WS-C3750X-48P-L Cisco Catalyst 3750X 48 Ports Ethernet Switch

Product Outline

The Cisco WS-C3750X-48P-L Catalyst 3750X is a high-performance, fully manageable Ethernet switch designed for enterprise-grade networking. Built by Cisco Systems, Inc., this model delivers reliability, scalability, and advanced Power over Ethernet (PoE) capabilities, making it ideal for business networks, data centers, and campus environments.

Main Product Information

General Details

• Brand: Cisco Systems, Inc.
• Model Number: WS-C3750X-48P-L
• Product Category: Manageable Ethernet Switch

Core Features and Capabilities

Port Configuration

This Cisco Catalyst switch offers extensive connectivity options to support growing network demands.

• 48 high-speed Gigabit Ethernet ports
• RJ-45 10/100/1000Base-T LAN interfaces
• Dedicated RJ-45 port for network management

Power over Ethernet (PoE) Support

Integrated PoE functionality allows the switch to power compatible devices directly through network cables, reducing infrastructure costs.

• Supports Power over Ethernet
• Ideal for IP phones, wireless access points, and security cameras

Expansion and Scalability

Network Module Slots

The Catalyst 3750X series is designed for future expansion and flexibility.

• 2 total expansion slots
• Supports optional network modules for enhanced performance

Power and Electrical Specifications

Input Voltage Details

• Compatible with 110V AC and 220V AC power sources
• Wide input voltage range from 100V AC to 240V AC

Physical Design

Form Factor

• Rack-mountable design
• Stackable for simplified network expansion
• Fits standard 1U rack space

Dimensions and Weight

• Height: 1.75 inches
• Width: 17.50 inches
• Depth: 18 inches
• Approximate Weight: 16.53 lbs

Core Architecture and Performance Specifications

At its heart, the WS-C3750X-48P-L is built for non-blocking, wire-speed switching performance across all ports. Its architecture ensures that even under full load with all ports active, data flows seamlessly without internal congestion, a critical requirement for modern data, voice, and video convergence.

Hardware and Forwarding Engine

The switch leverages Cisco's integrated switching ASICs, providing a switching capacity of 160 Gbps and a forwarding rate of up to 101 Mpps (million packets per second). This powerful engine supports hardware-based IP routing for common protocols (IP, IPX) at wire speed, ensuring that inter-VLAN routing and access control lists (ACLs) do not become performance bottlenecks.

Stackwise Plus Technology: The Virtual Backplane

A defining feature of the Catalyst 3750-X series is StackWise Plus. This technology allows up to nine individual switches to be interconnected via specialized 40 Gbps stack cables, creating a single, unified logical switch. This "stack" shares a common control plane and configuration, vastly simplifying management. StackWise Plus provides 64 Gbps of full-duplex bandwidth per stack ring, ensuring high-speed inter-unit communication and redundancy. If one switch in the stack fails, the stack continues to operate, providing exceptional resilience.

Port Configuration and Flexibility

The "48P" designation indicates 48 RJ-45 copper ports, each capable of auto-negotiating 10/100/1000 Mbps speeds and auto-MDI/MDIX crossover. Each of these ports is a full IEEE 802.3at PoE+ port, capable of delivering up to 30 watts of power per port to connected devices.

The Dual-Purpose Uplink Slot

Beyond the 48 fixed ports, the switch includes a critical modular slot for network uplinks or expansion. This slot can accept a variety of Cisco pluggable modules, such as:

10 Gigabit Ethernet Uplinks: SFP+ modules (e.g., 10GBASE-SR, LR, ER) for high-speed backbone or server farm connectivity.
1 Gigabit Ethernet Uplinks: SFP modules for fiber (e.g., 1000BASE-SX, LX) or copper (1000BASE-T) uplinks.
Stacking Modules: The required StackWise Plus modules and cables for creating a switch stack.

This flexibility allows network architects to tailor the uplink connectivity to the specific demands of the deployment site, whether it requires multi-mode fiber, single-mode fiber for long distances, or copper.

Advanced Power over Ethernet (PoE) Capabilities

The PoE+ functionality is a cornerstone of this switch's value proposition, enabling true convergence of network infrastructure and device power.

PoE+ Budget and Management

The WS-C3750X-48P-L is typically equipped with a 1100-watt AC power supply, providing a substantial PoE power budget. This budget supports the simultaneous powering of dozens of PoE devices, such as:

IEEE 802.11ac and 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) Wireless Access PointsIP Phones with color displays and video streams
High-resolution IP security cameras with pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) features
IP door access control systems and biometric scanners
Thin client terminals and point-of-sale systems

Intelligent power management features like Cisco EnergyWise allow for granular monitoring and control of power consumption, helping organizations meet sustainability goals and reduce operational costs.

Power Supply Redundancy and Flexibility

The switch supports optional external redundant power supplies (RPS). By connecting an RPS, the system can maintain continuous operation even if the internal power supply fails, achieving power supply redundancy without needing a fully redundant switch. This is a cost-effective high-availability feature for critical deployments.

Comprehensive Management and Security Feature Set

As a fully managed switch, the Catalyst 3750X provides deep visibility and control over the network edge, which is the first line of defense against threats and performance issues.

Layer 3 Intelligence and Routing

This switch operates as a full Layer 3 switch, performing inter-VLAN routing internally. It supports essential routing protocols:

Static Routing: For simple, controlled path selection.
RIP (v1 & v2): A basic interior gateway protocol.
OSPF: Open Shortest Path First for robust, scalable dynamic routing within an enterprise.
EIGRP: Cisco's Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol for efficient, rapid convergence.

This capability eliminates the need for a separate router for internal subnets, reducing cost and complexity (a concept known as "routing on a stick" avoidance).

Advanced Security and Access Control

Cisco integrates a suite of security features to protect the network infrastructure and the data traversing it.

Network Admission Control with 802.1X

The switch acts as an authenticator for the IEEE 802.1X standard, enabling port-based network access control (NAC). Devices must authenticate via a RADIUS server (like Cisco ISE) before being granted network access. This prevents unauthorized devices from connecting.

ACLs, VLANs, and Private VLANs

Security is enforced through robust Access Control Lists (ACLs) that can filter traffic based on IP address, protocol, and port. VLANs segment network traffic logically, while Private VLANs provide isolation within a single VLAN, ideal for multi-tenant or secure environments like guest networks.

Secure Management

Management access is secured via SSHv2, SNMPv3 (with encryption), and role-based access control (RBAC). The switch also supports TACACS+ and RADIUS for centralized authentication of administrator logins, ensuring accountability.

Resilience and High Availability Features

Network uptime is paramount. The 3750X platform is designed with multiple layers of redundancy.

Stacking as a Redundancy Mechanism

In a stack configuration, redundancy is inherent. The stack shares a single IP address for management and appears as one device. If the master switch fails, a new master is elected from the remaining stack members within seconds, with minimal disruption to data forwarding.

Spanning Tree Protocols

For loop prevention and link redundancy in non-stacked scenarios, the switch supports a full suite of Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) variants: PVST+, Rapid PVST+, and MSTP (Multiple Spanning Tree), allowing for fast convergence and optimized path selection.

EtherChannel and LACP

Port channels (EtherChannel) via LACP (Link Aggregation Control Protocol) or PAgP allow multiple physical links to be bundled into a single logical link. This increases bandwidth, provides load balancing, and offers link-level redundancy—if one physical link fails, traffic is automatically redistributed across the remaining links.

Quality of Service (QoS) for Optimized Application Delivery

In a converged network, ensuring voice and video quality is as important as delivering data. The Catalyst 3750X provides sophisticated QoS mechanisms.

AutoQoS for Simplified Deployment

Cisco's AutoQoS feature dramatically simplifies QoS configuration. With a few commands, it can automatically detect Cisco IP Phones, trust DSCP markings, and configure ingress/egress queues appropriately, establishing a proven QoS policy for voice and video deployments.

Use Cases and Deployment Scenarios

The versatility of the WS-C3750X-48P-L makes it suitable for a wide array of environments.

Enterprise Campus Access Layer

Deployed in wiring closets, it provides high-density Gigabit Ethernet and PoE+ to end-user desks, connecting PCs, IP phones, and wireless access points. Its Layer 3 capability allows for local routing between user VLANs.

Medium Business Core

For smaller organizations, a stack of 3750X switches can serve as the entire network core, providing routing, switching, PoE, and security in a resilient, simplified package.

Secure and Intelligent Guest Access

Using features like 802.1X, downloadable ACLs from Cisco ISE, and Private VLANs, the switch can create a secure, segmented guest network that provides internet access while protecting the internal corporate network.

Video Surveillance Backbone

The high PoE+ budget and port density make it ideal for powering and connecting a large number of high-definition IP cameras, with the switching performance to handle the concurrent video streams back to a network video recorder (NVR).