Cisco Catalyst C9200L-48P-4X 48-Port PoE+ Switch

The Cisco Catalyst C9200L-48P-4X is a stackable campus access switch with 48 PoE+ ports, four fixed 1/10G uplinks and StackWise-80 stacking. Cisco publishes a 740 W PoE budget for it, expandable to 1440 W with a second power supply. Four uplinks are fixed at 1/10G and cannot be upgraded later, so uplink speed is set at purchase.

Ports, uplinks and stacking

Every downlink port on this model supports PoE+, and the four uplink ports are part of the chassis rather than a module. Cisco rates the switch at 176 Gbps of switching capacity and 130.95 Mpps of forwarding, and both figures rise when members are joined into a stack, to 256 Gbps and 190 Mpps. The table below is the published hardware picture; each buying-relevant number in it is stated again in prose further down this page.

Fans on the C9200L line are fixed and redundant rather than field-replaceable, while the power supply is a field-replaceable unit. That split matters when you are planning spares: a failed supply is a part you can hold on a shelf and swap, and a fan fault is a chassis-level event. The DC supply option, PWR-C5-715WDC=, provides 485 W of PoE on its own and 970 W with a second unit fitted, which is the path a DC-powered site takes to reach a comparable budget.

PoE budget: what this switch can actually power

A Cisco Catalyst C9200L-48P-4X carries 48 PoE+ ports and a 740 W PoE budget on its PWR-C5-1KWAC power supply. Cisco's own footnote is the way to read that: PoE delivery is "limited by port number and port rating (for example, 24 PoE+ 30W ports = 720W)". Forty-eight ports drawing the full 30 W would be 1440 W, and 1440 W is the figure Cisco publishes for this switch with a second PWR-C5-1KWAC fitted.

The practical consequence is that the port count is not the number that sizes the switch. The budget is a ceiling shared across whatever is drawing power at the time, so a closet full of low-draw phones behaves very differently from a floor of high-draw access points on the same chassis. Work from the load, not from the port count: add up the actual per-device draw of what you intend to power, compare it against 740 W, and if the total sits above that figure the second supply is not an optional resilience upgrade but a functional requirement.

The per-port rating is the other half of the arithmetic. Cisco states that IEEE 802.3at PoE+ at up to 30 W per port is supported on Catalyst 9200 Series switches, which is the ceiling any single port can deliver. A device that needs more than 30 W is outside what this model can power regardless of how much budget is left, and that is a hardware boundary rather than a licensing or configuration one.

Stacking: what this switch can and cannot join

Stacking on a C9200L-48P-4X runs over StackWise-80 at a stack bandwidth of 80 Gbps, with up to eight members joined using a C9200L-STACK-KIT. Cisco also requires every member of a stack to sit at the same network stack license level, which is a compatibility rule rather than a feature preference, and it is the constraint most often discovered after the hardware has already arrived.

The harder limit is which switches may join at all. Cisco states the rule flatly: "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."

That sentence has a direct consequence for anyone extending an existing estate. A site running Catalyst 2960-X stacks cannot add a 9200L member to one of them, and a site running modular C9200 switches cannot add a fixed C9200L to those either. The 9200L stacks with other 9200L switches at a matching license level, and that is the whole of it. Plan the stack as a 9200L stack from the start, or plan for it to sit alongside the existing one rather than inside it.

Uplinks: fixed at purchase

Uplinks on this model are four ports fixed at 1/10G, built into the chassis rather than supplied as a network module. They are dual-rate, which is why Cisco writes them as 1/10G rather than as ten-gigabit ports, and they cannot be removed, replaced or upgraded to a faster speed later in the switch's life. Choosing a C9200L is therefore a decision about uplink speed as much as about port count, and it is a decision that is made once.

If the uplink speed needs to change later, the answer is a different chassis rather than a different part. The modular Catalyst 9200 takes a network module, and the Catalyst 9300 does the same at a higher stacking tier, so both of those keep uplink speed as something you can revisit. Cisco does not publish the uplink port media for the individual C9200L models, so confirm the optics you intend to use against the unit before you order rather than inferring them from the part number.

Where the C9200L-48P-4X sits in the 9200 line

The comparison that decides most purchases is against the 24-port model in the same line and against the modular-uplink Catalyst 9300 a tier above it.

A C9200L-48P-4X and a C9300-48P both offer 48 PoE+ ports, but the 9200L's uplinks are fixed at four 1/10G ports and the 9300's uplink speed can be changed by swapping a module. Against the 24-port model in its own line the difference is the power budget rather than the uplink: Cisco publishes 740 W for this switch on its PWR-C5-1KWAC supply, rising to 1440 W with a second one, and 370 W for the 24-port model on its PWR-C5-600WAC supply, rising to 740 W. Both carry the same four 1/10G uplinks and the same StackWise-80 stacking, and neither can join the other family's stack. The step up to a Catalyst 9300 buys a modular uplink and a much larger stack bandwidth, and it is the right move when the uplink is the part of the design you expect to revisit.

Buying refurbished while Cisco still ships new

Cisco sells the Catalyst 9200 line new, so the case for buying this model refurbished is not that the hardware has been withdrawn. It is the same part number and the same hardware, available without a new-order lead time, which is what matters when a closet build is waiting on switches or a failed unit has to be matched exactly. Every unit is a Cisco Catalyst C9200L-48P-4X rather than an equivalent, so it stacks with what is already installed on the same terms Cisco publishes.

Whole systems, including switches, carry a 2-year Enterasource warranty, and delivery is free FedEx Ground to the lower 48 states. If you are extending an existing 9200L stack, tell us the license level of the members already in place and we will match it, because a mismatched level is the most common reason a new member refuses to join a stack that otherwise looks correct. The rest of the Catalyst 9200 range sits alongside this model, and the wider Cisco switching and routing catalogue covers the neighbouring families.

Condition, testing and what ships with the switch

Every switch is inbound tested on receipt, then disassembled, cleaned and inventoried. When it is picked for an order it is assembled, configured and tested again on the way out, so the last thing that happens to a unit before it is boxed is a functional test rather than a shelf pull. Physical condition is graded honestly and any cosmetic marking is described rather than photographed around.

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

How many ports can a C9200L-48P-4X power at full PoE+?

Fewer than all 48 on a single supply. Cisco publishes a 740 W PoE budget for the switch on its PWR-C5-1KWAC supply, and PoE+ delivers up to 30 W per port, so the budget rather than the port count sets the limit. Cisco's own footnote gives the arithmetic on a smaller switch: PoE delivery is "limited by port number and port rating (for example, 24 PoE+ 30W ports = 720W)". Forty-eight ports drawing the full rating would call for 1440 W, which is the figure Cisco publishes for this model with a second supply fitted.

Does a C9200L-48P-4X need two power supplies?

That follows from the PoE load rather than from the port count. One PWR-C5-1KWAC provides a 740 W budget, and a second unit of the same part takes the switch to 1440 W. If the devices you intend to power add up to less than 740 W, the second supply buys resilience rather than capacity. If they add up to more, it is a functional requirement and the switch will not deliver the load without it. Sites running on DC use the PWR-C5-715WDC= instead, at 485 W single or 970 W dual.

Can a C9200L be stacked with a modular C9200?

No. Cisco states that mixed stacking is not supported and that you cannot stack fixed C9200L models with modular C9200 models, or with other Catalyst switches. The two lines use different stacking technologies, StackWise-80 on the fixed line and StackWise-160 on the modular one, and they do not interoperate. There is a second constraint inside a single line as well: every member of a stack has to sit at the same network stack license level, so two C9200L switches at different levels will not form a stack either.

Can a C9200L-48P-4X be added to an existing Catalyst 2960-X stack?

No, and Cisco names that switch specifically. The published rule reads: "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." A site standardised on 2960-X stacks that buys a 9200L to extend one has bought a switch that cannot do that job. The 9200L will run happily alongside the existing stack as its own stack, but it will not join one.

Can the 1/10G uplinks on a C9200L-48P-4X be upgraded?

No. The four 1/10G uplinks are part of the chassis rather than a module, so there is nothing to remove and nothing to replace with a faster part. Uplink speed on this model is settled at the point of purchase and stays settled for the life of the switch. If the design needs the uplink to change later, the modular Catalyst 9200 takes a network module and the Catalyst 9300 does the same at a higher stacking tier, and either of those keeps the decision reversible.

Does a refurbished C9200L-48P-4X include a Cisco license?

Software licenses and subscriptions are not included unless the listing says so. On the fixed C9200L line the part number records the network stack level in the same string that fixes the uplinks, so the level a given unit was ordered with is a property of that specific switch. Cisco sells the line at two levels, Network Essentials and Network Advantage, and they carry different feature sets. Tell us which level your network needs and we will confirm in writing what the unit we are shipping actually carries.