Primary Device
Cisco Catalyst 9300X
★ 3.2 Value Score
Technical Specifications
- Switching Capacity: 57.6 Tbps (fully populated 9-slot chassis)
- Forwarding Rate: 200 billion packets per second
- Ports (Modular): Up to 288 x 1G, or mixed configs (1G/10G/25G/40G/100G)
- PoE Budget: Up to 60W per port (varies by module)
- Layer: L3 (Multi-layer, IPv4/IPv6)
- Stacking Support: StackWise Virtual (distributed, active-active redundancy)
- Chassis Slots: 9 module slots
- Max Uplink Ports: Up to 32 x 100G ports (high-speed spine interconnect)
Curation Review
- ✔ Pros: Extreme switching capacity (57.6 Tbps) for core/spine architectures; Modular design allows flexible port configurations (1G/10G/25G/40G/100G mix); StackWise Virtual eliminates single points of failure with active-active forwarding; SD-Access and Cisco ACI ready for intent-based networking; High PoE delivery (up to 60W) suits large-scale access deployments; Enterprise-grade security, comprehensive VLAN and QoS capabilities
- ✘ Cons: Very high capital cost ($25–85K+) limits adoption to large enterprises; Requires advanced configuration expertise; High power draw (2000+ watts typical) demands robust cooling/power infrastructure; Oversized for small-to-medium networks; Module replacement and port upgrades carry premium pricing; Steep learning curve for network operations teams
- Est. Price: $25,000 - $85,000
Compare Against
Ubiquiti UniFi Pro Max 24 PoE
★ 5.0 Value Score
Technical Specifications
- Device Type: Managed Switch
- Switching Capacity: 528 Gbps
- Forwarding Rate: 395 Mpps
- Ports: 24x 2.5G PoE + 2x 10G SFP+
- PoE Budget: 600W
- Layer: L3 (Layer 3)
- Stacking Support: No
- Management: UniFi Network Application
- Cooling: Fanless with passive cooling option
- Power Consumption: Approx 80-250W (depending on PoE load)
- Max PoE Devices: 24
- Throughput per 2.5G Port: 2.5 Gbps full duplex
Curation Review
- ✔ Pros: Excellent 2.5G port density at mid-range price; Fanless design offers silent operation and reliability; 600W PoE budget supports modern high-power devices; Integrated into UniFi ecosystem for centralized management; 10G uplink SFP+ ports for aggregation; Low latency and responsive performance; Energy efficient under typical loads
- ✘ Cons: Limited to L3 (no advanced routing); No stacking support limits scalability for large deployments; 2.5G ports may not justify cost if 1G sufficient for use case; Passive cooling means outdoor/high-temp deployments not recommended; Limited redundancy/HA features compared to enterprise switches; SFP+ modules sold separately
- Est. Price: $699 - $899