Cisco's Catalyst 2960XR-48LPS-I carries 48 Gigabit PoE+ access ports on a 370 W budget, 4 SFP uplink slots at 1 Gbps and the IP Lite image on a chassis built with two internal power supply bays. That second supply bay is the single strongest reason to choose it over the equivalent 2960-X, because filling it keeps the whole 370 W available through the failure of either module.
What the second bay is worth against a 2960-X
The honest comparison here is not against a switch with no redundancy option. Cisco supports the external Redundant Power System 2300 for the Catalyst 2960-X Series, so an X can be made resilient too. The comparison is between two ways of achieving the same outcome, and they cost very different things.
An external redundant system consumes its own rack units, requires a cable run to every switch it protects, and has to be designed into the closet before installation. Two internal bays consume nothing extra, need no interconnect and can be filled at any point by anyone with physical access to the rack. For a single-closet site protecting one or two switches, the internal approach is almost always simpler; for a large closet protecting eight, the external one starts to look economical again.
| Specification | Catalyst 2960XR-48LPS-I |
|---|---|
| Access ports | 48 x 10/100/1000 Ethernet |
| Uplinks | 4 x SFP, 1 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 |
370 W across 48 ports, and what survives a failure
The budget is 370 W with one supply fitted or two. Cisco publishes what it covers as 12 ports at up to 30 W for a PoE+ endpoint and 24 ports at up to 15.4 W for standard PoE. Neither configuration powers all 48 ports at full class, and the model was not built to; that is what the full-PoE variant of this chassis is for.
The practical planning method on a 48-port low-power chassis is to count the powered endpoints rather than the ports. Cisco's own figures give 12 endpoints at the PoE+ class and 24 at the standard class, so a room whose powered devices sit inside those counts is what this model is scaled for. With both bays populated, Cisco's table shows that same 370 W still available after one supply fails, so the deployment the room was sized for does not shrink at the moment a module dies.
Four Gigabit uplinks
The 4 SFP slots run at 1 Gbps for 4 Gbps of aggregate uplink. On a switch already carrying two internal supplies the natural deployment is two links into each of two distribution switches, giving the closet redundancy in both power and path without an external chassis in either case. Where uplink capacity rather than path count is the constraint, the SFP+ variant of this model is the correct specification.
IP Lite comes with the sub-series
Every Catalyst 2960-XR carries IP Lite, marked by the trailing I. It is the software tier above the LAN Base image used across the 2960-X family, it is fixed by the part number, and no licence moves a chassis between the two. That is worth registering when comparing an XR against an X, because the two differ in software as well as in power architecture.
Where the 48LPS-I sits in the 2960-XR range
Two comparisons cover most decisions on this model: the same power tier with faster uplinks, and the same uplinks with a larger budget.
| Model | Uplinks | PoE budget | PoE retained if a supply fails |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2960XR-48LPS-I | 4 x SFP, 1 Gbps | 370 W | 370 W |
| 2960XR-48LPD-I | 2 x SFP+, 10 Gbps | 370 W | 370 W |
| 2960XR-48FPS-I | 4 x SFP, 1 Gbps | 740 W | 740 W |
Where neither the IP Lite image nor internal redundancy is needed, the Catalyst 2960X-48FPS-L is the LAN Base equivalent at 740 W. The Catalyst 2960S-48FPS-L is the older generation with the same front panel and is the right buy only when matching an installed 2960-S closet. The current-generation counterpart is a Catalyst 9300 48-port model.
Lifecycle and support horizon
This model is named in Cisco end-of-life notice EOL13602 for the Catalyst 2960-XR product family. 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. Both the Last Date of Support and End of Vulnerability and Security Support fall on 31 October 2027, with End of Service Contract Renewal on 29 January 2027.
Those milestones are shared exactly with the Catalyst 2960-X family, so the calendar does not favour either sub-series. It is worth restating because the intuition runs the other way and a procurement decision built on the assumption that the XR outlives the X will be built on a false premise.
Condition, testing and what ships
Refurbished enterprise hardware carrying the original Cisco part number. Each unit is tested inbound, then disassembled, cleaned, inventoried and held as known-good stock; on order it is rebuilt to the requested configuration, configured and bench tested a second time before packing, with each fitted supply exercised on its own. Whole systems including this switch carry the 2-year Enterasource warranty, and shipping is free FedEx Ground to the lower 48 states.
Because the chassis has two bays and leaves Cisco with one filled, the supply count is confirmed at order. SFP transceivers, stacking modules and cables are separate line items, and Cisco software entitlement is not included with used hardware.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is internal redundancy on a 2960-XR better than the external option on a 2960-X?
It is simpler for small deployments and not automatically cheaper for large ones. Two internal bays consume no extra rack units and need no interconnect, so protecting one or two switches is straightforward. An external Redundant Power System protects several switches from one chassis, which starts to be economical once the count rises. The right answer depends on how many switches need protecting in the same room.
How many devices will a 2960XR-48LPS-I power?
Twelve endpoints at the full 30 W PoE+ class or 24 at the 15.4 W standard class, from the 370 W budget, and those counts hold whether one supply is fitted or two. Neither configuration powers all 48 ports at full class, which is what the full-PoE variant of this chassis exists to do. What the second supply provides is that the 12 or 24 already powered are not dropped when a module fails.
Does an XR switch cost anything in software terms against a 2960-X?
It differs rather than costs. Every Catalyst 2960-XR runs the IP Lite image while the 2960-X family runs LAN Base, and neither can be moved to the other by licensing. A site that needs the higher tier is choosing correctly by specifying an XR; a site that does not is paying for a capability it will not use and is better served by the X equivalent.
Can I fit the second power supply to a used 2960XR-48LPS-I later?
Yes. The bay is present on every chassis in the sub-series and Cisco sells the module as a spare, so a switch bought with one supply can be upgraded whenever it suits. The work requires physical access to the rack and nothing else, with no configuration change and no re-cabling involved.
What is checked on a used 2960XR-48LPS-I before it leaves?
The chassis is bench tested on arrival, cleaned, inventoried and stored as known-good stock, then rebuilt to the ordered configuration and tested again immediately before packing. Each fitted supply is exercised individually and all four SFP slots are verified. The supply count and the cosmetic grade are recorded per serial and stated on that listing. The catalogue is on the Cisco networking hardware page.
