Three switches make up the IE 2000 series. They are all fixed configuration devices for Layer 2 switching and Cisco IOS-based software features and services.

The three switches support 4-, 8- and 16-port configurations of 10/100Base-T Ethernet. They also support two optional 100BASE-T or 1000BASE-T uplinks with SFP or RJ45 connectors.

They feature a forwarding rate of up to 6.5Mpps with 64 byte packets; 8,000 unicast MAC addresses; 255 IGMP multicast groups; and 255 VLANs. They support IEEE 802.1x for identity-based network authorization; encryption through SSH; DHCP snooping to thwart unauthorized message interception; prevention of faulty end devices from compromising overall system performance; and industry-specific standards such as IEEE 1588, CIP and PROFINET for integration with other industrial Ethernet devices.

in Network World's LAN & WAN section.