LAN Base in 2960X Switches

[prashanma]

Which license do Cisco 2960X or 2960XR supported for "Layer 3 features with routed access (Open Shortest Path First [OSPF]), static routing, and Routing Information Protocol (RIP)"

Even though datasheet mentioned that is supported, I went through feature navigator i didn't find in here ?

[balaji.bandi]

LAN Base License: Cisco Catalyst 2960, 2960-S, 3560-X, and 3750-X Series Switches

LAN Base is a powerful license for layer 2 access switches. Its broad range of access features covers all LAN Lite capabilities plus more robust features such as VTPv3 and FlexLinks. VTP version 3 offers better administrative control over VLAN topology information sharing to reduce unintended or disruptive changes. It also adds more VLAN environment support including expanded ISL VLAN support range. FlexLinks increase Layer 2 resiliency by adding a pair of fast converging active and backup links between access and distribution switches. LAN Base allows layer 3 routing by adding static routing support. Many strong security capabilities are added in LAN Base, too. Examples include Flexible Authentication, Radius Change of Authorization and advanced 802.1X features. On the management side, a long list of capabilities becomes available in LAN Base including a wider range of MIBs, Ingress policing, Trust Boundary, AutoQoS, and DSCP mapping.

here is compare

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/lan/catalyst3750x_3560x/software/release/15-0_2_se/configuration/guide/3750x_cg/swintro.pdf

[prashanma]

Yes, what you are saying is absolute correct.

Does ""Layer 3 features with routed access (Open Shortest Path First [OSPF]), static routing, and Routing Information Protocol (RIP)" supported for LAN Base or IP Lite ? Cause I didn't found those in feature navigation

[balaji.bandi]

You need IP Services image for full blown OSPF features.

[prashanma]

Hi Balaji,

In "catalyst-2960-x-series-switches" datasheet it mentioned (https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/switches/catalyst-2960-x-series-switches/datasheet_c78-728232.html)

"Layer 3 Features

The Cisco hardware architecture delivers the following high-performance IP routing features in the Cisco Catalyst 2960-X and 2960-XR Series Switches:

● Advanced IP unicast routing protocols (OSPF for Routed Access) are supported for load balancing and constructing scalable LANs. IPv6 routing (OSPFv3) is supported in hardware for maximum performance.

● Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM) for IP multicast is supported, including PIM Sparse Mode (PIM SM), PIM Dense Mode (PIM-DM), PIM Sparse-Dense Mode, and Source Specific Multicast (SSM).

● Policy-Based Routing (PBR) allows superior control by facilitating flow redirection regardless of the routing protocol configured (for both IPv4 and IPv6).

● IP unicast routing protocols (static and RIPv1 and v2) are supported for network routing applications.

Additionally the Cisco hardware architecture delivers the following high-performance IP routing features in the Cisco Catalyst 2960-XR Series Switches:

● IP unicast routing protocols (RIPng and Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol [EIGRP] Stub) are supported for network routing applications.

● EIGRPv3 Stub and PIMv6 Stub are supported as a part of the IPv6 routing suite.

● Equal-cost routing facilitates Layer 3 load balancing and redundancy across the stack.

● Hot Standby Routing Protocol (HSRP) and Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) provide dynamic load balancing and failover for routed links."

But it also mention

"Software

All Cisco Catalyst 2960-X and 2960-XR Series Switches use a single universal Cisco IOS Software image for all SKUs. Depending on the switch model, the Cisco IOS image automatically configures the LAN Lite, LAN Base, or IP Lite feature set.

Note that each switch model is tied to a specific feature level; LAN Lite cannot be upgraded to LAN Base, and LAN Base cannot be upgraded to IP Lite."

[Daniele Giordano]

Hi

Q.     What Cisco IOS Software feature sets are supported in Cisco Catalyst 2960-X Series Switches?

A.     The Cisco Catalyst 2960-X Series come with a common universal image and supports LAN Lite, LAN Base, and IP Lite feature sets, as shown in Table 1.

Table 1.       Feature sets supported in the 2960-X Series

Platform	IP Lite (Layer 3)	LAN Base (Layer 2)	LAN Lite (Basic Layer 2)
2960-XR	Yes	No	No
2960-X	No	Yes	Yes

Q.     What features does IP Lite bring to the 2960-XR switch models?

A.     IP Lite introduced enterprise access Layer 3 features to the 2960-XR switch models. IP Lite is subset of IP Base features. Some of the IP Lite features are:

●   Routing Information Protocol (RIP) v1

●   Routing Information Protocol (RIP) v2

●   Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) v2 stub

●   Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) v3 stub

●   Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP) stub

●   Equal-cost routing

●   Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP)

●   Protocol Independent Multicast PIM (Sparse Mode, Dense Mode, Sparse Dense Mode, Source Specific Multicast) stub

●   Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) for IPv4

●   Private VLAN

●   IPv6 First Hop Security source guard

●   Per-VLAN and per-port policers

Q.     Do I need a software license for the Cisco Catalyst 2960-X Series Switches?

A.     No. Cisco Catalyst 2960-X Series Switches use the Universal image, but no license is required. The feature set is bound to the hardware model type and cannot be changed. For convenience, a single software image is used for all Cisco Catalyst 2960-X and 2960-XR switches, regardless of whether they are IP Lite, LAN Base, or LAN Lite models.

Q.     Can a Cisco Catalyst 2960-X Series Switch feature set license be upgraded?

A.     No. The feature set is bound to the hardware model. To get the features and capabilities of IP Lite, you must purchase an IP Lite (2960-XR) switch.

So, 2960 cannot support IP Lite functions, you must use a 2960X with IP Lite image.

Regards.

[prashanma]

Thank you Daniele,

I was confused with original datasheet 2960X. It clearly mention that

"Layer 3 Features
The Cisco hardware architecture delivers the following high-performance IP routing features in the Cisco Catalyst 2960-X and 2960-XR Series Switches"

So datasheet wrong ? I think we can't chose IP-Lite for 2960X