PoE is the specification that most often gets a switch purchase wrong, because two switches with the same model number and port count can deliver very different amounts of power. The port type sets the ceiling per port; the power supplies fitted set the total the switch can actually hand out. On a used switch those supplies are whatever the previous owner left in it.
Everything below is platform capability as published in Cisco’s Catalyst data sheets, not a description of any particular unit. What a specific switch can deliver is confirmed when we quote it.
The four power levels Cisco lists
| PoE | The original level. Enough for basic endpoints. |
|---|---|
| PoE+ | The common level on current access switches, and what most wireless access points and IP phones are specified against. |
| Cisco UPOE | Listed by Cisco at 60 W per port. |
| Cisco UPOE+ | Listed by Cisco at 90 W per port — the level for higher-draw endpoints. |
Read the model suffix and you can usually tell which you are getting. On the Catalyst 9300, Cisco lists C9300-48P as “48 ports PoE+”, C9300-48U as “48 ports Cisco UPOE” and C9300-48H as “48 ports Cisco UPOE+”, while C9300X-48TX is “48 ports data” — no PoE at all.
Per-port ceiling is not the same as system budget
This is the distinction that matters. A 48-port UPOE+ switch does not deliver 90 W on all 48 ports at once. The switch has a total PoE power budget, and you spend it across the ports you populate.
Cisco publishes these figures as examples of available PoE power:
- C9200-48P — 740 W with the primary supply alone, 1440 W with a secondary supply fitted.
- C9200L-48P-4G — 740 W single supply, 1440 W with a secondary.
- C9200CX compact models — 240 W maximum.
- C9300-48H — 1172 W with a 715 W secondary supply, rising to 1537 W with a 1100 W secondary.
Notice what those numbers actually turn on: the second power supply. The same switch nearly doubles its budget with one fitted, and roughly doubles it again between the two secondary-supply options on the 9300.
Which supplies set the budget
Cisco lists these AC supplies across the two families:
- Catalyst 9200L — PWR-C5-125WAC, PWR-C5-600WAC, PWR-C5-1KWAC.
- Catalyst 9200 — PWR-C6-600WAC, PWR-C6-1KWAC.
- Catalyst 9300 — PWR-C1-715WAC-P, PWR-C1-1100WAC-P, PWR-C1-1900WAC-P.
DC options are listed as PWR-C5-715WDC= and PWR-C6-715WDC=, which Cisco marks as spares.
This is the single most useful thing to check on a used PoE switch. A decommissioned C9300-48H with one 715 W supply is a different product from the same SKU with a 1100 W pair, and the difference is entirely invisible in the model number.
Sizing a budget without guessing
The honest method is to list what you are powering, take the PoE class each device is specified for, add them up, and leave headroom. Do not work from port count — work from the devices. Two practical points:
- A switch can run out of power budget long before it runs out of ports. That is the normal failure mode, and it shows up as endpoints that will not come up rather than as an obvious fault.
- If you want a second supply for redundancy and you are near the budget, decide which of the two you are buying it for. A redundant pair sized so that either one alone carries the load is a different purchase from a pair sized to sum their output.
Where PoE is not available
The Catalyst 9500 data sheet does not list PoE on any model. If a design has a 9500 powering access points, something has gone wrong upstream in the design. Use a 9300 or 9200 for powered access and keep the 9500 for aggregation and core — see the 9200 vs 9300 vs 9500 comparison.
What a quote confirms
Individual networking products are not listed on this site. Availability of any particular model is confirmed by quote rather than published here, so the fastest route is to request a quote. For a PoE switch our sales engineers will confirm, for the specific units offered: the exact SKU and PoE type, which power supplies are fitted, the PoE budget those supplies allow, whether a second supply is present or can be added, and condition.
What to tell us
- What you are powering — access points, phones, cameras, and roughly how many of each.
- PoE level — PoE, PoE+, UPOE or UPOE+ if you already know which you need.
- Total budget — in watts, if you have worked it out.
- Redundancy — whether you need dual supplies, and whether either alone must carry the load.
- Port count and speed — 24 or 48 ports, 1G or multigigabit.
- Quantity — and whether it is a one-off or a repeat requirement.
Put the technical detail in the Quote Details field and the volume in Estimated Quantity.
See all ranges on the networking hub. Networking equipment bought through a TekBoost quote carries our standard 3-year warranty — buying by quote rather than from an online listing makes no difference to cover — subject to the terms, exclusions and conditions on that page. Manufacturer warranty, software licensing and support entitlements are separate and are not included.