-E cables, and the C3KX network modules and power supplies used by the 3560-X and 3750-X platforms. If you are not certain which optic a given switch port accepts, send us the switch part number and the run length and we will match it.

Which Cisco families here are still inside their Cisco support window?

The Catalyst 9200, 9200L, 9300 and 9300L are still shipping new and carry no hardware end-of-life notice. Four more families are inside the window between last order and last day of support: the ISR 4321 to 4451-X to 30 November 2028 under EOL14896, the C9500-24Q and C9500-40X to 30 April 2029 under EOL15039, the C9500-16X to 30 April 2031 under EOL15621, and the Catalyst 2960-X and 2960-XR to 31 October 2027 under EOL13603 and EOL13602. The Catalyst 2960-S and 2960-SF sit outside it, their support having ended under EOL10043.

Comparing vendors? See refurbished Dell switches, Juniper switches and Palo Alto Networks firewalls, or browse the full enterprise networking inventory. Pairing switches with compute? Start with refurbished enterprise servers.