IE-3400H-24T-A Cisco Catalyst IE3400 24 Ports Industrial Ethernet Switch

Overview of the Cisco IE-3400H-24T-A Managed Switch

Cisco Catalyst IE3400H Heavy Duty Series

The Cisco IE-3400H-24T-A is a robust, wall-mountable Ethernet switch engineered for demanding industrial environments. It offers 24 managed 10/100 Mbps ports and supports advanced Layer 2 protocols for seamless connectivity and control.

Manufacturer Details

• Brand: Cisco 
• Model Number: IE-3400H-24T-A
• Device Type: Managed Switch

Technical Specifications

Form Factor & Port Configuration

• Mounting Style: Wall-compatible
• Port Count: 24 x 10/100 Mbps Ethernet
• Interface Type: Gigabit LAN (M12 connectors)

Performance Metrics

• Queue Depth: 8
• IGMP Group Limit: 1000
• VLAN Capacity: 256 IDs
• Spanning Tree Instances: 128
• Access Control Lists: Supports up to 1500 entries
• MAC Table Size: 8,000 entries

Advanced Protocols & Management

Routing & Switching Protocols

• IGMPv2, IGMPv3, MSTP, RSTP, STP

Remote Access & Control

• SNMP v1/v2/v3, RMON, Telnet, HTTP, TFTP, SSH, SCP, NTP

Security & Encryption

• Encryption: AES 256-bit
• Authentication: SSH, RADIUS, TACACS+

Feature Highlights

Supported Technologies

• DHCP, BOOTP, ARP, IGMP Snooping
• Syslog, DiffServ, Storm Control (Broadcast, Multicast, Unicast)
• IPv4/IPv6, QoS, ACL, DHCP Snooping
• Port Security, RSPAN, MIB, 802.1x, PTP
• Smartport, ICMP, CIP Sync (IEEE 1588)
• Voice VLAN, Guest VLAN, UDP, VTP v2/v3
• BPDU Guard, Dying Gasp, REP, UDLD

Compliance & Standards

IEEE & Industrial Certifications

• IEEE 802.3, 802.3u, 802.3z, 802.1d, 802.1q, 802.3ab
• IEEE 802.1p, 802.3x, 802.3ad (LACP), 802.1w, 802.1x
• IEEE 802.1s, 802.3ah, 802.1ab (LLDP), IEEE 1588v2

Environmental & Safety Standards

• IP66/IP67, EN55024, IEC 60529, EN 61000 series
• FCC CFR47 Part 15 Class A, UL/cUL 60950-1, IEC 62368-1
• IEC 60079-0/15, EN 60079-0/15, CISPR 11/32/35
• IEC 61850-3, IEEE 1613, VCCI Class A

Memory & Expansion

Internal Storage

• RAM: 4 GB
• Flash Memory: 1.5 GB
• Integrated Device: SD Card Reader

Connectivity Options

• 24 x Gigabit LAN (4-pin M12)
• 1 x Console Port
• 2 x Alarm Interfaces
• 1 x SD Memory Card Slot (1 available)

Power & Reliability

Power Supply

• Type: Built-in power module

Operational Durability

• MTBF: 439,475 hours

Cisco IE-3400H-24T-A Catalyst IE3400 Heavy Duty Series

The Cisco IE-3400H-24T-A Catalyst IE3400 Heavy Duty Series represents a purpose-built family of industrial switches designed to deliver reliable, secure, and resilient Ethernet connectivity in harsh environments. Engineered for network essentials and operational simplicity, this managed switch model provides 24 10/100 Mbps ports in a compact, wall-mountable form factor optimized for industrial automation, transportation, utilities, and outdoor enclosures. The design prioritizes continuous availability, deterministic behavior, and simplified operations for engineers who need enterprise-class features without the complexity of traditional data center hardware.

Industrial-Grade Design and Build Quality

Rugged Construction for Harsh Environments

The IE-3400H-24T-A Catalyst IE3400 Heavy Duty Series is built with an industrial-grade chassis and components selected to withstand extended temperature ranges, shock, vibration, and exposure to dust and moisture. The hardware conforms to relevant industrial standards for ingress protection and electromagnetic compatibility, enabling deployment in factory floors, remote substations, transportation hubs, and outdoor cabinets. The wall-mountable form factor allows flexible placement close to field equipment while minimizing space requirements and simplifying cabling runs.

Temperature and Environmental Resilience

The IE-3400H-24T-A IE-3400H model is specified for wide operating temperature windows and extended lifecycle stability to handle temperature extremes typically encountered in industrial sites. When deployed within properly ventilated enclosures or mounted on walls in sheltered installations, the switch delivers continuous operation and reduced field failure rates, which translates to lower maintenance overhead and higher operational uptime for mission-critical control and monitoring systems.

Power Options and Efficiency

The IE-3400H-24T-A switch supports practical power options tailored for industrial environments, including redundant power feeds and support for efficient power management. The design considers typical industrial DC power systems as well as AC sources where appropriate, and includes protections for power transients and surges. Energy efficiency is considered across the platform to limit thermal dissipation while maintaining consistent forwarding performance.

Network Essentials: Simplicity With Managed Functionality

Managed Switch Capabilities

The IE-3400H-24T-A Catalyst IE3400 Heavy Duty Series balances simplicity with the essential manageability expected from modern industrial networks. It provides an intuitive set of management features including command-line interface, web-based GUI, and industry-standard management protocols that enable administrators to configure VLANs, QoS policies, access control lists, and link monitoring. These capabilities help segment traffic, prioritize latency-sensitive control signals, and enforce policy without requiring a steep learning curve.

Deterministic Behavior for Control Networks

Industrial control systems depend on deterministic packet delivery and predictable latency. The IE-3400H supports features that help achieve determinism, such as ingress and egress shaping, priority queuing, and hardware-based processing for real-time traffic. These functions ensure that time-critical packets for PLCs, SCADA, or synchronized sensors are forwarded with minimal jitter, maintaining the integrity of control loops and automated processes.

Security Essentials for Industrial Networks

Security is a foundational attribute of the Catalyst IE3400 Heavy Duty Series, with mechanisms designed to reduce attack surface and protect critical infrastructure. The platform offers port-based access control, secure management sessions, role-based administration, and support for authenticated access using industry authentication methods. These controls are essential in industrial deployments where lateral movement by malicious actors must be constrained and device integrity must be preserved.

Port Configuration and Connectivity

24 x 10/100 Mbps Ethernet Ports

The IE-3400H-24T-A model includes 24 10/100 copper Ethernet ports, providing high port density for edge aggregation and device-level connectivity. This configuration is ideal for connecting sensors, actuators, cameras, human-machine interfaces, and other field devices that typically operate at 10/100 Mbps. The port arrangement simplifies topology planning by enabling centralized connectivity in a compact footprint.

Industrial Cabling and Link Integrity

Industrial cabling environments often introduce noise and variable cable lengths. The switch is engineered to accommodate industrial-grade cabling installations and includes features to monitor link health, detect physical layer anomalies, and quickly identify problematic ports. These diagnostic functions reduce mean time to repair by allowing maintenance teams to localize issues without invasive troubleshooting.

PoE Considerations and Device Powering Strategy

While this specific IE-3400H model focuses on copper data connectivity, it integrates well into deployments that rely on separate power distribution for field devices. Network architects can design power strategies that combine power-over-Ethernet-capable aggregation switches elsewhere in the topology with the IE-3400H providing robust switching and management. For installations that require PoE endpoints directly at the switch, complementary IE-3400 variants or inline PoE injectors may be used to achieve the desired outcome.

Performance and Scalability

Throughput and Forwarding Capacity

The IE-3400H-24T-A Catalyst IE3400 Heavy Duty Series is designed to deliver consistent throughput for mixed industrial traffic types. The switch hardware provides line-rate forwarding across its 24 ports for standard frames while supporting access-control processing and QoS without significant performance degradation. For network planners, this means edge aggregation can be achieved without adding unnecessary latency or packet loss under nominal load conditions.

Scalability 

Industrial networks evolve over time as sensors and automation devices are added. The IE-3400H fits into scalable architectures as a modular building block that can be duplicated across zones or extended with redundant uplink switches. Its management features allow centralized configuration replication and template-based provisioning, which streamlines expansion while maintaining consistent policy enforcement across the network.

Uplink Integration and Aggregation Strategies

Integration into the broader enterprise or control network is a key consideration. The IE-3400H supports uplinks to higher tier aggregation or core switches using standard Ethernet links. Network designers typically provision resilient uplink pairs and apply spanning tree or alternative redundancy mechanisms to ensure paths remain available in the event of a failure. The switch’s fast reconvergence and link monitoring capabilities support stable aggregation designs tailored to industrial availability requirements.

Resiliency and Redundancy Features

Rapid Failover and Redundancy Protocols

Mission-critical industrial sites cannot tolerate extended outages. The Catalyst IE3400 Heavy Duty Series includes support for redundancy protocols and rapid failover mechanisms that minimize downtime. These include fast spanning tree implementations, link aggregation for path redundancy, and restart capabilities that preserve forwarding after control-plane restarts. Together, these features reduce the likelihood of single points of failure and maintain continuous connectivity for operational processes.

Security and Compliance for Operational Technology

Segmentation and Access Controls

Segmentation is a fundamental principle in operational technology security. The IE-3400H provides robust VLAN support and access control capabilities that enable network architects to segment critical control traffic from less sensitive administrative or telemetry traffic. Enforced segmentation reduces attack surfaces and helps achieve compliance with industry-specific security frameworks and best practices.

Secure Management and Auditability

Secure administration is supported through encrypted management channels, role-based access, and detailed logging. These features help organizations establish accountability for changes and provide a forensic trail for audits or incident investigations. Secure management practices align with regulatory expectations in sectors such as energy, transportation, and manufacturing.

Resilience Against Common Threats

The switch includes protections against common network threats, such as broadcast storms, MAC flooding, and unauthorized access attempts. When integrated into a defense-in-depth architecture, these controls complement upstream firewalls and intrusion detection systems to provide layered security that is appropriate for critical infrastructure.

Use Cases and Vertical Applications

Energy and Utilities

Utilities rely on robust communication networks to monitor substations, grid elements, and telemetry points. The Catalyst IE3400 Heavy Duty Series supports the secure and reliable forwarding of SCADA, telemetry, and monitoring traffic, enabling utilities to maintain operational visibility and react quickly to faults or anomalies.

Where the IE-3400H Fits

The IE-3400H is positioned as an industrial edge switch that offers enterprise-class manageability within a ruggedized chassis. Compared to general office-grade switches, it emphasizes environmental tolerance and deterministic forwarding for control traffic. Compared to higher-end industrial routers and modular chassis, it provides a cost-effective, compact solution for localized device aggregation where full routing capabilities are not required.

Choosing the Right Variant for the Use Case

Organizations should evaluate whether the 24-port 10/100 configuration matches current and projected device speeds, or whether alternative models with fiber uplinks, higher-speed ports, or PoE capabilities are necessary. Selecting the appropriate IE-3400 variant ensures that the deployed data plane aligns with both current operational needs and anticipated growth.

Energy and Space Efficiency

The compact, wall-mountable design conserves physical space in crowded cabinets and enclosures. When evaluated over the lifecycle, the combination of efficient power consumption and reduced footprint contributes to lower facility costs and easier integration into existing infrastructure.