The Cisco Catalyst 2960S-F48TS-L is a data-only Fast Ethernet switch: 48 access ports at 10/100, 4 SFP uplink slots at 1 Gbps, LAN Base software and no Power over Ethernet on any port. Where a floor already powers its telephones and its cameras from separate midspan injector hardware, consequently removing the PoE stage takes the heat and the electrical draw out of the closet.
Forty-eight ports at 100 Mbps against 4 Gbps of uplink
The oversubscription arithmetic on this switch is unusually kind. Forty-eight access ports capped at 100 Mbps give a theoretical access-layer total of 4.8 Gbps, and the switch carries 4 SFP uplink slots at 1 Gbps for 4 Gbps of aggregate uplink. That is a ratio close to 1.2 to 1, where a 48-port Gigabit switch with the same four uplinks sits nearer 12 to 1.
In a closet full of low-bandwidth endpoints that ratio means the uplink is effectively never the bottleneck, which is why this class of switch aged so well in point-of-sale, industrial and administrative environments. It is also why replacing one with a Gigabit switch on the same four uplinks changes the traffic profile more than people expect.
| Specification | Catalyst 2960S-F48TS-L |
|---|---|
| Access ports | 48 x 10/100 Fast Ethernet |
| Power over Ethernet | None |
| Uplinks | 4 x SFP, 1 Gbps |
| Software image | LAN Base |
| Forwarding bandwidth | 88 Gbps |
| Switching bandwidth | 176 Gbps |
| Active VLANs | 255 |
| Flash / DRAM | 64 MB / 128 MB |
| Stacking | FlexStack, optional module, 20 Gbps |
| Rack height | 1U, 1.75 x 17.5 x 15.2 in |
Behind those uplinks the LAN Base image supplies 255 active VLANs, 88 Gbps of forwarding bandwidth and 176 Gbps of switching bandwidth, running on 64 MB of flash and 128 MB of DRAM in a 1U chassis.
What removing the power stage buys
A data-only chassis has no PoE controller, no shared power pool to manage and no thermal contribution from powered endpoints. In a cabinet that is already warm or short of circuit capacity that is a material advantage, not a saving on paper. It also removes an entire class of support call, because a switch that never sources power cannot be blamed for a port that stops powering a device.
The trade is that every powered endpoint behind this switch needs its own supply, whether that is a midspan injector, a local adapter or a separate PoE switch. Where a site has already standardised on injectors for its telephones, that cost is already sunk and this model is the cheaper and simpler half of the pair.
Stacking and the LAN Base image
With a FlexStack module fitted, this switch stacks at 20 Gbps with other 2960-S and 2960-SF LAN Base switches, and with a 2960-X LAN Base switch carrying a FlexStack-Plus module at 40 Gbps with four members. The module is optional and separately ordered. Stacking is a LAN Base feature on this generation, so the final L in the designation is what makes it available at all.
Stacking is worth more on a data-only switch than the specification suggests, because the usual reason to stack a Fast Ethernet closet is port count rather than bandwidth. Four stacked chassis present 192 access ports under a single configuration and a single management address, which is a great deal simpler to operate than four separately addressed switches doing the same job.
Where the F48TS-L sits in the 2960-SF range
Among the 48-port Fast Ethernet models this is the data-only end of a three-step ladder, and it is also worth comparing against the Gigabit LAN Lite switch that people reach for when the requirement is simply "48 ports, no power".
| Model | Access ports | PoE budget | Uplinks | Image / VLANs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2960S-F48TS-L | 48 Fast Ethernet | None | 4 x SFP | LAN Base / 255 |
| 2960S-F48LPS-L | 48 Fast Ethernet | 370 W | 4 x SFP | LAN Base / 255 |
| 2960S-48TS-S | 48 Gigabit | None | 2 x SFP | LAN Lite / 64 |
Where the closet needs Gigabit access and a 10 Gigabit uplink, the Catalyst 2960S-48FPD-L is the model built for it. The current-generation successor line is the Catalyst 9300 family, and where the same site needs its routing refreshed the Cisco ISR 4000 family is the counterpart tier.
Lifecycle and support horizon
This model appears in Cisco end-of-life notice EOL10043 with the rest of the Catalyst 2960-S and 2960-SF families. 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, End of Service Contract Renewal was 4 February 2020 and the Last Date of Support was 30 November 2020.
The platform is therefore entirely on the secondary market, which is exactly why it is worth writing about honestly. A data-only Fast Ethernet switch has fewer moving parts and fewer failure modes than a PoE one, and units of this type routinely outlive the support window by a wide margin in undemanding environments.
Condition, testing and what ships
Refurbished enterprise hardware bearing the original Cisco part number. Every unit is bench tested on receipt, then disassembled, cleaned, inventoried and returned to stock; at order time it is rebuilt, configured and tested again before packing. Whole systems including this switch carry the 2-year Enterasource warranty, and delivery is free FedEx Ground to the lower 48 states.
SFP transceivers, the FlexStack module and rack hardware are separate lines unless quoted with the switch. Cisco software entitlement is not included with used hardware.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why choose a Fast Ethernet 2960S-F48TS-L over a Gigabit switch?
Because the endpoints do not need Gigabit and the uplink ratio is better. Forty-eight ports at 100 Mbps total 4.8 Gbps against 4 Gbps of uplink, where the same four uplinks behind 48 Gigabit ports are heavily oversubscribed. For point-of-sale terminals, controllers, printers and administrative desktops that balance is the more sensible engineering answer.
Does the Catalyst 2960S-F48TS-L have any PoE ports?
None at all. The T in the designation marks a data-only chassis across the whole 2960-S and 2960-SF sub-series, and this model has no power controller and no PoE budget. Telephones, cameras and access points behind it must be powered by midspan injectors, local adapters or a separate powered switch elsewhere in the closet.
How many uplinks does a 2960S-F48TS-L have and what speed are they?
Four SFP slots, each running at 1 Gbps, for 4 Gbps of aggregate uplink capacity. They are commonly deployed as two pairs to two separate distribution switches so that a single fibre, transceiver or upstream failure does not isolate the closet. Transceivers are not supplied with the chassis and should be specified against the actual fibre plant.
Is the LAN Base image on this switch upgradeable or downgradeable?
This model ships with LAN Base, which is the higher of the two images offered on the generation, so there is nothing to upgrade to. The reverse matters more: a LAN Lite unit from the same sub-series cannot be raised to LAN Base by any licensing action, which is why the final letter of a 2960-S part number should always be checked before purchase.
What testing does a used 2960S-F48TS-L go through here?
Two full bench passes. The first happens on receipt to establish that the chassis, the uplink slots and the switching fabric are sound. The unit is then cleaned, inventoried and held in stock. The second pass happens after it is picked and configured to the order, immediately before packing, and any defect found at either stage is written into that unit's listing. The wider catalogue is on the Cisco networking hardware page.
