The Cisco Catalyst Compact Switches easily extend your Cisco Catalyst switching infrastructure outside the wiring closet to enable new workspaces, extend wireless LANs. These fanless, small form-factor switches are ideal for space-constrained deployments where multiple cable runs would be challenging.

With increased bandwidth, faster CPU, and more memory, the Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX and 2960-CX bring a multifold improvement in performance to the Cisco Catalyst Compact Switch product line. They offer many smart and innovative features for management, simplicity, and scale.

New features include:
- 8 or 12 Gigabit Ethernet ports with line-rate forwarding performance
- Gigabit copper Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) or 10G SFP+ uplinks
- Advanced Layer 2 (LAN Base) and Layer 3 (IP Base) support with an option to upgrade to IP Services
- Cisco Catalyst Instant Access (optional with 10G) for management simplicity
- Network plug-and-play (PnP) support for automating device configuration
- Cisco TrustSec capability for role-based access security
- Innovative power management features, including Energy Efficient Ethernet and switch hibernation mode
- NetFlow Lite for application visibility at the access network

Upgrade Paths
Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX and 2960-CX Series Switches build upon the success of the 3560-C and 2960-C compact switches and offer superior performance and scale. They come in the same form factor as the older switches, and you can use them anywhere you used the older switches. Customers migrating to the new compact switches will benefit from the increased scalability and performance, innovative new features, and proven performance.