Introduction

When it comes to the topic of networking switches, Cisco Catalyst switches play a crucial role in network infrastructure, providing efficient data transfer and connectivity. Cisco has a wide collection of devices that are equipped for exceptional performance. Among this diverse range of Cisco switches, the Cisco Catalyst 2960-X series switches are the best because they offer accessibility and fast connections. On the other hand, the Cisco 3560-X is on the competitor's side. If you are interested in what either of these product lines has to offer or how they compare, read on for further insight as we compare both of the switch series.

Overview of Cisco Catalyst 2960-X Switches

The Cisco Catalyst 2960-X series switches are known for their reliability, performance, and scalability. Designed to meet the demands of modern networks, these c2960-X switches offer a variety of models to cater to different needs. With features like Gigabit Ethernet ports, Power over Ethernet (PoE) support, and advanced security features, it provides a solid foundation for various network setups.

Cisco Catalyst 3560-X series switches

On the other hand, the Cisco Catalyst 3560-X is another solid competitor to the Catalyst 2960-X switches because it offers strong connections for diverse networking needs. These switches are known for their Layer 3 capabilities, making them suitable for more complex network architectures.

System Hardware

The Cisco Catalyst 2960-X is based on Cisco’s UADP 2.0 mini ASIC architecture and an internal ARM CPU architecture. This allows the switch to run with the Cisco IOS-XE operating system, which enables the switch to support standard YANG models through NETCONF or RESTCONF and to run scripts natively within the switch.

Table 1 lists the system hardware differences between the Cisco Catalyst 2960-X Series and Catalyst 3560X Series.

Feature	Cisco Catalyst 2960-X Series	Cisco Catalyst 3560-X Series
Switching Capacity	Up to 216 Gbps	Up to 160 Gbps
Forwarding Rate	Up to 130.9 Mpps	Up to 101.2 Mpps
Number of Ports	24 or 48 Gigabit Ethernet ports	24 or 48 Gigabit Ethernet ports
Uplink Interfaces	2 SFP or 4 SFP+ (10G) uplinks	2 SFP or 4 SFP+ (10G) uplinks
PoE (Power over Ethernet)	Available on select models	Available on select models
PoE+ Support	Yes	Yes
Stackable	Yes, with FlexStack-Plus	Yes, with FlexStack-Plus
Stacking Bandwidth	Up to 80 Gbps (FlexStack-Plus)	Up to 64 Gbps (FlexStack-Plus)
Stack Members	Up to 8 members in a stack	Up to 9 members in a stack
Redundant Power Supply Support	Yes	Yes
MAC Address Table Size	Up to 16,000 entries	Up to 12,000 entries
VLANs	Up to 4096	Up to 4096
IPv6 Support	Yes	Yes
Energy-Efficient Ethernet (EEE)	Yes	Yes
Cisco Smart Operations	No	Yes
Cisco TrustSec Security	No	Yes
Cisco StackPower	No	Yes
Dimensions (H x W x D)	1.73 x 17.5 x 11.8 inches	1.73 x 17.5 x 18.0 inches

System Software

The Cisco Catalyst 2960-X series switches inherit enhanced functionalities that otherwise are not supported on Catalyst 3560-X switches. These feature sets provide increased resiliency and thorough features such as MACsec, Cisco SD-Access, and support for Cisco TrustSec.

Some major system software differences between Cisco Catalyst-X and 3560-X Series Switches are listed in Table 2. below.

Feature	Cisco Catalyst 2960-X Series	Cisco 3560-X Series
Purpose/Usage	Access Layer Switching	Access Layer Switching
Ports	24 or 48 Gigabit Ethernet ports	24 or 48 Gigabit Ethernet ports
Uplink Interfaces	4 SFP or 2 SFP+ Uplink interfaces	4 SFP or 2 SFP+ Uplink interfaces
Stacking Capability	FlexStack-Plus with 80 Gbps	StackWise-Plus with 64 Gbps
Stack Members	Up to 8 units in a stack	Up to 9 units in a stack
Power over Ethernet (PoE)	Available in some models	Available in some models
Power Supply Options	Fixed or Redundant Power Supplies	Fixed or Redundant Power Supplies
Layer 3 Features	IP Base and LAN Base available	IP Base and IP Services options
IPv6 Support	Yes	Yes
Software	LAN Base or IP Lite	IP Base or IP Services
Security Features	Limited security features	Advanced security features
QoS (Quality of Service)	Basic QoS features	Advanced QoS features
MACsec Support	No	Yes
Energy-Efficient Features	Yes (EnergyWise)	Yes (EnergyWise)
Price Range	Generally lower	Generally higher

System Default Behavior

The Cisco Catalyst 2960-X Series switches and the Cisco Catalyst 3560-X Series switches share a great deal of the same default behavior. For instance, IP routing is not enabled and interfaces by default operate in layer 2 switch-port mode. Still, there are a few distinctions as well:

Management interface

In keeping with the rest of the Catalyst 2000 Series, the Catalyst 2960-X Series has a Gigabit Ethernet management interface with three octets. In contrast to the Catalyst 2960-X and 3560-X series platforms, which do not support virtual VRF instances, the Catalyst 3560-X platform's management port features dedicated Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) for separating management traffic from regular data traffic. The management port variations between the two platforms are listed in Table 3.

Feature	Cisco Catalyst 2960-X Series	Cisco 3560-X Series
Management Port Types	1 x RJ45 Ethernet Port (10/100/1000)	1 x RJ45 Ethernet Port (10/100/1000)
Management Data Rate	10/100/1000 Mbps	10/100/1000 Mbps
Console Port	1 x RJ45 (Cisco RJ45-to-DB9 cable)	1 x RJ45 (Cisco RJ45-to-DB9 cable)
USB Port	1 x USB Type A	1 x USB Type A
USB Type	USB Type A (for file and image transfer)	USB Type A (for file and image transfer)
Ethernet Management Port (EMI)	Yes (dedicated port)	Yes (dedicated port)
Out-of-Band (OOB) Management	Yes	Yes
Management Interface	Web-based GUI, CLI (Console, Telnet, SSH)	Web-based GUI, CLI (Console, Telnet, SSH)
In-Band Management via Data Ports	Yes	Yes
SNMP Support	SNMP v1, v2c, v3	SNMP v1, v2c, v3
Management Protocols	HTTP, HTTPS, Telnet, SSH, SNMP, RMON, TFTP, FTP	HTTP, HTTPS, Telnet, SSH, SNMP, RMON, TFTP, FTP
Power over Ethernet (PoE)	Available on selected models	Available on selected models
StackWise Technology (for stacking)	Yes	Yes

Software Features

Following are the software feature differences between Cisco Catalyst 2960-X series and Cisco 3560-X switches:

System MTU

Table 4. Summarizes the differences between System MTU of Cisco Catalyst 2960-X series and Cisco 3560-X switches

Switch Series	Default System MTU	Configurable MTU Range	Jumbo Frames Support
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X	1500 bytes	1500 to 9198 bytes	Yes
Cisco 3560-X	1500 bytes	1500 to 9198 bytes	Yes

Host Tracking Feature

The Cisco Catalyst 2960-X series supports IP Device Tracking (IPDT) for keeping track of connected hosts (association of MAC and IP addresses). The Cisco Catalyst 3560-X switches support the new Switch Integrated Security Features (SISF) based on the IPDT feature with the latest Cisco IOS XE software release. It acts as a container policy that enables snooping and device-tracking features available with First-Hop Security (FHS) in both IPv4 and IPv6 using IP-agnostic Command-Line Interface (CLI) commands.

Full Flexible NetFlow

Both the Catalyst 2960X series and Cisco Catalyst 3560-X switches support Flexible NetFlow. Besides the scalability differences, there are a few differences in the capabilities and configurations, as listed in Table 5.

Feature	Cisco Catalyst 2960-X Series	Cisco 3560-X Series
Flexible NetFlow Version	9	9
Flow Records	Maximum of 16,000 active flows	Maximum of 64,000 active flows
Flow Export Options	IPFIX, syslog, SNMP, or NetFlow	IPFIX, syslog, SNMP, or NetFlow
Sampling Rate	Supported	Supported
Performance	Limited to hardware capabilities	Enhanced performance capabilities
Layer 2/3 Support	Layer 3 only	Layer 2 and Layer 3
Hardware Platform	Fixed configuration switches	Modular and fixed configuration
Stacking Support	No stacking support	Stackable with other 3560-X units
IPv6 Support	Limited IPv6 support	Full IPv6 support
Advanced Features	Basic NetFlow features	Advanced NetFlow features
Platform Flexibility	Limited flexibility	Higher flexibility and scalability
QoS Integration	Limited QoS integration	Advanced QoS integration

Boot Mode

Cisco Catalyst 2960-X switches support the monolithic bundle boot mode as well as the optimized install boot mode, whereas the Catalyst 3560-X switches support only the traditional bundle mode. Table 6. compares the boot mechanism between the two platforms.

Boot Mode	Description
Default Mode	- The switch attempts to load the Cisco IOS image from the first valid Flash memory device.
	- If the first Flash device fails, the switch tries to load the image from the next available Flash device.
Manual Boot Mode	- Allows the user to manually select and load a specific Cisco IOS image from the Flash memory.
	- Useful for troubleshooting or selecting a specific image version.
Bundle Boot Mode	- Used when the switch is bundled with another switch, and a common Cisco IOS image is loaded from a server.
	- Ensures consistency across a stack of switches.
Install Mode	- Allows the installation of a new Cisco IOS image via the archive download-sw command.
	- Simplifies the process of updating or changing the switch's operating system.
Bundle Install Mode	- Similar to Bundle Boot Mode, but with the ability to install a new image during the boot process.
	- Ensures a consistent image across a stack of switches and simplifies image management.

Quality of Service

The ASICs and operating systems that power the Cisco Catalyst 2960-X and Catalyst 3560-X Series are different, resulting in some differences in QoS behaviors, as described in Table 7.

Feature	Cisco Catalyst 2960-X Series	Cisco 3560-X Series
QoS Capabilities	Basic QoS features	Advanced QoS capabilities
Classification	Trust boundaries support	Enhanced trust options
Policing	Basic rate-limiting	More advanced policing
Queuing	Basic queuing mechanisms	Advanced queuing options
Scheduling	Strict priority queuing	Weighted round-robin
Marking and Remark	Basic marking capabilities	More flexible marking
Auto QoS	Supported	Supported
Voice VLAN	Supported	Supported
DSCP Marking	Yes	Yes
Rate Limiting	Basic rate control	More granular rate limits
Congestion Management	Basic congestion management	Advanced congestion mgt
Multicast QoS	Basic support	Enhanced support

Switch Reset

To reset the Cisco Catalyst 2960-X switches, use the standard "write erase" command in Cisco IOS software and remove the vlan.dat file and configuration file from ROMMON. The exec "factory-reset," "write erase," and "erase nvram:" commands are available for the Cisco Catalyst 3560-X Series. These commands can be used to erase any customer-specific data that has been added to the device since it was shipped. Configurations, log files, boot variables, core files, and credentials are among the data that has been erased. In order to complete the factory reset, the device reloads and remains in ROMMON mode.

Operations

Interface Reference

Table 7. compares the interface numbering between the two platforms.

Interface Type	Catalyst 2960-X Series	Catalyst 3560-X Series
GigabitEthernet	GigabitEthernet0/1 - 48	GigabitEthernet0/1 - 48
FastEthernet	FastEthernet0/1 - 48