Full Official English Description – Cisco Catalyst C9300X-48HX-M

1. Product Overview

2. Port Hardware Specifications

• Downlink Copper Ports: 48× Multigigabit RJ45 ports, IEEE 802.3bz compliant, auto-negotiate 100M / 1G / 2.5G / 5G / 10G BASE-T
• PoE Standard: IEEE 802.3bt Class 8 UPOE+ (UPOE++), maximum 90W DC power output per single RJ45 port
• Rear Modular Uplink Bay: 1 hot-swappable uplink slot, compatible with SFP+, SFP28, QSFP+, QSFP28 modules supporting 10G /25G /40G /100G fiber uplinks
• Stacking Interfaces: Dedicated rear StackWise-1T ports, up to 1 Tbps bidirectional stacking bandwidth; maximum 8 switches per logical stack
• Management Interfaces:
  1× RJ45 serial console port, 1× USB Type-A console port
  1× 1G out-of-band management Ethernet port
  1× USB 3.0 storage port for local firmware upgrade, log export and config backup

3. Switching & Forwarding Performance

• Standalone Switching Capacity: 2000 Gbps full-duplex
• Standalone Forwarding Rate: 1488 Mpps
• Stack Aggregated Bandwidth: Up to 3000 Gbps across full stack
• MAC Address Table Capacity: 32,000 MAC entries
• IPv4 / IPv6 Routing Table: 32,000 route entries
• Multicast Group Table: 16,000 multicast entries
• Shared Packet Buffer: 16MB hardware buffer for congestion control and burst traffic absorption

4. Power & Thermal Design

• PSU Form Factor: Dual hot-swappable Platinum efficiency AC PSUs with OIR (Online Insertion Removal); factory default ships with single 1100W AC PSU (PWR-C1-1100WAC-P-M)
• PoE Power Budget:
  Single 1100W PSU: 590W total UPOE budget
  Dual high-wattage PSUs: Max 2880W total PoE capacity
• Cooling System: 3 field-replaceable variable-speed hot-swap fans with N+1 redundancy, low acoustic noise for office rack deployment
• Input Voltage Range: Universal 100–240V AC, 50/60Hz mains input

5. Stacking & Power Pooling Technology

• StackWise-1T: 1 Terabit stacking backplane, sub-50ms stack failover convergence during hardware failure
• StackPower: Cross-stack power pooling in ring topology (supports up to 4 stack members), dynamic load balancing and PoE power redundancy across the stack
• Mixed Stack Compatibility: Inter-stackable with all other Catalyst 9300X-M Meraki-managed switches; unified single logical stack domain under one Meraki dashboard view

6. Hardware-Accelerated Enterprise Security

• MACsec 256-bit AES link encryption supported on all copper downlinks and fiber uplinks
• Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA) unlockable via Meraki Advanced subscription license
• Trustworthy Systems secure boot, runtime integrity validation and image authenticity check
• Endpoint Authentication Suite: IEEE 802.1X, MAB, captive WebAuth
• Layer 2 Threat Mitigation: DAI, DHCP Snooping, IP Source Guard, BPDU Guard, broadcast/multicast storm control
• Secure Management: SSH, HTTPS, SNMPv3, encrypted Meraki cloud tunnel communication

7. Layer 2 & Layer 3 Protocol Support

Layer 2 Features

Layer 3 Routing Protocols

8. Software & Meraki Cloud Management Ecosystem

• Operating System: Custom hybrid Cisco IOS XE image built for Meraki cloud orchestration
• Licensing Model (key difference vs C9300X-48HX-E / -A):
  No perpetual Network Essentials / Network Advantage licenses. Requires time-based Meraki term subscriptions (1/3/5/7/10-year):
  1. Meraki Enterprise: Base L2/L3 routing, basic telemetry, zero-touch provisioning, dashboard monitoring
  2. Meraki Advanced: Adds ETA, full NetFlow IPFIX, adaptive policy segmentation, advanced SD-WAN integration
• Unified Management Channels:
  1. Meraki Cloud Dashboard (primary: full graphical monitoring, config templates, alerts, firmware scheduling, remote packet capture, historical traffic analytics)
  2. Local CLI via console / SSH for on-prem troubleshooting
• Automation Interfaces: Meraki REST API, on-box Python guest shell, NETCONF/YANG streaming telemetry
• Zero-Touch Provisioning (ZTP): Auto-registers to Meraki cloud upon internet connection without local staging

9. Physical & Environmental Specifications

• Form Factor: 1 Rack Unit (1RU) standard rack-mount chassis
• External Dimensions: 445 mm (W) × 483 mm (D) × 44 mm (H)
• Chassis Weight (no PSUs): 6.62 kg (14.59 lbs)
• Operating Ambient Temperature: 0°C ~ +45°C
• Storage Temperature: -40°C ~ +70°C
• Operating Humidity: 5% – 90% non-condensing
• MTBF Rating: 185,420 hours under standard factory operating conditions

10. Model Naming Breakdown

• C9300X: Catalyst 9300X high-bandwidth StackWise-1T sub-series
• 48HX: 48-port full multigigabit 10G BASE-T UPOE++ copper chassis
• M: Meraki Cloud-Managed variant (requires Meraki subscription licenses, managed via Meraki Dashboard, no perpetual DNA licenses)

11. Typical Deployment Scenarios

1. High-density enterprise floor access for Wi-Fi 6 / 6E / 7 high-power Meraki / Cisco APs
2. Centralized cloud-managed multi-site campus stacking deployments
3. IP PTZ camera & 4K video surveillance aggregation with 90W UPOE power
4. Smart building IoT aggregation: access control panels, lighting controllers, industrial sensors, digital signage
5. Distributed branch office networks requiring unified cloud visibility across hundreds of remote locations

Key Distinction Note