The Cisco Catalyst 2960XR-24PD-I is a 24-port Gigabit PoE+ switch on the IP Lite image, with 2 SFP+ uplink slots and a 370 W Power over Ethernet budget that does not move with the number of power supplies fitted. Two internal field-replaceable power supply bays sit underneath that number, although nothing about it changes when the second bay is filled. What the second bay buys is that the whole 370 W survives the loss of either module.
Two internal supply bays, and what the second one buys
Cisco states that dual redundant power supplies are supported on the Catalyst 2960-XR Series and that these switches ship with one power supply by default, with the second available at the time of ordering or afterwards as a spare. That is the architectural difference between the XR and the X, and it is not the difference most people assume. The 2960-X is not without redundancy; its redundancy is external, through the Cisco Redundant Power System 2300. The XR brings it inside the chassis as two field-replaceable modules.
The second supply does not add watts. Cisco's table of power-supply combinations gives 370 W of available PoE+ for a single 640 W supply and the same 370 W for a pair of them, so the budget is a property of the chassis rather than of how many modules are in it. What the pair changes is the failure case: the same table shows the full 370 W still available when one of the two supplies fails.
| Specification | Catalyst 2960XR-24PD-I |
|---|---|
| Access ports | 24 x 10/100/1000 Ethernet |
| Uplinks | 2 x SFP+, 1/10 Gbps |
| Software image | IP Lite |
| Available PoE, one or two supplies | 370 W |
| Ports at up to 30 W PoE+ | 12 |
| Ports at up to 15.4 W PoE | 24 |
| PoE retained if one supply fails | 370 W |
| Power supply | PWR-C2-640WAC, 2 bays, one populated by default |
| Stacking | FlexStack-Plus, 80 Gbps, 8 members |
What 370 W covers, and what a failed supply costs
Cisco publishes the port arithmetic for this power tier rather than leaving it to be worked out: 12 ports at up to 30 W for an IEEE 802.3at PoE+ endpoint, or 24 ports at up to 15.4 W for standard PoE, against the 370 W budget. Those are the figures for every 370 W member of the sub-series and they are the same with one supply or two.
The number that does depend on the second bay is what is left after a failure. On a chassis with one supply, a failed module takes all 24 access ports and every powered endpoint behind them at once. On a chassis with two, Cisco's table shows 370 W of PoE+ still available, so a room of access points or cameras carries on at full budget while the failed module is swapped.
The IP Lite image
The trailing I in the model designation marks the IP Lite software image, which is what every member of the 2960-XR sub-series carries. It sits above the LAN Base image used across the 2960-X and is the reason the XR is specified where routed access features are part of the design rather than pure Layer 2 switching.
Stacking: the XR is its own domain
FlexStack-Plus runs at 80 Gbps across up to eight members on the IP Lite image, presented as a single logical switch. The important qualification is that a 2960-XR stacks only with other 2960-XR switches. It will not stack with a 2960-X, a 2960-S or a 2960-SF in either direction, which is a common and expensive assumption to get wrong when a site is mixing generations in one closet.
Where the 24PD-I sits in the 2960-XR range
Across the 24-port XR models the variables are the uplink media and whether the switch sources power at all. Neither power column below moves with the number of supplies fitted; the second is what remains available when a chassis with both bays populated loses one.
| Model | Uplinks | PoE budget | PoE retained if a supply fails |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2960XR-24PD-I | 2 x SFP+, 10 Gbps | 370 W | 370 W |
| 2960XR-24PS-I | 4 x SFP, 1 Gbps | 370 W | 370 W |
| 2960XR-24TD-I | 2 x SFP+, 10 Gbps | None | None |
Where the requirement is 48 ports with 10 Gigabit uplinks and no need for internal redundancy, the Catalyst 2960X-48FPD-L covers it on the LAN Base image. The current-generation counterpart at this port count is a Catalyst 9300 24-port model, and the routing tier usually paired with a resilient closet like this is a Cisco ISR 4331.
Lifecycle and support horizon
Cisco covered the Catalyst 2960-XR product family in end-of-life notice EOL13602 and named all ten models in it. End-of-Sale for the hardware was 31 October 2022, the Last Ship Date was 30 January 2023 and End of Software Maintenance was 31 October 2023. The Last Date of Support and End of Vulnerability and Security Support both fall on 31 October 2027, with End of Service Contract Renewal on 29 January 2027.
Those dates are identical to the ones in EOL13603 for the Catalyst 2960-X family, so the support calendar is not a reason to choose an XR over an X. It is worth saying plainly because the assumption runs the other way: buyers frequently expect the higher-tier sub-series to outlive the lower one, and here it does not. The reason to specify an XR is the power architecture and the IP Lite image, not the horizon.
Condition, testing and what ships
Refurbished enterprise hardware carrying the original Cisco part number. Each unit is tested on receipt, then disassembled, cleaned, inventoried and returned to stock; on order it is rebuilt, configured and bench tested again before packing, with every fitted power supply exercised as part of that check. Whole systems including this switch carry the 2-year Enterasource warranty, and shipping is free FedEx Ground to the lower 48 states.
The number of power supplies fitted is specified at the time of order rather than assumed, because the chassis has two bays and ships with one populated by default. SFP+ transceivers, stacking modules and cables are separate line items. Cisco software entitlement does not transfer with used hardware.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the second power supply add to a Catalyst 2960XR-24PD-I?
Continuity, not capacity. Cisco's power-combination table gives 370 W of available PoE+ for one 640 W supply and 370 W for two, so the budget is unchanged by the second module. The difference is in the failure column of that same table: with both bays populated, the full 370 W stays available when one supply fails, so the twelve endpoints a PoE+ deployment can run here are not shed while the failed module is replaced.
Does a Catalyst 2960-XR ship with both power supplies fitted?
No. Cisco states that these switches ship with one power supply by default and that the second can be purchased at the time of ordering the switch or later as a spare. On the secondary market that means a used chassis should be assumed to have one supply unless the listing says otherwise, and the count should be confirmed before the order rather than after delivery.
What is the real difference between a Catalyst 2960-XR and a 2960-X?
The power architecture and the software image. The XR has two internal field-replaceable supply bays, where the X relies on the external Cisco Redundant Power System 2300 for redundancy. The XR runs the IP Lite image, where the X runs LAN Base. The support calendar is not a differentiator; both families reach Last Date of Support on 31 October 2027.
Can a 2960XR-24PD-I stack with a Catalyst 2960-X?
No, and not in either direction. The 2960-XR forms its own stacking domain and joins only with other 2960-XR switches, running FlexStack-Plus at 80 Gbps across up to eight members. Mixing an XR into an order intended to build a single 2960-X stack will produce two independent stacks instead of one.
How are refurbished 2960-XR switches checked before shipping?
Each chassis is bench tested on arrival, then stripped, cleaned and inventoried into stock. When the order is picked it is reassembled to the requested configuration, including the number of power supplies specified, configured and tested again immediately before packing. Every fitted supply is exercised individually. Condition is graded per serial and disclosed on that unit's listing. The range is on the Cisco networking hardware page.
