PACKETPERF

Primary Device

Cisco Cisco Catalyst 9200L
Cisco Cisco Catalyst 9200L
★ 4.3 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • 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)

Curation Review

  • ✔ 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

Compare Against

Juniper Networks EX4000
Juniper Networks EX4000
★ 3.3 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • Product Scope: Family-level entry covering 10 models: EX4000-8P, 12T, 12P, 12MP, 24T, 24P, 24MP, 48T, 48P, 48MP
  • Switching Capacity: Unidirectional/bidirectional: 8P 30/60 Gbps; 12MP 58/116 Gbps; 48MP 100/200 Gbps (other models not verified individually)
  • Forwarding Rate: 64-byte packets: 8P 44 Mpps; 12P/12T 77 Mpps; 12MP 86 Mpps; 24P/24T 95 Mpps; 24MP unverified (source lists '104Mbps', likely a typo for Mpps); 48P/48T 130 Mpps; 48MP 148 Mpps
  • Ports (breakdown): 8P: 8x 10/100/1000BASE-T PoE+ + 2x 10/100/1000 non-PoE + 2x 1G/10G SFP+; 12T/12P: 12x 1GbE + 2x VC + 2x uplink SFP+; 12MP: 8x 1GbE PoE-bt + 4x 100M/1G/2.5G PoE-bt + 2x VC + 2x uplink SFP+; 24T/24P: 24x 1GbE + 2x VC + 2x uplink SFP+; 24MP: 20x 1GbE PoE-bt + 4x 100M/1G/2.5G PoE-bt + 2x VC + 2x uplink SFP+; 48T/48P: 48x 1GbE + 2x VC + 2x uplink SFP+; 48MP: 40x 1GbE PoE-bt + 8x 100M/1G/2.5G PoE-bt + 2x VC + 2x uplink SFP+
  • PoE Budget: 8P 120 W (PoE+, 30 W/port); 12P 240 W (PoE+); 12MP 240 W (PoE++, 60 W/port); 24P 370 W (PoE+); 24MP 480 W (PoE++); 48P 740 W (PoE+); 48MP 960 W (PoE++, 60 W default); 12T/24T/48T non-PoE
  • Layer: L2/L3 (vendor describes a full Layer 2 and Layer 3 feature set; licensing tier not verified)
  • Stacking support: Virtual Chassis over 10GbE SFP+ VC ports (2 per model on 12-, 24- and 48-port models; 8P ports 2-3 convertible to VC via CLI). VC is not supported with 10GBASE-T transceivers in VC ports
  • MAC Addresses: 32,000 per system; MAC limiting per port and per VLAN
  • Power Supply: Internal fixed PSU on all models
  • Form Factor: 1U rack-mount; 8P, 12-series fanless; 24-series 1-2 fans; 48-series 1-3 fans
  • Uplink Port Speed: 1G/10G SFP+ on all models

Curation Review

  • ✔ Pros: Full 1GbE access with PoE+ and PoE++ options across 8 to 48 ports; MP models add 2.5GbE multigig ports for Wi-Fi 6/6E/7 access points; 1G/10G SFP+ uplinks and VC ports; Virtual Chassis stacking for unified management; Fanless 8P and 12-port models suit quiet or small-footprint installs; Layer 2 and Layer 3 feature set; Perpetual PoE keeps powered devices running during switch reboots; 32,000 MAC addresses with per-port and per-VLAN MAC limiting
  • ✘ Cons: Published switching capacity and forwarding rate are not confirmed for every model (24MP forwarding rate unclear); VC requires 10GbE SFP+ and is not supported with 10GBASE-T transceivers; 8P has only two SFP+ ports, and only ports 2-3 can become VC ports; Fixed internal PSU with no redundancy option; Layer 3 licensing tier and feature details were not verified against the official datasheet; Prices vary widely by reseller and configuration, and some listings are discounted from list price
  • Est. Price: $661 - $5,295

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