Cisco Cisco Catalyst 9200L vs Cisco Nexus 9300-GX2: 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

Cisco Nexus 9300-GX2

★ 3.3 Value Score

Switching Capacity: Family: 9364D-GX2A 51.2 Tbps (2RU); 9348D-GX2A 38.4 Tbps (2RU); 9332D-GX2B 25.6 Tbps (1RU)
Forwarding Rate: Family: 9364D-GX2A 8.35 Bpps max; 9348D-GX2A 8.35 Bpps max; 9332D-GX2B 4.17 Bpps max
Ports (breakdown): 9364D-GX2A: 64x 400G QSFP-DD + 2x 1/10G SFP+; 9348D-GX2A: 48x 400G QSFP-DD + 2x 1/10G SFP+; 9332D-GX2B: 32x 400G QSFP-DD + 2x 1/10G SFP+. All models: 1x 10/100/1000BASE-T and 1x 1G SFP management, 1 RS-232 console, 1 USB. Each 400G port breaks out to 4x10G, 4x25G, 4x50G, 4x100G or 2x200G; native 200G, 100G and 40G supported
PoE Budget: N/A (data center fixed switch, no PoE)
Layer: L3 (Layer 2 and Layer 3; NX-OS or ACI spine/leaf modes)
Stacking support: No stacking; multipathing via vPC and VXLAN fabric (128-way ECMP cited)
Packet Buffer: 120 MB (all models)
MACsec: Wire-rate on port subsets: 9364D-GX2A first 16 ports; 9348D-GX2A all 48 ports; 9332D-GX2B last 8 ports
Power (typical / max): 9364D-GX2A and 9348D-GX2A 1380 W / 3124 W with 3200W AC PSUs; 9332D-GX2B 638 W / 1442 W with 1500W AC PSUs
Form Factor: 2RU (9364D-GX2A, 9348D-GX2A); 1RU (9332D-GX2B)
Routing Protocols: BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, EIGRP, RIPv2, PIM-SM, SSM, MSDP, Segment Routing (SR and SRv6)
Forwarding Table Scale (GX2A / GX2B): IPv4 LPM 1M / 2M; IPv6 LPM 500K / 1M; MAC entries 500K / 1M; multicast routes 256K; up to 2M shared forwarding entries
AI/ML Features: PFC, ECN, ETS, DCBX, WRED, AFD with ETRAP, DPP
Operating Temperature: 0-40 C (intake); 0-28 C (exhaust on 9332D-GX2B)

✔ Pros: Very high density of 400G ports in a compact fixed chassis (up to 64x 400G in 2RU on the 9364D-GX2A); Full-duplex switching capacity up to 51.2 Tbps with 8.35 Bpps forwarding on the largest models; Flexible port breakouts (4x10G, 4x25G, 4x50G, 4x100G, 2x200G) allow one platform to serve mixed-speed fabrics; Wire-rate MACsec on selected ports and AI/ML-ready congestion features (PFC, ECN, AFD); Supports both NX-OS and ACI (spine and leaf) modes with deep L3 routing and segment routing (SR, SRv6); Large forwarding tables on GX2B models (2M IPv4 LPM and host entries) and 120 MB packet buffer
✘ Cons: No public Cisco list price; pricing requires a sales contact or partner quote, and the reseller prices found vary widely; Optics and transceivers are sold separately and must be checked against the Cisco optics compatibility matrix, which adds significant cost; High power draw on the 2RU models (typical 1380 W, max 3124 W), so power and cooling planning is needed; No stacking, so fabrics rely on vPC or VXLAN designs that add configuration complexity; Only 2x 1/10G SFP+ ports on every model, so legacy 1G/10G access or uplink needs require breakouts or extra hardware; Full-scale 400G port density is aimed at data center and AI fabric deployments, which makes the platform poorly suited to small enterprise or access-layer use
Est. Price: $89,219 - $111,224

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