Cisco 2960 firmware

If you are doing it via CLI, as long as you do a 'write mem' or 'copy run start' before rebooting, you won't lose any config.

This is correct – the configurations are stored in Non-Volatile RAM (NVRAM) and the IOS image is stored in flash (so you can erase the flash if you want to without losing your configuration – just make sure you put an image back on before reloading!).

The command you'll need to use is something like this (all on one line):

Switch# archive download-sw /overwrite /reload tftp:[[//location]/directory]/image-name.tar

Full command details here:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/switches/lan/catalyst3750/software/release/12.2_25_sea/command/reference/cli1.html#wp2273183

Cisco 2960 datasheet

The Cisco® Catalyst® 2960-S and 2960 Series Switches are the leading Layer 2 edge, providing improved ease of use, highly secure business operations, improved sustainability, and a borderless network experience. The Catalyst 2960-S Series Switches include new FlexStack switch stacking capability with 1 and 10 Gigabit connectivity, and Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE+) with the Cisco Catalyst 2960 Series Switches offering Fast Ethernet access connectivity and PoE capabilities.

Cisco 2960

The C2960-24TC-S is the 10/100 + gig-uplink version of the workhorse Cisco2960. I run a number of 2960s (various models) for work, including a recent purchase of this model. They offer a full set of features (QoS, trunking, VLANs, traffic shaping, SNMP, etc), but we primarily use them for straightforward Layer2 switching while gathering simple traffic stats.

Unlike cheaper switches in this space, the uplink/SFP ports are not shared, and can be used as normal ports, making this effectively a 26-port switch. (but you have to use just one of the UTP or the SFP for the uplinks). Cisco SFPs are required (and are expensive). Other brands (including CiscoLinksys) will show up as disabled/error.