Cisco Catalyst 9300L-24T-4G-E Datasheet and Pricing: Expert Technical Overview for Enterprise Network Deployments

1. Product Overview

The Cisco Catalyst 9300L-24T-4G-E is a member of Cisco’s flagship Catalyst 9300 Series, designed to deliver high-performance, secure, and scalable network access for enterprise campus environments. As a fixed-configuration stackable Layer 3 switch, the 9300L-24T-4G-E variant is optimized for organizations requiring robust wired connectivity with advanced security and automation capabilities.

Positioned as a cost-effective alternative within the Catalyst 9300 family, the 9300L series balances performance and affordability without compromising Cisco’s industry-leading features. The “24T” denotes 24 Ethernet 10/100/1000 Mbps ports, while “4G” indicates four 1G SFP uplink ports, enabling flexible fiber or copper uplink options. The “E” suffix signifies the inclusion of the Enterprise licensing tier, unlocking advanced Layer 3 routing and security features.

Engineered for digital transformation initiatives, the C9300L-24T-4G-E supports Cisco DNA (Digital Network Architecture) and is fully compatible with Cisco’s Software-Defined Access (SD-Access) framework. This switch is ideal for medium to large enterprise campus access layers, branch offices, and aggregation points requiring high availability, programmability, and comprehensive security.

2. Product Specifications

2.1 Hardware Architecture

The Cisco Catalyst 9300L-24T-4G-E is built on a modular hardware platform featuring a fixed 1RU form factor. It incorporates a high-performance forwarding engine capable of delivering up to 160 Gbps of switching capacity. The switch supports Cisco StackWise-160 technology, allowing up to eight switches to be stacked with a unified data and control plane, simplifying management and increasing redundancy.

The device is powered by a dual-core CPU architecture optimized for concurrent control plane and data plane operations, ensuring low latency and high throughput. It includes 8 GB of DRAM and 4 GB of flash memory, providing ample resources for complex configurations, software images, and telemetry data.

2.2 Port and Interface Details

The switch offers 24 fixed 10/100/1000 Mbps RJ-45 ports supporting Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE+), delivering up to 30W per port to power IP phones, wireless access points, and other endpoint devices. The four dedicated 1G SFP uplink ports support fiber or copper transceivers, enabling flexible network topology designs.

Key port features include:

• 24 x 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet ports with PoE+ (up to 30W per port)
• 4 x 1G SFP uplink ports (fiber or copper SFP modules supported)
• StackWise-160 stacking ports integrated for high-speed inter-switch stacking

2.3 Performance and Forwarding

The C9300L-24T-4G-E delivers a switching capacity of 160 Gbps and a forwarding rate of up to 95.2 Mpps (million packets per second). It supports wire-speed Layer 2 and Layer 3 forwarding with advanced hardware-based features such as:

• MAC address table capacity of 32,000 entries
• IPv4 unicast routes: up to 16,000 entries
• IPv6 unicast routes: up to 8,000 entries
• Access Control List (ACL) entries: up to 4,000
• Quality of Service (QoS) queues: 8 hardware queues per port

2.4 Power and Environmental Specifications

The switch supports redundant power supply options with a single internal power supply included (350W AC). It is compatible with Cisco’s optional external redundant power supplies (RPS) for increased uptime. The device’s power consumption varies depending on PoE load but is optimized for energy efficiency with Cisco EnergyWise technology.

Environmental specifications include:

• Operating temperature: 0°C to 45°C (32°F to 113°F)
• Storage temperature: -40°C to 70°C (-40°F to 158°F)
• Relative humidity: 10% to 90% non-condensing
• Acoustic noise: 48 dBA typical

2.5 Software and Licensing

The C9300L-24T-4G-E ships with Cisco IOS XE Software, a modular operating system designed for high availability, programmability, and security. The “E” Enterprise license enables advanced Layer 3 routing protocols such as OSPF, EIGRP, BGP, and multicast routing, as well as enhanced security features including TrustSec and Encrypted Traffic Analytics.

Additional software capabilities include:

• Support for Cisco DNA Center for centralized network automation and assurance
• SD-Access fabric support for segmentation and policy enforcement
• Flexible NetFlow for detailed traffic analytics
• MACsec encryption on uplink ports for data confidentiality
• StackWise Virtual support for high availability and simplified