The Cisco Catalyst C9300L-48P-4G stacks at StackWise-320 and leaves that stack over four 1 Gigabit uplinks, and the distance between those two figures is the decision this model asks a buyer to make. It carries 48 PoE+ access ports, and the default 715 W supply gives them a 505 W PoE budget. What stays inside the stack has 320 Gbps of stacking bandwidth behind it; what leaves it over the uplinks does not.
The uplinks: what a fixed 1 Gigabit SFP port will and will not take
The four uplinks on a Cisco Catalyst C9300L-48P-4G are SFP ports built into the chassis. Cisco's ordering description names them "fixed 4x1G SFP uplinks", against "fixed 4x10G/1G SFP+ uplinks" on the C9300L-48P-4X - a different cage class on a different part number. There is no network module to swap, so a site that later needs 10 Gigabit upstream changes the switch rather than the module, and the modular C9300 line takes a network module that runs from 1G to 40G.
What the cage accepts follows from its class. An SFP port takes 100 Megabit and 1 Gigabit transceivers: fibre on an LC connector, single-mode or multimode depending on the reach, or a copper 1000BASE-T transceiver presenting an RJ-45 socket for Cat 5E. That copper option is the one most often missed on a fibre-oriented specification, and it is the reason a 1 Gigabit uplink can terminate on a copper handoff without anything else changing in the closet.
The PoE budget is a ladder, not a number
Cisco publishes 505 W of PoE budget for this switch on its default power supply, the PWR-C1-715WAC-P. Fit a second supply and the figure rises: a 350 W second supply takes it to 855 W, a 715 W second supply takes it to 1220 W, and the 1100 W second supply raises it further again. The budget is therefore a property of the power configuration rather than of the chassis, and quoting a bare figure without naming the supply behind it describes a switch that has not been specified yet.
What the number means in the closet is the sum of what the connected endpoints draw at the same time, not a per-port allowance that each socket is guaranteed. Access points, cameras and phones each draw their own class, and the mix is what decides whether 48 ports can all be live. Count the endpoints and their draw classes against the supply configuration you intend to order, and specify the supplies from that answer rather than the other way round.
Stacking: eight members at 320 Gbps, and which switches can join
A stack of these switches can hold up to eight members over StackWise-320, rated at 320 Gbps. The membership rule is the first thing to establish: other C9300L switches and C9300LM switches at the same license level can join, and the license level has to match across the stack rather than merely be present on each member.
The exclusion sits the other way round. A modular-uplink C9300 runs StackWise-480, which is a different stack technology, and the two lines are planned as separate stacks rather than joined. Where a site is extending something that already exists, the line was decided when the first switch was bought; where it is starting fresh, either line is a legitimate choice and the uplink question is what should decide it.
Cisco publishes the bandwidth arithmetic for both states. A standalone C9300L-48P-4G is rated at 104 Gbps of switching capacity and 77.38 Mpps of forwarding; the same switch in a stack is rated at 424 Gbps and 315.48 Mpps. Those two pairs of figures are the clearest statement of what the stack adds, and they are Cisco's own rather than ours.
The stack kit, the cables, and a conflict in Cisco's own documents
A Catalyst 9300L stack is quoted as two things, the switches and the stacking hardware, and both halves have moved. C9300L-STACK-KIT passed its last day to order on 3 November 2025 and carries a last day of support of 30 November 2030 under Cisco notice EOL15646, and C9300L-STACK-KIT2 is the part a C9300L-48P-4G stack is built on. The cables are bound to the kit by name: the older kit takes STACK-T3 cables and the current kit takes STACK-T3A cables, and they are not interchangeable.
Cisco's own two documents disagree on this point and it is better said than smoothed over. The data sheet still lists C9300L-STACK-KIT among the orderable options while the notice closed ordering on it, so a reader working from one document alone reaches a different answer than a reader working from the other. We build stacking quotes on KIT2 and on the STACK-T3A cable family, and we say which kit a quote assumes rather than leaving it implied.
That milestone belongs to the stacking hardware. It is not a statement about the switch, and the two should not be read together.
| Specification | Cisco Catalyst C9300L-48P-4G |
|---|---|
| Downlink ports | 48 PoE+ |
| Uplinks | Fixed 4 x 1G SFP, not modular and not upgradeable |
| Uplink cage class | SFP cage, built into the chassis |
| Uplink transceiver classes accepted | 100 Megabit and 1 Gigabit SFP; LC fibre single-mode or multimode, or 1000BASE-T on RJ-45 Cat 5E |
| Switching capacity | 104 Gbps standalone, 424 Gbps with stacking |
| Forwarding rate | 77.38 Mpps standalone, 315.48 Mpps with stacking |
| Weight | 15.46 lb, 7.03 kg, with the default power supply |
| MTBF | 314,140 hours |
| Dimensions | 1.73 x 17.5 x 16.1 in chassis alone; 17.7 in deep with the default supply; 19.2 in deep with the 1100 W supply |
| Default power supply | PWR-C1-715WAC-P |
| PoE budget | 505 W on the default supply; 855 W with a 350 W second supply; 1220 W with a 715 W second supply; higher again with the 1100 W second supply |
| Stacking | StackWise-320, 320 Gbps, up to 8 members |
| Stacks with | Other C9300L and C9300LM switches at the same license level |
| Stack kit and cable | C9300L-STACK-KIT2 with STACK-T3A-50CM, -1M or -3M; the older C9300L-STACK-KIT binds to STACK-T3-50CM, -1M or -3M and the two cable families are not interchangeable |
| Mixed stacking | Not supported with C9300 modular-uplink models |
License and what is included
Software licenses and subscriptions are not included unless a listing states otherwise, and an entitlement bought by a previous owner belongs to that owner's account rather than to the chassis. On this line the network stack level is written into the orderable part number itself: the E suffix is Network Essentials and the A suffix is Network Advantage. The order codes for this model are the E and A tiers, and there is no third tier in its code list.
Two things are worth separating on a quote. The license level is one order line and the stacking hardware is another, so a stack built at Network Essentials still needs its kit and its cables costed alongside the switches. Tell us which stack level the network needs before ordering, and we will confirm in writing what the specific unit being shipped carries.
How the C9300L-48P-4G compares with the C9300L-48P-4X
The two C9300L models are the same switch above and below the uplinks: 48 PoE+ ports, the same PoE budget ladder and the same StackWise-320 stack on both, with four 1 Gigabit SFP uplinks on the 4G and four dual-rate 10 Gigabit and 1 Gigabit SFP+ uplinks on the 4X.
| Specification | C9300L-48P-4G | C9300L-48P-4X |
|---|---|---|
| Uplink speed | 4 x 1G | 4 x 10G/1G |
| Uplink transceiver classes accepted | SFP at 100 Megabit and 1 Gigabit | SFP at 100 Megabit and 1 Gigabit, plus SFP+ at 10 Gigabit |
| Uplink upgradeable | No | No |
| PoE budget ladder | 505 W, 855 W and 1220 W by supply, higher again with the 1100 W second supply | Identical |
| Stacking | StackWise-320, 320 Gbps, 8 members | Identical |
| Stackable with a C9300 | No | No |
Three of those six rows match, and saying so is more useful than manufacturing a difference. The row that decides the purchase is the second one: the 4X cage accepts a 10 Gigabit SFP+ as well as the slower classes, and the 4G cage does not, so a site whose distribution layer is already at 10 Gigabit is choosing between a part number and a rebuild later. Where the uplink requirement is genuinely modular, a Cisco Catalyst C9300-48P takes a removable module instead, the Cisco Catalyst C9300L-48P-4X is the direct sibling, and where 1 Gigabit copper access needs far faster uplinks than either offers, a Cisco Nexus 9348GC-FXP answers the same floor plan differently. The wider range sits on the Cisco Catalyst 9300 pages.
Condition, testing and warranty
Every unit runs the same process rather than a summarised version of it: inbound test on receipt, disassembly, cleaning, inventory, pick, assembly, configuration, and an outbound test before the switch is packed. The part number and the hardware are what Cisco built. Whole systems carry a 2-year Enterasource warranty and ship free by FedEx Ground to the lower 48 states, and no Cisco warranty transfers with second-hand hardware.
Stacking kits, stack cables, uplink transceivers, second power supplies and rails are separate line items and are quoted explicitly rather than assumed to be in the box. If what we can source differs in any respect from what was quoted, we say so before it ships rather than after. The rest of our refurbished Cisco switches and routers is catalogued alongside this one, campus and data centre alike.
Frequently Asked Questions
What transceivers do the 1 Gigabit uplinks on a C9300L-48P-4G take?
They take SFP transceivers at 100 Megabit and 1 Gigabit. Cisco orders this model with fixed 4x1G SFP uplinks and orders the C9300L-48P-4X with fixed 4x10G/1G SFP+ uplinks, so a 10 Gigabit uplink here is a different part number rather than a different transceiver in the same switch. On the media side, an SFP takes LC fibre in single-mode or multimode, and a copper handoff is served by a 1000BASE-T transceiver presenting an RJ-45 socket for Cat 5E cabling.
What is the maximum PoE budget of a C9300L-48P-4G?
It depends on the power supplies fitted, which is why the figure has to be quoted with its configuration. On the default 715 W supply Cisco publishes 505 W of PoE budget. A 350 W second supply raises it to 855 W, a 715 W second supply raises it to 1220 W, and the 1100 W second supply raises it further again. What the switch can actually power is the sum of the draw classes of the endpoints connected at one time, measured against whichever of those configurations is ordered.
Which stack kit and which stack cables does a C9300L-48P-4G need?
The kit and the cable family are bound together and cannot be mixed. C9300L-STACK-KIT2 takes STACK-T3A cables in 50 cm, 1 m and 3 m lengths; the earlier C9300L-STACK-KIT takes STACK-T3 cables in the same lengths, and a cable from one family does not serve the other kit. On the ordering position, C9300L-STACK-KIT reached its last day to order on 3 November 2025 with a last day of support of 30 November 2030 under Cisco notice EOL15646, and KIT2 is the part to quote.
What can a C9300L-48P-4G be stacked with?
With other C9300L and C9300LM switches at the same license level, up to eight members in a stack. A modular-uplink C9300 is a separate case: it runs StackWise-480 rather than StackWise-320, and the two are planned as different stacks. Cisco publishes the capacity for both states of this switch, at 104 Gbps standalone and 424 Gbps once it is stacked, which is the clearest way to see what joining a stack actually contributes.
Can the 1 Gigabit uplinks on a C9300L-48P-4G be upgraded to 10 Gigabit?
No. The four uplinks are ports in the chassis rather than a removable module, so there is nothing to swap and no field upgrade path to a faster uplink rate. A site that needs 10 Gigabit upstream buys the C9300L-48P-4X, whose uplink cages are ordered as dual-rate SFP+, or a modular C9300 where the uplink module is a separate and changeable order line. That decision is made once, at purchase.
Does a refurbished C9300L-48P-4G include a Cisco license?
Licenses and subscriptions are not included unless a listing says so, and an entitlement stays with the account that bought it rather than travelling with the chassis. On this line the network stack level is recorded inside the part number, where E marks Network Essentials and A marks Network Advantage, so one string carries both the uplink decision and the software tier. Tell us which level the network needs and we will confirm in writing what the specific unit being shipped carries.
