How to Read a Cisco Catalyst Part Number

Written and maintained by Haink's network infrastructure team · Reconstructed from Cisco data sheets and ordering guides, 22 August 2026 · authorized-channel, serial-verified

Cisco does not publish a decoder for its switch part numbers. There is no nomenclature section in the Catalyst 9300 data sheet, none in the ordering guide, and no separate reference document. Every table you find online — including this one — is reconstructed by reading the model tables and working backwards.

That matters more than it sounds, because two part numbers that differ by one letter can differ by a factor of four in power delivery, and because the middle of the Catalyst 9300 range contains three suffixes that all mean "multigigabit" and mean three different things.

The structure

C9300X-48HX-A

Port-type suffixes

The three suffixes that all mean "multigigabit"

UX, UXM and UN are the part of the range where quotes go wrong, because all three read as "multigigabit UPOE" in a summary line and they are not the same switch.

So a project that needs 10G to twenty access points cannot use a 48UXM, which only has twelve 10G ports, and cannot use a 48UN, which has none. It needs 24UX switches or a 9300X HX model. Reading "48 port multigigabit UPOE" off a quote and assuming forty-eight 10G ports is the single most common sizing error in this range.

One honest note on sourcing: Cisco's hardware installation guide describes the 48UXM and 48UN port layouts differently from the data sheet, and the two appear to be transposed. The data sheet and the ordering guide agree with each other, so those are what the table above follows. If a supplier quotes different figures, ask which document they are reading.

Power: the suffix is the whole answer

This single table decides most access-layer refreshes happening right now, because the Wi-Fi 6 access points are end-of-sale and their Wi-Fi 7 replacements need more power than the old ones did. The full arithmetic is in the Wi-Fi 6 end-of-sale guide.

What the budget figure does not tell you

A 90 W suffix does not mean ninety watts on every port simultaneously. Cisco's figure for the UPOE+ models is 802.3bt Type 4 on 21 ports — on both the 24-port and the 48-port models — with the rest drawing less. Per-switch PoE budgets with the standard supply:

Family suffixes: L and X are not decoration

C9300L — fixed uplinks chosen in the SKU rather than modules, StackWise-320 instead of 480, and no StackPower. Cisco is explicit that StackPower is supported only on the models with modular uplinks. If the design assumes shared power across a stack, the L family is out.

C9300X — a genuinely different switch, not a refresh. It runs the UADP 2.0sec ASIC (not UADP 3.0, which is a widely repeated error), stacks at 1 Tbps instead of 480 Gbps, carries 16 GB of DRAM against 8, and is the only member of the family that offers 100G uplinks and hardware IPsec.

On the 9300L, a trailing 4G or 4X denotes the fixed uplink: C9300L-48P-4G has four 1G uplinks, C9300L-48P-4X has four 10G. That X means something completely different from the X in C9300X.

Uplink modules do not cross the families

Cisco states it directly: Catalyst 3850 and Catalyst 9300 network modules work in Catalyst 9300 chassis, and Catalyst 9300X modules work only in 9300X chassis. So modules migrate forward from a 3850 refresh and do not migrate backward from a 9300X.

The Catalyst 9200 uses the same grammar

Same structure, smaller vocabulary. On the 9200L the uplink is in the SKU — C9200L-48P-4X is 48 PoE+ ports with four 10G uplinks. On the 9200 the uplinks are modular. Neither family offers anything above PoE+, and neither offers 256-bit MACsec. Where that line falls is covered in Catalyst 9200 versus 9300.

Before you order

1. Read the suffix, not the summary line. "48-port multigigabit UPOE" describes three different switches.
2. Check how many ports actually reach the speed you need — on a 48UXM that is twelve, not forty-eight.
3. Check the PoE class against what you are powering, and check the budget against the count.
4. Check the licence suffix matches the subscription on the quote — an -A switch requires an Advantage subscription.
5. Check the module fits the chassis family before assuming a spare will transfer.

Frequently asked questions

What does UXM mean on a Cisco Catalyst part number?

UPOE with mixed multigigabit ports. On the C9300-48UXM that is 36 ports capped at 2.5G plus 12 ports reaching 10G — not 48 ports at 10G.

What is the difference between UX, UXM and UN?

UX gives multigigabit to 10G on every port. UXM is mixed — most ports at 2.5G, twelve at 10G. UN gives 5G on all 48 ports and no port reaches 10G. All three are UPOE at 60 W.

What does the -E or -A at the end mean?

The licence tier: -E is Network Essentials, -A is Network Advantage, -M is Meraki-managed. The software subscription on the order has to match it.

Which Catalyst 9300 models support 802.3bt?

The UPOE+ models: C9300-24H, C9300-48H, C9300X-24HX, C9300X-48HX and C9300X-48HXN. Cisco lists these as supporting IEEE 802.3bt Type 3 and Type 4 at 90 W. The U, UX, UXM and UN models are UPOE at 60 W.

Does the Catalyst 9300X use the UADP 3.0 ASIC?

No. Cisco's architecture white paper identifies it as UADP 2.0sec. The 9300X does have 500G of ASIC bandwidth against the 9300's 160G or 240G, StackWise-1T, and hardware IPsec — but the ASIC generation is commonly misreported.

Can I move a network module from a Catalyst 9300 into a 9300X?

No. Cisco states that Catalyst 9300X network modules are supported only on 9300X models. Modules do move the other way from a Catalyst 3850, which is supported in the 9300.

Related

• Catalyst 9200 versus 9300 — where the line falls
• C9300-48P vs 48U vs 48UXM vs 48UN — the suffix decision in detail
• Wi-Fi 6 AP end-of-sale — why the PoE suffix decides your wireless refresh
• Catalyst 2960-X replacement · Cisco licensing explained
• Enterprise switches · Cisco stock and lead times · How to choose Cisco

Sources

• Cisco — Catalyst 9300 Series data sheet (model tables, network modules, PoE budgets)
• Cisco — Catalyst 9300 ordering guide
• Cisco — Catalyst 9300 architecture white paper (UADP 2.0sec)
• Cisco — Catalyst 9300 hardware installation guide
• Cisco — Catalyst 9200 Series data sheet