The Cisco 550X Series are the next-generation stackable managed Ethernet switches that provide the advanced capabilities & superior performance you need to support a more demanding network environment at an affordable price. These switches incorporate fan & power hardware redundancy, increasing overall network availability. Cisco 550X Series switches are designed to protect your technology investment as your business grows. Unlike switches that claim to be stackable but have elements that are administered & troubleshot separately, the Cisco 550X Series provides true stacking capability, allowing you to configure, manage, and troubleshoot multiple physical switches as a single device & more easily expand your network. A true stack delivers a unified data & control plane, in addition to a management plane, providing flexibility, scalability, and ease of use because the stack of units operate as a single entity constituting all the ports of the stack members. High-performance 10 Gigabit Ethernet Cisco 550X Series switches break the barrier of 10 Gigabit Ethernet adoption by providing affordable & flexible configurations customized for the demanding network requirements of small & medium businesses. High reliability & resiliency In a growing business in which availability 24 hours a day, 7 days a week is critical, you need to assure that employees & customers can always access the data & resources whenever they need. In these environments, stackable switches can play an important role in eliminating downtime & improving network resiliency. For example, if a switch within a Cisco 550X Series stack fails, another switch immediately takes over, keeping your network up & running. You can also replace individual devices in the stack without taking your network offline or affecting employee productivity. The Cisco 550X Series is designed to deliver hardware redundancy at low incremental cost. Power over Ethernet Plus (Po E+) & Po E Cisco 550X Series switches support the Power over Ethernet Plus (Po E+) standard (IEEE 802.3at). The switches also support Po E on selected ports to power compact switches, high-power wireless access points, or connected lighting. The power is managed in a smart fashion such that only the amount of power the endpoint needs is delivered to it & not wasted. As a result, the switches can support devices that require more power, such as 802.11ac wireless access points, video-based IP phones, surveillance cameras, and more. Po E capabilities simplify the deployment of advanced technologies by allowing you to connect & power network endpoints over a single Ethernet cable, without having to install separate power supplies. Cisco 550X Series switches are also fully backward compatible with IEEE 802.11af Po E & Cisco legacy Po E protocols.