Cisco WS-C3650-8X24UQ-S | Catalyst 3650 24-Port Multigigabit UPoE Switch, 820W, 4x 10G SFP+

Q: What is the difference between the standard and multigigabit ports on this switch?
A: The WS-C3650-8X24UQ-S has 16 standard Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000) UPoE ports and 8 multigigabit ports that support 100M/1G/2.5G/5G/10G speeds. The multigigabit ports enable 802.11ac Wave 2 and Wi-Fi 6 access points to achieve higher wireless throughput over existing Cat5e or Cat6 cabling without requiring infrastructure upgrades.

Q: Does this switch support PoE on all 24 ports?
A: Yes, all 24 ports support Cisco Universal Power over Ethernet (UPoE), delivering up to 60W per port. The switch provides an 820W total PoE budget, allowing you to power high-density deployments of IP phones, access points, cameras, and other PoE-powered devices.

Q: What is StackWise-160 and is it included with this model?
A: StackWise-160 is Cisco's proprietary stacking technology that allows up to 9 switches to be managed as a single logical unit with 160 Gbps of stack throughput. Stacking is optional on this model; StackWise-160 cables and modules are sold separately.

Q: What license level does the IP Base feature set provide?
A: The IP Base license (indicated by -S suffix) provides Layer 3 static routing, OSPF, EIGRP, and other advanced routing protocols, along with essential security and QoS features. It is the mid-tier license suitable for most enterprise access-layer deployments.

Q: Can this switch act as a wireless LAN controller?
A: Yes, the Catalyst 3650 Series has integrated wireless controller capability built into the switch software. Each switch or stack can support up to 25 access points and 1,000 wireless clients, eliminating the need for a separate wireless controller appliance in smaller deployments.