The Cisco Catalyst C9300-48P is a stackable campus access switch with 48 PoE+ ports, a modular uplink module and StackWise-480 stacking. A single 715 W power supply provides 437 W of PoE budget, not the 1440 W that 48 ports at the full 30 W would draw. Cisco still sells the Catalyst 9300 new, which makes the refurbished case one of price and lead time rather than lifecycle.
Ports, uplinks and stacking
Access ports on the C9300-48P are 48 copper 10/100/1000 ports, every one of them PoE+ capable, which is what makes this the volume access-closet member of the Catalyst 9300 line. The uplinks are not part of the chassis. The switch takes a network module, and Cisco publishes that module family at 1G, mGig, 10G, 25G and 40G, so the uplink speed a closet needs in three years is a module purchase rather than a switch replacement.
Stacking is StackWise-480, rated at 480 Gbps with up to 8 switches in a stack, and the chassis itself carries 256 Gbps of switching capacity with 8 GB of DRAM and 16 GB of flash in a 1RU height. Those two numbers answer different questions: 256 Gbps is what one switch moves, and 480 Gbps is what the stack interconnect carries between members.
| Specification | C9300-48P |
|---|---|
| Access ports | 48 x 10/100/1000 PoE+ |
| Uplinks | Modular network module - 1G, mGig, 10G, 25G or 40G |
| Stacking | StackWise-480, 480 Gbps, up to 8 switches |
| Switching capacity | 256 Gbps |
| Memory | 8 GB DRAM and 16 GB flash |
| Rack height | 1RU |
PoE budget: what this switch can actually power
A Cisco Catalyst C9300-48P carries 48 PoE+ ports and a 437 W PoE budget on its default 715 W power supply. Cisco's own footnote is the way to read that: PoE delivery is limited by port number and port rating, so fourteen ports drawing the full 30 W each account for 420 W of the 437 W available. Reaching the full 1440 W, which is exactly 48 ports at 30 W, requires a 1100 W or 1900 W secondary supply. Two 715 W supplies give 1152 W, not 1440 W.
That last sentence is the one that costs money when it is missed. A buyer who reads 48 PoE+ ports as a promise of full power on every port, and orders a second 715 W supply expecting to double the budget, lands at 1152 W and is still short of a fully loaded PoE+ deployment. The arithmetic above is ours, worked from Cisco's published budget and Cisco's published per-port PoE+ rating; the resulting port count is not itself a Cisco specification.
| Power supply arrangement | PoE available |
|---|---|
| One 715 W supply, the default | 437 W |
| Two 715 W supplies | 1152 W |
| With a 1100 W or 1900 W secondary | 1440 W |
Sizing a closet is therefore a two-step exercise: count the powered endpoints, multiply by the class they actually draw rather than the class they are capable of, and then choose the supply that covers the result. Access points and multi-radio devices are the loads that push a 48-port closet past the default budget.
Stacking: what this switch can and cannot join
A Catalyst 9300 stack is a single managed unit, and the C9300-48P joins one over StackWise-480 with up to eight members. Cisco states the limit that catches buyers out in plain terms: you cannot stack fixed uplink models, which are the C9300L SKUs, with modular uplink models, which are the C9300 SKUs. Any combination of Catalyst 9300 models can form a stack, and separately, any combination of Catalyst 9300L models can form a stack.
The practical consequence is that a stack is a line commitment, not a model commitment. A site running C9300 stacks extends them with more C9300 switches; a C9300L-48P-4X is a different stacking domain and cannot be added to an existing C9300 stack at any price. Confirm which line an existing stack is built on before ordering an additional member, because the part numbers look close enough to order the wrong one.
Uplinks: modular module or fixed ports
Uplink flexibility is the C9300-48P's structural advantage over the fixed-uplink line. Because the uplinks arrive on a removable network module, a closet cabled for 1G can move to mGig, 10G, 25G or 40G by changing the module rather than the switch. Cisco publishes the module family at those speeds, and the choice is made per switch rather than per stack.
We do not publish a module part list on this page. The specific network module a quote is built on is confirmed against the uplink speed and connector type a site needs, because ordering the wrong module is the most common avoidable error on a Catalyst 9300 order.
Where the C9300-48P sits in the 9300 line
The C9300-48P is the 48-port PoE+ member of the modular-uplink line. The other two switches worth comparing it against are the 24-port PoE+ model, which halves the port count on the same modular uplink and stacking architecture, and the fixed-uplink C9300L-48P-4X, which carries the same 48 PoE+ ports but settles the uplink speed permanently at four 10G ports.
| Specification | C9300-48P | C9300-24P | C9300L-48P-4X |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access ports | 48 PoE+ | 24 PoE+ | 48 PoE+ |
| PoE budget | 437 W on the 715 W supply | 445 W | 505 W |
| Uplinks | Modular network module | Modular network module | Fixed 4 x 10G |
| Uplink speed upgradeable | Yes | Yes | No |
| Stacking | StackWise-480 | StackWise-480 | StackWise-320 |
| Can stack with a C9300-48P | - | Yes | No |
The C9300L-48P-4X carries the same 48 PoE+ ports as a C9300-48P, but its uplinks are fixed at four 10G ports and it cannot be stacked with a C9300-48P at all. If the requirement is data-centre access at 10G or 25G rather than campus access at 1G, a Nexus 93180YC-EX is the switch that answers it, and the rest of the Catalyst 9300 range sits alongside this model.
Buying refurbished while Cisco still ships new
The Catalyst 9300 is a switch Cisco still sells new, so the refurbished argument here is not a lifecycle argument. It is a price and lead-time argument on identical hardware: the same part number, the same silicon, the same supported platform, available from stock instead of from a manufacturing queue. We do not suggest that buying new is the wrong decision; we suggest that for an access closet being expanded or replaced, the refurbished unit is the same switch sooner.
Every whole system we ship carries a 2 year Enterasource warranty, and freight is free FedEx Ground to the lower 48 states. More Cisco switching, including the Nexus data-centre line, sits on our Cisco networking pages.
Condition, testing and what ships with the switch
Our process is the same on every unit and we state it rather than summarise it: inbound test on receipt, disassemble, clean, inventory, pick, assemble, configure, and an outbound test before the switch ships. Units are graded and sold as refurbished enterprise hardware, not as factory-sealed stock.
Software licenses and subscriptions are not included unless the listing states otherwise. Cisco sells the Catalyst 9300 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 C9300-48P power at full PoE+?
The answer is bounded by the 437 W budget on the default 715 W supply, not by the 48-port count. Cisco's PoE footnote states the method: delivery is limited by port number and port rating, so fourteen ports drawing the full 30 W each consume 420 W of that 437 W. Powering all 48 ports at 30 W requires 1440 W, and that figure is reached only by adding a larger secondary supply.
What power supply does a C9300-48P need for full PoE+ on every port?
Full PoE+ across all 48 ports means 1440 W of budget, and Cisco makes that available with a 1100 W or 1900 W secondary supply alongside the primary. The arrangement people assume works, a second 715 W unit, does not get there: two 715 W supplies provide 1152 W. Size the supply from the endpoint load first, then confirm the pairing before the order is placed.
Can a C9300-48P be stacked with a C9300L?
No. Cisco is explicit that fixed uplink models, the C9300L SKUs, cannot be stacked with modular uplink models, the C9300 SKUs. The two lines also use different stack technologies, StackWise-480 on the C9300 and StackWise-320 on the C9300L. Any combination of C9300 models can stack together, and any combination of C9300L models can stack together, but the two families cannot be mixed in one stack.
What uplinks does a C9300-48P take?
The C9300-48P takes a removable network module rather than fixed uplink ports, and Cisco publishes that module family at 1G, mGig, 10G, 25G and 40G. Uplink speed is therefore an upgrade path on this model: a switch installed with 1G uplinks can be moved to a faster module later without replacing the chassis. We confirm the exact module against your uplink requirement on the quote.
What is the difference between a C9300-48P-A and a C9300-48P-E?
The suffix records the network stack level the switch was ordered with, Network Advantage on the -A and Network Essentials on the -E. They are different Cisco part numbers with different feature sets on the same 48-port PoE+ hardware, which is why the suffix appears in the part number rather than on a label. It is not a statement that a subscription is active on a used unit; that is confirmed per unit on the quote.
Does a refurbished C9300-48P include a Cisco license?
Licenses and subscriptions are not included unless the listing says so. Because this is the one Catalyst 9300 model whose part number is routinely searched with its license suffix attached, it is worth being precise: the -A and -E variants of the 48-port PoE+ switch are separate orderable products, so tell us which stack level the network needs and we will confirm in writing what the specific unit being shipped carries.
