Full Official English Description – Cisco Catalyst C9300-48HXB-M

1. Product Overview

2. Port Hardware Specifications

• Downlink Copper Ports: 48× IEEE 802.3bz Multigigabit RJ45 ports, auto-negotiable speeds: 100M / 1G / 2.5G / 5G / 10G BASE-T
• PoE Standard: IEEE 802.3bt Class 8 UPOE++ (UPOE+), maximum 90W DC power output per individual copper port
• Rear Modular Uplink Bay: 1 hot-swappable uplink module slot, compatible with SFP+, SFP28, QSFP+, QSFP28 transceivers supporting 10G / 25G / 40G / 100G fiber uplinks
• Stacking Interfaces: Dedicated rear StackWise-1T stacking ports, up to 1 Tbps bidirectional stacking bandwidth; supports stacking of up to 8 switches into a single logical switching domain
• 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 offline firmware upgrade, log export and configuration backup

3. Enhanced Performance Scaling (Key "B" Hardware Differentiator)

• Standalone Switching Capacity: 2000 Gbps full-duplex
• Standalone Forwarding Rate: 1488 Mpps
• Aggregated Stack Bandwidth: Up to 3000 Gbps across full stack
• MAC Address Table: 64,000 MAC entries (double the capacity of standard C9300X-48HX baseline models)
• IPv4 / IPv6 Routing Table: 64,000 route entries
• Multicast Group Table: 32,000 multicast group entries
• Shared Deep Packet Buffer: 32MB hardware buffer (twice standard HX buffer size) to absorb bursty 4K video, wireless client flood and IoT intermittent traffic
• Hardware ACL Scale: 4,000 ingress + 4,000 egress hardware ACL rules, higher scale than non-B HX Meraki switches

4. Power & Thermal Architecture

• PSU Support: 1 or 2 hot-swappable Platinum-efficiency AC power supplies with OIR (Online Insertion and Removal); factory default ships with single 1100W AC PSU (PWR-C1-1100WAC-P-M)
• Total UPOE++ PoE Power Budget:
  Single 1100W PSU: 590W total PoE allocation
  Dual high-wattage PSUs: Maximum 2880W full PoE capacity for full 90W per-port endpoint deployment
• Cooling System: 3 field-replaceable variable-speed hot-swap fans with N+1 redundant design, low acoustic noise for office rack deployment
• Universal Input Voltage: 100–240V AC, 50/60Hz mains input
• Operating Temperature Range: -5°C ~ +45°C ambient

5. Stacking & Cross-Chassis Power Technology

• StackWise-1T: 1 Terabit high-speed stacking backplane, sub-50ms convergence during stack member hardware failure
• StackPower: Cross-stack power pooling in ring topology (max 4 stack members), dynamic PoE load balancing and redundant power backup for edge endpoints
• Mixed Stack Compatibility: Fully inter-stackable with all Catalyst 9300X-M Meraki-managed switches (HX, HXB variants), unified single logical stack domain under one Meraki dashboard view; backward compatible with StackWise-480 legacy stacking bandwidth when mixed with standard C9300 series

6. Hardware-Accelerated Security (Feature Tier Locked by Meraki Subscription)

• MACsec 256-bit AES link encryption supported on all copper downlinks and fiber uplinks
• Trustworthy Systems secure boot, runtime integrity verification and digital firmware authenticity validation
• Endpoint authentication suite: IEEE 802.1X, MAB, captive WebAuth portal
• Layer 2 threat prevention: Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI), DHCP Snooping, IP Source Guard, BPDU Guard, broadcast/multicast storm control
• Secure management transport: SSH, HTTPS, SNMPv3, fully encrypted persistent Meraki cloud tunnel
• Tier-locked advanced security: Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA), Adaptive Policy microsegmentation and full IPFIX NetFlow require Meraki Advanced subscription license; only basic threat mitigation available under Meraki Enterprise tier

7. Layer 2 & Layer 3 Protocol Support

Layer 2 Features

Layer 3 Routing Protocols

8. Software & Meraki Cloud Licensing Ecosystem

• Operating System: Custom hybrid Cisco IOS XE image optimized exclusively for Meraki cloud dashboard orchestration
• Core Licensing Difference vs -E/-A models: No perpetual Cisco DNA Network Essentials / Network Advantage licenses. The switch requires mandatory time-based Meraki term subscriptions (1/3/5/7/10-year):
  1. Meraki Enterprise: Base L2/L3 routing, basic telemetry, zero-touch provisioning, real-time dashboard monitoring, email/SMS alerts
  2. Meraki Advanced: Adds ETA, full IPFIX streaming telemetry, Adaptive Policy segmentation, advanced remote diagnostics, integrated traffic analytics
• Unified Management Channels:
  1. Meraki Cloud Dashboard (primary): Full graphical configuration, template-based mass deployment, scheduled automatic firmware upgrades, historical traffic analytics, remote packet capture, cross-site topology visualization
  2. Local CLI via console / SSH for on-prem emergency troubleshooting
• Programmability: Meraki REST API, on-box Python guest shell, streaming telemetry export, limited NETCONF/YANG support

9. Physical & Environmental Specifications

• Form Factor: 1 Rack Unit (1RU) standard 19-inch EIA rack-mount chassis
• External Dimensions: 445 mm (W) × 483 mm (D) × 44 mm (H)
• Chassis Weight (without power supplies): 6.62 kg (14.59 lbs)
• 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 with UADP 2.0sec crypto ASIC
• 48HX: 48-port full multigigabit 10G BASE-T UPOE++ copper hardware chassis
• B: Enhanced deep packet buffer, expanded MAC/route/ACL scale variant
• M: Meraki Cloud-Managed variant, requires term-based Meraki subscription licenses, no perpetual Cisco DNA entitlements

11. Typical Deployment Scenarios

1. Multi-site enterprise campus stacking with centralized Meraki cloud management for Wi-Fi 6/6E high-power APs
2. Large-scale IP PTZ & 4K video surveillance aggregation leveraging 32MB deep buffer for burst video streams
3. Distributed smart building IoT edge aggregation: access control panels, lighting controllers, industrial sensors, digital signage with mixed high-power endpoints
4. Chain retail & multi-branch office networks requiring unified cross-location visibility and zero-touch remote deployment
5. Medium-scale floor aggregation layer with demand for high forwarding table capacity and cloud-native lifecycle management

Key Distinction Note

• -M: Meraki cloud subscription-managed, feature tiers split by Enterprise/Advanced term licenses
• -E: On-prem DNA Center managed, perpetual Cisco DNA Network Essentials license
• -A: On-prem DNA Center managed, perpetual Cisco DNA Network Advantage full-feature license