Cisco Catalyst C9200L-24P-4X 24-Port PoE+ Switch

A Cisco Catalyst C9200L-24P-4X is the switch Cisco's own PoE arithmetic happens to be written around. Cisco publishes a 370 W PoE budget for it on one PWR-C5-600WAC supply, and 740 W once a second unit of that same supply is fitted, across 24 PoE+ ports rated at 30 W each. Uplinks are fixed, four ports at 1/10G, and stacking is StackWise-80 with up to eight members in a stack.

Ports, uplinks and stacking

Downlink ports on this model are 24 PoE+ ports, and Cisco's configuration table records the switch as carrying full PoE+ across all of them. The four uplinks are fixed at 1/10G and built into the chassis rather than supplied as a network module. Cisco rates the switch at 128 Gbps of switching capacity and 95.23 Mpps of forwarding, rising to 208 Gbps and 155 Mpps once members are stacked.

Spares planning on this chassis splits in two. The power supply is a field-replaceable unit, so a failed supply is a part swap; the fans on the C9200L line are not field-replaceable, so a fan failure is a chassis event instead. Optics are a third question again, because Cisco publishes uplink port media for the 9200L series as a whole rather than per model, so the transceivers a site intends to run are confirmed against the unit rather than inferred from the part number.

PoE budget: what this switch can actually power

A Cisco Catalyst C9200L-24P-4X carries 24 PoE+ ports and a 370 W PoE budget on its PWR-C5-600WAC power supply, which Cisco publishes as expandable to 740 W with a second unit of the same supply. Cisco's own footnote gives the arithmetic on a switch of exactly this size: PoE delivery is "limited by port number and port rating (for example, 24 PoE+ 30W ports = 720W)". A second power supply therefore takes this switch above the figure Cisco's own example uses for a fully loaded 24-port PoE+ switch.

Read those numbers the way a designer has to. A budget is a ceiling shared by whatever is drawing power at any given moment, not an allowance attached to each port, so what sizes the supply is the connected load rather than the port count. A closet running access points at their real draw with a few phones and a camera behaves nothing like 24 ports all pulling their full rating at once, and only one of those two cases needs the second supply.

What is unusual about this model is that the second supply closes the gap rather than narrowing it. Cisco's worked example puts 24 PoE+ ports at the full rating at 720 W, and Cisco's published dual-supply budget for this switch is 740 W. Both figures are Cisco's; the comparison between them is ours, and it is the reason this page exists. On the 48-port model the same pair of numbers meets exactly rather than leaving room, because 48 ports at 30 W is 1440 W and 1440 W is precisely what the second supply provides there.

There is a DC path as well, and it changes the arithmetic. Cisco lists the PWR-C5-715WDC= as an alternative supply, rating it at 485 W on its own and 740 W in a pair on this chassis. That is the same dual figure as the AC pairing, so a DC plant does not cost this switch any PoE headroom, and it is worth confirming which supply a used unit actually carries before the budget is planned around it.

Stacking: what this switch can and cannot join

Stacking here is StackWise-80 at a stack bandwidth of 80 Gbps, up to eight members, joined with a C9200L-STACK-KIT. Stacked, the published figures rise to 208 Gbps of switching capacity and 155 Mpps of forwarding. Cisco attaches one condition that applies inside the line as well as between lines: every member of a stack has to sit at the same network stack license level, so a switch bought at one level will not join a stack running at another.

The harder boundary is the one between the fixed and modular lines, and Cisco states it without hedging: "Mixed stacking is not supported. You cannot stack fixed (C9200L SKUs) with modular (C9200 SKUs) models, or other Catalyst switches, e.g. Cisco Catalyst 2960-X and 2960-XR Series. Stacking not available on C9200CX switches."

For a branch closet that is the first sentence to check, because it rules out the two moves a smaller site is most likely to try. Extending a modular C9200 stack with a cheaper fixed switch does not work, and neither does adding this switch to the Catalyst 2960-X stack already in the rack. Neither failure is visible from the front panel, and both are discovered after the switch has been bought.

Uplinks: fixed at purchase

Uplink ports on this switch are four in number and fixed at 1/10G, which is Cisco's own wording for a dual-rate port that will run at either speed. They are part of the chassis. There is no module to remove, no slot to populate and no later purchase that changes them, so whatever uplink speed this switch will ever have is settled at the moment it is ordered.

At 24 ports that is usually the right trade, because a closet this size rarely generates enough traffic to need more than these four ports carry. Where it is the wrong trade is a site that expects to grow into a changeable uplink: a Catalyst 9300 24-port PoE switch keeps the uplink as a module that can be swapped for a faster one, and the modular Catalyst 9200 does the same thing within this generation. Neither can be reached from this chassis by an upgrade.

Where the C9200L-24P-4X sits in the 9200 line

The decision this model shares with its larger sibling is the PoE one, so the comparison that matters is against the 48-port PoE+ switch in the same fixed line.

Both models take four 1/10G fixed uplinks and stack over StackWise-80. The difference that decides between them is the PoE budget: Cisco publishes 370 W for this model on its PWR-C5-600WAC supply, rising to 740 W with a second one, and 740 W for the 48-port model on its PWR-C5-1KWAC supply, rising to 1440 W. Neither budget is better than the other, because they are sized for different port counts, and the C9200L-48P-4X is the right answer whenever the port count itself is the constraint.

Buying refurbished while Cisco still ships new

Cisco has not withdrawn the Catalyst 9200 line, so buying this model refurbished is a decision about supply and lead time rather than about availability. The part number is the same, the hardware is the same, and it stacks with the 9200L switches already installed on exactly the terms Cisco publishes for the line. For a branch rollout that has run out of switches, or for a like-for-like replacement inside a stack that is already built, that equivalence is the whole argument.

Every whole system we ship, switches included, carries a 2-year Enterasource warranty, and delivery is free FedEx Ground to the lower 48 states. The Catalyst 9200 family page sets out the fixed and modular split in full, and the Cisco switching and routing catalogue is where the neighbouring families sit.

Condition, testing and what ships with the switch

Every unit is tested on arrival, then taken apart, cleaned and booked into inventory. When one is picked for an order it is rebuilt, configured and tested again on the way out, so the last thing that happens to a switch before it is packed is a functional check rather than a label. Cosmetic condition is described as found rather than left for the buyer to discover.

Software licenses and subscriptions are not included unless the listing states otherwise. Cisco sells the Catalyst 9200 in two network stack levels - Network Essentials and Network Advantage - and they are different part numbers with different feature sets rather than a cosmetic suffix. Tell us which level your network needs before you order and we will confirm, in writing, what the specific unit we are shipping carries.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the PoE budget of a C9200L-24P-4X?

Cisco publishes 370 W on the default PWR-C5-600WAC supply, rising to 740 W when a second unit of that same supply is fitted. The per-port rating is PoE+ at up to 30 W, and the budget is a ceiling shared across whichever ports are drawing power rather than an allowance handed to each port individually. Size it from the connected load, not from the port count, because those two numbers only meet when every port is loaded to its full rating at once.

Can a C9200L-24P-4X power every port at full PoE+?

Two Cisco figures answer that, and the conclusion drawn from them is ours rather than Cisco's. Cisco's PoE footnote gives 24 PoE+ ports at 30 W each as 720 W, and Cisco publishes 740 W as this switch's budget with a second PWR-C5-600WAC fitted. The dual-supply budget therefore sits above the full-rating figure for a switch of this port count. On a single supply the budget is 370 W, which is well below it, so the second supply is the part of the order that decides the answer.

Can a C9200L-24P-4X be stacked with a C9200?

No. Cisco states that mixed stacking is not supported and that fixed C9200L models cannot be stacked with modular C9200 models, with other Catalyst switches such as the Catalyst 2960-X and 2960-XR Series, or at all on C9200CX switches. The two lines use different stacking technologies and different kits. Within the fixed line this switch stacks over StackWise-80 with up to eight members, provided every member sits at the same network stack license level.

Is a 24-port Catalyst 9200L enough, or should I buy the 48-port model?

Start from the ports you need powered now and the PoE load behind them, because that is what separates the two. This model publishes 370 W and 740 W with a second supply against 740 W and 1440 W on the 48-port switch, and 128 Gbps of switching capacity against 176 Gbps. Stacking gives you the third option: up to eight members over StackWise-80, so a closet can be grown by adding a member later rather than by buying the larger chassis today.

Are the uplinks on a C9200L-24P-4X upgradeable?

No. The four 1/10G uplinks are part of the chassis rather than a removable network module, so there is no slot to populate and no faster part to fit later. Uplink speed on this switch is decided at order time and stays decided. If a faster or changeable uplink is needed, the answer is a modular chassis such as the Catalyst 9200 or a Catalyst 9300, where the uplink is a component rather than a fixed feature of the switch.

Does a refurbished C9200L-24P-4X include a Cisco license?

Software licenses and subscriptions are not included unless the listing says so. A switch this size is very often bought for a branch or a floor closet where the network stack level is not really a fresh decision at all, but inherited from whatever the rest of the site already runs, and Cisco requires every member of a stack to sit at the same level. Tell us whether the site standard is Network Essentials or Network Advantage and we will confirm in writing what the unit being shipped carries.