Cisco Catalyst C9300-48P-A — 48× 1G PoE+ access with modular 1/10/25/40G uplinks (Network Advantage)

What it is: A stackable, enterprise Layer-3 Catalyst 9300 with 48 × 10/100/1000 RJ-45 PoE+ ports and a modular uplink bay so you can choose your uplink speed now and swap later. It runs IOS-XE and comes with the Network Advantage (-A) feature set for advanced routing/segmentation. Dual hot-swap PSUs and field-replaceable fans make it a serious, service-friendly access switch.

Why buyers pick C9300-48P-A (plain English)

• Full-density PoE+ for modern floors: powers APs, phones, cameras, and IoT at up to 30W/port.

• Uplink flexibility without forklift upgrades: pick 1G/10G/25G/40G modules as your core evolves.

• High-bandwidth stacking: StackWise-480 makes up to 8 switches behave like one with fast failover.

• Advanced campus features included: Network Advantage gives richer L3, segmentation, and SD-Access readiness.

• Closet uptime: hot-swap PSUs/fans plus Perpetual/Fast PoE to keep endpoints alive during reloads.

60-second spec box (C9300-48P-A)

Access ports

• 48 × 10/100/1000 RJ-45

• PoE+ (802.3at), up to 30W/port

Uplinks (modular bay — order one network module)
Common choices:

• 4 × 1G SFP module

• 4 × 10G SFP+ module

• 8 × 10G SFP+ module

• 2 × 40G QSFP module
  (Other variants exist for mGig/25G in the 9300 ecosystem.)

Power / PoE

• Two PSU bays, supports 1+1 redundancy

• Default PSU often 715W AC; bigger PSUs available for higher PoE budgets

• System PoE budget depends on PSU(s); plan endpoint draw + ~20–30% headroom

• Perpetual/Fast PoE supported

Stacking / HA

• StackWise-480 (up to 480 Gbps stack bandwidth)

• Up to 8 members per stack

• StackPower supported for pooled power across the stack

Software / features (Network Advantage)

• Advanced L3 routing (OSPF, EIGRP, BGP use cases, PBR, VRF-lite)

• Segmentation/security: 802.1X/MAB, SGT/TrustSec hooks, DHCP snooping, DAI, ACLs

• Ops/telemetry: WebUI/CLI, model-driven telemetry, NetFlow/Flexible NetFlow, Catalyst Center readiness

Hardware serviceability

• Hot-swap fans (FRU)

• Hot-swap PSUs (AC/DC options by region)

Form factor

• 1U rack-mount, wiring-closet friendly acoustics

What to order with it (common adds)

• Uplink module that matches your core (4G / 4X / 8X / 2Q, etc.)

• SFP/SFP+/QSFP optics or DAC/AOC cables

• Second PSU for redundancy and/or higher PoE headroom

• DNA subscriptions if you’re doing SD-Access or centralized automation

Where it fits (and when to choose something else)

• Perfect for: campus/branch access layers with lots of PoE endpoints and the need for flexible uplink speeds.

• Step down to C9200/C9200L for lower-cost access when stacking/uplink modularity isn’t critical.

• Step up to mGig C9300 models (24UX/48UXM) if you need 2.5/5/10G copper for high-throughput APs.

TL;DR

C9300-48P-A is the go-to enterprise PoE+ access switch: 48 powered 1G ports, modular uplinks (1–40G), StackWise-480, hot-swap PSUs/fans, and Network Advantage features—built for closets that need power, resilience, and upgrade headroom.