PACKETPERF

Primary Device

Cisco Catalyst 9300-48P
Cisco Catalyst 9300-48P
★ 3.3 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • Switching Capacity: 256 Gbps (Standalone) / 736 Gbps (Stacked)
  • Forwarding Rate: 190.47 Mpps (Standalone) / 547.62 Mpps (Stacked)
  • Ports: 48 x 10/100/1000 Ethernet PoE+ ports; modular uplinks (1G, 10G, 25G, 40G options)
  • PoE Budget: 437W (Default with 715W PSU); Up to 1440W (Maximum with dual 1100W PSUs)
  • Layer: Layer 2, Layer 3
  • Stacking support: StackWise-480 (480 Gbps bandwidth; up to 8 units in a stack)

Curation Review

  • ✔ Pros: Industry-leading StackWise-480 stacking bandwidth for high scalability; Innovative StackPower technology for power redundancy across the stack; Advanced security including AES-256 MACsec and Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA); x86 CPU architecture allows hosting of third-party containers and apps
  • ✘ Cons: Complex and mandatory Cisco DNA Smart Licensing model; Higher total cost of ownership (TCO) than the Catalyst 9200 series; Significant heat and fan noise when under full PoE load; Historical hardware reliability issues with specific DRAM/DIMM batches
  • Est. Price: $3,200 - $4,800

Compare Against

Fortinet FortiSwitch 124G (FS-124G)
Fortinet FortiSwitch 124G (FS-124G)
★ 3.7 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • Switching Capacity: 240 Gbps
  • Forwarding Rate: 355 Mpps
  • Ports: 24 x 100/1000/2500 Mbps RJ45, 6 x 10 Gbps SFP+
  • PoE Budget: 0W (Non-PoE)
  • Layer: Layer 2 with Static Routing
  • Stacking support: FortiLink (Management Stacking)
  • Form Factor: 1 RU, Fanless

Curation Review

  • ✔ Pros: High-speed 2.5G multi-gigabit ports ideal for Wi-Fi 6/7 access points; generous 6x 10G SFP+ uplinks for high backhaul capacity; fanless design ensures completely silent operation; seamless integration with FortiGate firewalls via FortiLink for centralized security management.
  • ✘ Cons: Lacks Power over Ethernet (PoE) support, requiring injectors or a separate power source for connected devices; fanless design leads to high operating temperatures (often exceeding 50°C); limited Layer 3 features compared to enterprise core switches.
  • Est. Price: $1,130 - $1,504

Popular Comparisons

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