A 740 W PoE budget across 48 Fast Ethernet access ports is what the Cisco Catalyst 2960S-F48FPS-L exists to deliver, alongside 4 SFP uplink slots at 1 Gbps and the LAN Base image. It carries the largest power budget in the 2960-SF sub-series on ports that run at 10/100 rather than Gigabit, functionally making it a telephony and camera switch rather than a desktop data switch.
740 W across 48 ports, and what that actually powers
Seven hundred and forty watts is the combined pool available to all 48 access ports, allocated on demand rather than reserved. Divided by the 30 W ceiling an IEEE 802.3at PoE+ endpoint may draw it covers 24 ports at full load. Divided by the 15.4 W ceiling of the older 802.3af class it covers all 48. This is the only model in the Fast Ethernet branch of the sub-series that can power every one of its ports at the lower class.
What makes that budget interesting is the combination with a 100 Mbps access port. High-draw powered devices are usually high-bandwidth devices, and a modern wireless access point wants a Gigabit port as much as it wants watts. On this switch the natural load is a floor of telephones, fixed cameras, intercoms, clocks and access-control readers, all of which sit comfortably inside both the power budget and the port speed.
| Specification | Catalyst 2960S-F48FPS-L |
|---|---|
| Access ports | 48 x 10/100 Fast Ethernet |
| PoE budget | 740 W combined |
| Ports at the 30 W PoE+ ceiling | 24 |
| Ports at the 15.4 W PoE ceiling | 48 |
| Uplinks | 4 x SFP, 1 Gbps |
| Software image | LAN Base |
| Forwarding bandwidth | 88 Gbps |
| Switching bandwidth | 176 Gbps |
| Active VLANs | 255 |
| Rack height | 1U, 1.75 x 17.5 x 15.2 in |
Four SFP uplinks, and why the count matters more here
This model carries 4 SFP uplink slots at 1 Gbps, twice the provision of the 24-port Fast Ethernet members of the same sub-series. With 48 access ports capped at 100 Mbps the theoretical access-layer total is 4.8 Gbps, so 4 Gbps of uplink is a genuinely proportionate ratio rather than a token one. That is unusual on a 48-port switch and it is one of the quiet advantages of a Fast Ethernet access layer.
In practice the four slots are more often used for resilience than for raw throughput. Two links to each of two distribution switches gives a closet full of telephones a path that survives a single fibre, transceiver or upstream switch failure, which for a voice deployment is worth more than aggregate bandwidth.
Stacking and power redundancy
FlexStack gives this switch 20 Gbps of stack throughput once the optional module is fitted, and the module is a separate part from the chassis. Stacked members share one configuration and one management address, and a 2960-X LAN Base switch with a FlexStack-Plus module will join at a reduced 40 Gbps with a four-member ceiling. Power redundancy is external: the chassis has one fixed internal supply, and Cisco covers resilience through the Redundant Power System 2300 rather than a second internal module.
Where the F48FPS-L sits in the 2960-SF range
Across the three 48-port Fast Ethernet models the port count, the uplinks and the software image are constant. The only variable is the PoE budget, and it steps in three places.
| Model | Access ports | PoE budget | Ports at 30 W | Uplinks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2960S-F48FPS-L | 48 Fast Ethernet | 740 W | 24 | 4 x SFP |
| 2960S-F48LPS-L | 48 Fast Ethernet | 370 W | 12 | 4 x SFP |
| 2960S-F48TS-L | 48 Fast Ethernet | None | None | 4 x SFP |
If the endpoints need Gigabit as well as power, the Catalyst 2960S-48FPS-L is the same layout with 10/100/1000 access ports and the identical 740 W budget. For a longer Cisco support horizon on that shape, the Catalyst 2960X-48FPS-L is the next generation, and the current-generation equivalent is a Catalyst 9300 48-port model.
Lifecycle and support horizon
End-of-life notice EOL10043 covers the Catalyst 2960-S and 2960-SF families and names every SF model including this one. End-of-Sale was 6 November 2015, the Last Ship Date was 4 February 2016, End of Vulnerability and Security Support was 5 November 2018 and the Last Date of Support was 30 November 2020. Cisco's published migration path is the equivalent Catalyst 2960-X model.
A closed support window is the reason this switch is affordable on the secondary market and the reason it is bought for continuity rather than for growth. Large voice deployments in schools, hospitals and local government sites were built on exactly this hardware, and replacing a single failed unit with an identical one is far cheaper and far less disruptive than re-platforming a floor.
Condition, testing and what ships
Every unit is refurbished enterprise hardware carrying the original Cisco part number. The bench process is an inbound test on receipt, then disassembly, cleaning, inventory and stock, and on order a rebuild to the requested configuration followed by a second outbound test before packing. Whole systems including this switch carry the 2-year Enterasource warranty, with free FedEx Ground delivery to the lower 48 states.
SFP transceivers, the FlexStack module and any redundant power components are quoted as separate lines. Cisco software licensing is not included and does not transfer with used hardware.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Catalyst 2960S-F48FPS-L power all 48 of its ports at once?
At the 15.4 W ceiling of the older 802.3af class, yes, all 48. At the 30 W ceiling of an IEEE 802.3at PoE+ device the 740 W pool covers 24 ports. Because the budget is shared and drawn on demand, a mixed closet lands between those two figures, and the reliable method is to add up the actual class draw of every endpoint before ordering.
Are the ports on a 2960S-F48FPS-L Gigabit?
No, they are 10/100 Fast Ethernet. Cisco's product description for the part number reads "Catalyst 2960-SF 48 FE, PoE 740W, 4 x SFP, LAN Base", and the leading F in the designation marks the Fast Ethernet 2960-SF branch. Only the 4 SFP uplink slots run at 1 Gbps. A Gigabit access layer requires the 2960-S models without that leading F.
Is a 2960S-F48FPS-L suitable for wireless access points?
It can power many of them, but the access port speed is the constraint rather than the watts. A dual-radio access point capable of several hundred megabits will be throttled by a 100 Mbps port long before it exhausts its share of the 740 W budget. For wireless backhaul the Gigabit members of the 2960-S or the newer 2960-X generation are the appropriate choice.
What is the difference between FP and LP in a 2960-SF model designation?
The size of the shared power pool. FP marks the full PoE budget, which on the 48-port Fast Ethernet models is 740 W, and LP marks the low-power budget of 370 W on the same chassis. Everything else, including the 48 access ports, the 4 SFP uplinks and the LAN Base image, is identical between the two variants.
What does Enterasource check on a refurbished 2960S-F48FPS-L?
The unit is tested when it arrives, then disassembled, cleaned and inventoried before going into stock as a known-good chassis. When it sells it is reassembled, configured to the order and bench tested again immediately before packing, with the PoE stage exercised as part of that check. Condition is graded per serial and disclosed on the listing. The rest of the range is on the Cisco networking hardware page.
