Twenty-four Gigabit data ports and 4 SFP uplink slots at 1 Gbps make up the Cisco Catalyst 2960X-24TS-L, a LAN Base switch with FlexStack-Plus stacking and no Power over Ethernet anywhere on it. It suits a closet whose telephones and access points draw their power from midspan injectors, practically leaving the switch to move traffic and to do nothing else at all.
Four uplinks is a path decision, not a bandwidth one
Four SFP slots at 1 Gbps give 4 Gbps of aggregate uplink, which is less raw capacity than the 20 Gbps two SFP+ slots would provide on the D model. The reason to choose four anyway is topology. Two links to each of two distribution switches gives a closet a path that survives the loss of a fibre, a transceiver, a line card or an entire upstream chassis, and it does so without any 10 Gigabit optics in the bill of materials.
For twenty-four data ports that arithmetic usually holds. A closet of desktops rarely sustains more than a few hundred megabits upstream, so 4 Gbps across four diverse paths is a better engineering answer than 20 Gbps across two. Where the same closet aggregates other switches or serves file and video workloads, the calculation reverses and the SFP+ model is the correct specification.
| Specification | Catalyst 2960X-24TS-L |
|---|---|
| Access ports | 24 x 10/100/1000 Ethernet |
| Power over Ethernet | None |
| Uplinks | 4 x SFP, 1 Gbps |
| Aggregate uplink capacity | 4 Gbps |
| Software image | LAN Base |
| Forwarding bandwidth | 108 Gbps |
| Switching bandwidth | 216 Gbps |
| Active VLANs | 1023 |
| Stacking | FlexStack-Plus, 80 Gbps, 8 members |
| Rack height | 1RU, 1.75 in |
The LAN Base image behind those ports carries 1023 active VLANs with 108 Gbps of forwarding bandwidth and 216 Gbps of switching bandwidth, in a 1RU chassis.
Stacking, and why it changes the uplink question
FlexStack-Plus runs at 80 Gbps across up to eight members and presents the stack as one logical switch. That has a direct bearing on uplink design: a stack of four of these switches has ninety-six access ports and sixteen SFP slots, and the uplinks can be spread across different members so that losing one chassis does not isolate the stack. Building that resilience from four Gigabit uplinks per member is cheaper and more flexible than concentrating it in two SFP+ slots.
The stack is backward compatible with FlexStack on the 2960-S and 2960-SF at a reduced 40 Gbps and four members, and it is not compatible with the 2960-XR in either direction. Modules and stacking cables are separate parts and are not supplied with the chassis.
A data-only switch in a powered building
Plenty of sites run midspan injectors for their telephones because the injectors were bought before the switches, or because the voice system was procured separately from the network. In that situation a data-only access switch is not a compromise; it is the correct part. The building already has a powering strategy and duplicating it inside the switch spends money on a subsystem that will never be used.
The same logic applies in reverse when a site is planning a refresh. If the intention is to retire the injectors and take powering into the switch, this is not the model to buy, because there is no route to add Power over Ethernet to a T chassis later. That decision is made once, at purchase, and it is worth making explicitly rather than by default.
Where the 24TS-L sits in the 2960-X range
The three models below share the same LAN Base image and stack fabric. What separates them is whether they source power and how many ports they carry.
| Model | Access ports | PoE budget | Uplinks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2960X-24TS-L | 24 Gigabit | None | 4 x SFP, 1 Gbps |
| 2960X-24PS-L | 24 Gigabit | 370 W | 4 x SFP, 1 Gbps |
| 2960X-48TS-L | 48 Gigabit | None | 4 x SFP, 1 Gbps |
Where the closet does need to power its own endpoints at 48-port scale, the Catalyst 2960X-48FPS-L is the model built for it. A current-generation 24-port counterpart is the Catalyst 9300 24-port model, and the routing tier above a site of this size is normally drawn from the Cisco ISR 4000 family.
Lifecycle and support horizon
Cisco named this model in end-of-life notice EOL13603 for the Catalyst 2960-X product family. End-of-Sale for the hardware was 31 October 2022 and the Last Ship Date was 30 January 2023, with End of Software Maintenance on 31 October 2023. Last Date of Support and End of Vulnerability and Security Support are both 31 October 2027, and End of Service Contract Renewal is 29 January 2027.
That leaves several years of Cisco hardware support on a platform Cisco no longer sells, which is the condition that makes a refurbished purchase a planning decision rather than a gamble. The renewal deadline in January 2027 is the one to diarise if the intention is to place Cisco coverage rather than to self-spare the estate.
Condition, testing and what ships
Units are refurbished enterprise hardware carrying Cisco's original part number. Each is tested on receipt, then disassembled, cleaned, inventoried and returned to stock; on order it is rebuilt, configured to the requested specification and bench tested again immediately before packing. Whole systems including this switch carry the 2-year Enterasource warranty, with free FedEx Ground shipping to the lower 48 states.
SFP transceivers, FlexStack-Plus modules and stacking cables are separate line items unless quoted with the chassis. Cisco software entitlement is not included and does not transfer with used hardware.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why would a closet need four uplinks on a Catalyst 2960X-24TS-L?
For diverse paths rather than for bandwidth. Four SFP slots allow two links to each of two distribution switches, so the closet stays reachable through the loss of a fibre, a transceiver, a line card or a whole upstream chassis. Twenty-four data ports rarely sustain more than a fraction of the 4 Gbps available, which makes path count the more valuable property.
Is a 2960X-24TS-L able to power a telephone or camera?
No. It has no power controller and no PoE budget, which is what the T in the designation marks throughout the 2960-X sub-series. Endpoints that need power behind this switch have to be fed by midspan injectors, local adapters or a separate powered switch. Many sites already own injectors, in which case this is the correct and cheaper part rather than a compromise.
How many switches can a 2960X-24TS-L stack with?
Up to eight members in total on the LAN Base image using FlexStack-Plus at 80 Gbps, managed as one logical switch with a single configuration and a single address. Mixed stacks with 2960-S or 2960-SF LAN Base switches are supported at a reduced 40 Gbps with four members. The 2960-XR cannot be stacked with it in either direction.
What is the difference between the 2960X-24TS-L and the 24TD-L?
Uplink media alone. This model carries 4 SFP slots fixed at 1 Gbps; the D model carries 2 SFP+ slots that run at either 1 or 10 Gbps. Access ports, software image, VLAN ceiling, stack fabric and chassis are identical. The choice is between four diverse Gigabit paths and two higher-capacity ones.
What preparation does a used 2960X-24TS-L receive?
It is bench tested on arrival, then cleaned, inventoried and held as known-good stock. At order time the chassis is rebuilt to specification, configured and tested again, with all twenty-four access ports and all four SFP slots exercised before packing. Any cosmetic or physical defect is recorded against that serial and disclosed on its listing. The full range is on the Cisco networking hardware page.
