Cisco Cisco Catalyst 9200L vs Aruba (HPE) Aruba CX 6100: 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 6100

★ 3.4 Value Score

Device Category: Switch
Switching Capacity: 176 Gbps (family figure, from datasheet copies and reseller listings)
Forwarding Rate: Up to 98.6 Mpps family maximum; 95.2 Mpps for 24-port JL678A; 45.1 Mpps for 12-port JL679A
Ports: 12, 24, or 48 x 10/100/1000BASE-T ports plus 2 or 4 SFP+ 1/10GbE uplinks, depending on model (e.g., 24G 4SFP+ JL678A, 48G 4SFP+ JL676A, 12G 2SFP+ JL679A)
PoE Budget: Model-dependent: 139W on 12G Class 4 PoE model; 370W on 24G/48G Class 4 PoE models; 740W on 48G Class 4 PoE model R9Y04A; non-PoE models have none. Sources conflict on the series-wide maximum, so verify per SKU
Layer (L2/L3): Layer 2 switching with static IPv4 and IPv6 routing; no dynamic routing protocol (OSPF/BGP) found in the sources
Stacking Support: HPE VSF (Virtual Switching Framework) up to 6 members in chain or ring topology; requires AOS-CX 10.16.1006 or later; 12-port models stack only with 12-port models, and 24/48-port models stack only with each other
Form Factor: 1U rack-mount

✔ Pros: 1U rack-mountable form factor with built-in 1/10GbE SFP+ uplinks; Multiple port-count and PoE options (non-PoE and Class 4 PoE) from one series; VSF stacking of up to 6 members simplifies management as a single logical switch; Layer 2 switching with static IPv4/IPv6 routing suits small-to-mid access-layer deployments; Runs HPE Aruba AOS-CX, which offers a modern API-driven, Aruba-ecosystem management experience; Lower entry price than many enterprise-class switches in the same port density
✘ Cons: No dynamic routing protocols (OSPF/BGP) found in the sources, which limits Layer 3 use; PoE budget varies widely by model (139W to 740W), so the series-wide PoE figure is unclear; Official HPE per-model forwarding rates were not directly confirmed (figures come from QuickSpecs and reseller pages); VSF stacking is restricted by port count, so 12-port and 24/48-port models cannot be mixed; Street prices vary a lot between resellers, and the highest-PoE SKU was listed out of stock
Est. Price: $1,959 - $4,805

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