Primary Device
Cisco Cisco Catalyst 9300X
★ 3.2 Value Score
Technical Specifications
- Switching Capacity: 130 Gbps
- Forwarding Rate: 200 Mpps
- Ports: 24u00d71G + 4u00d710G uplinks (48u00d71G + 4u00d710G variant available)
- PoE Budget: Up to 4-pair PoE++ (90W per port, 2.5 kW system budget)
- Layer: L2/L3 (Full routing capability)
- Stacking Support: Yes u2013 FlexStack Plus (up to 4 units), 80 Gbps inter-stack bandwidth
Curation Review
- ✔ Pros: Enterprise-grade modular design with 802.1BR architecture; Up to 90W PoE++ per port ideal for high-power IoT/cameras; Supports Cisco DNA-C orchestration and telemetry; Power-efficient (~250W idle); Full Layer 3 routing with advanced QoS and security ACLs; Industry-leading PoE density and stacking bandwidth
- ✘ Cons: Premium pricing vs. competitors like Arista/Juniper; Complex licensing tiers for advanced features (DNA Essentials/Advantage/Premier); Requires external Cisco DNA Controller for full management capabilities; Steeper learning curve for non-Cisco environments; Power supplies and licensing add significant TCO; Limited flexibility compared to white-box/SONIC alternatives
- Est. Price: $4,200 - $8,500
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
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