Cisco WS-C3850-24XUW-S | Catalyst 3850 24-Port Multigigabit UPoE Switch, 580W, Wireless Ctrl

Q: What port speeds does the WS-C3850-24XUW-S support?
A: All 24 ports are multigigabit capable, automatically negotiating 100Mbps, 1G, 2.5G, 5G, or 10G speeds. This enables support for 802.11ac Wave 2 and Wi-Fi 6 access points over existing Cat5e/Cat6 cabling.

Q: How many wireless access points can this switch manage?
A: The WS-C3850-24XUW-S ships with an integrated wireless controller that manages 5 access points. This can be expanded with additional licenses up to 100 APs and 2,000 wireless clients per switch or stack.

Q: What is the difference between UPoE and PoE+?
A: UPoE (Universal PoE) delivers up to 60W per port compared to 30W for PoE+ (802.3at). This higher power budget supports demanding devices like PTZ cameras, high-performance access points, digital building systems, and video conferencing endpoints without requiring separate power supplies.

Q: What uplink modules are compatible with this switch?
A: The 24XUW-S supports the C3850-NM-8x10G (8x 10GbE SFP+) and C3850-NM-2x40G (2x 40GbE QSFP+) network modules. These provide flexible high-speed uplinks to distribution or core layers. Modules are purchased separately.

Q: Can I stack this switch with other Catalyst 3850 models?
A: Yes, the WS-C3850-24XUW-S stacks with other Catalyst 3850 IP Base switches using StackWise-480 technology. Up to 9 switches can be stacked with 480 Gbps of stack bandwidth. Note that IP Base switches can only stack with other IP Base models, not with LAN Base or IP Services.