Cisco Cisco Catalyst 9200L vs Aruba (HPE) Aruba CX 6300M Switch: Specs & Price Comparison

Cisco Cisco Catalyst 9200L

★ 4.3 Value Score

Switching Capacity: 56 Gbps (24P-4G) to 128 Gbps (24-port 4x10G) and 104 Gbps (48P-4G) to 176 Gbps (48P-4X); varies by SKU and source
Forwarding Rate: 83.33 Mpps (24P-4G) to 190.4 Mpps (24P-4X); 154.76 Mpps (48P-4G) to 261.9 Mpps (48P-4X); varies by SKU and source
Ports (breakdown): 24 or 48 x 10/100/1000 downlink ports (PoE+ on P models, non-PoE on T models; some 48-port PXG variants add mGig ports) plus 4 fixed uplinks: 4 x 1G SFP (-4G) or 4 x 10G SFP+ (-4X)
PoE Budget: 24P models: about 370 W default, up to about 740 W with redundant PSU; 48P models: about 740 W default, up to about 1440 W with two PSUs (sources conflict, e.g. 600 W and 1 kW PSU options quoted)
Layer: L2/L3: Network Essentials provides L2 switching with basic L3 features; Network Advantage adds full dynamic L3 routing
Stacking support: Yes, StackWise-80 with 80 Gbps stacking bandwidth, up to 8 switches (requires stacking module/kit)

✔ Pros: Cisco StackWise-80 stacking of up to 8 units with 80 Gbps stacking bandwidth; 4x10G SFP+ uplink option for higher-bandwidth aggregation; Full PoE+ (802.3at) on P models with budgets up to roughly 1440 W with redundant power; Two licensing tiers (Network Essentials and Network Advantage) let buyers pay only for needed L3 features; Lower price point than Catalyst 9300 for standard campus access deployments
✘ Cons: Uplinks are fixed with no modular expansion slots, which limits future upgrade paths; Full dynamic L3 routing requires the more expensive Network Advantage license; Stacking needs a separate stacking module and is capped at 8 units; Switching capacity and PoE budgets differ widely between SKUs, making spec comparison and sizing confusing; Lower forwarding performance and feature depth than Catalyst 9300 for aggregation or core roles
Est. Price: $1,783 - $4,604

Aruba (HPE) Aruba CX 6300M Switch

★ 3.2 Value Score

Switching Capacity: Up to 880 Gbps per 48-port model (system range 496-880 Gbps across the 6300M family; varies by SKU)
Forwarding Rate: Up to 654 Mpps per model (system range 369-654 Mpps across the 6300M family; varies by SKU)
Ports: 48x 1/2.5/5GbE Smart Rate (Class 6 PoE) + 4x SFP56 uplinks (10/25/50GbE) for JL659A; other 6300M SKUs use different port mixes (24-port, 48-port 1GbE, and 100G variants)
PoE Budget: Class 6 PoE per port; 1440 W family maximum (SKU-dependent)
Layer: L2/L3
Stacking Support: VSF (Virtual Switching Framework), up to 10 units via 4 built-in QSFP28 stacking ports (1/10/25/50GbE, 50GbE DAC only)

✔ Pros: Smart Rate 1/2.5/5GbE ports support multi-gig Wi-Fi 6/6E access points over existing copper cabling; Class 6 PoE budget supports high-power PoE devices; VSF stacking lets up to 10 switches be managed as one logical device; 4x SFP56 uplinks provide 10/25/50GbE capacity; L2/L3 feature set covers campus and branch access and aggregation
✘ Cons: Specs vary widely by SKU, so family-level figures can mislead when comparing models; VSF stacking requires QSFP28 ports and DAC cables, which uses port capacity and adds cost; Pricing is well above basic unmanaged or entry-level L2 switches; Reseller price spread is wide (for example, JL658A listings range from about $4,975 to $15,343), so quotes need checking; Official HPE QuickSpecs were not directly verified in this research, and figures come from reseller and datasheet mirror pages
Est. Price: $13,174 - $20,497

PACKETPERF