Introduction

Designed to meet the diverse needs of modern businesses by offering a variety of switches, Cisco is a leader in networking solutions. In enterprise networking, switch stacks cannot be compromised. They take on such a heavy workload that sacrificing ability at any level can be harmful to the entire network. Among some of the superior Cisco switches, two specific series always come up, the Cisco 3850 series switches and the Cisco 9300 series switches. Let us compare these two switch series and discuss the key features, specifications, and considerations when choosing between these two series.

What are Cisco Catalyst 3850 switches?

The Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches, often referred to as c3850, are a part of the Cisco Catalyst 3000 family. These switches are known for their stackable design, offering enhanced flexibility and scalability. The key features of the Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series include:

StackPower Technology:

The Cisco Catalyst 3850 switches support StackPower, allowing for power sharing among stacked switches. This feature enhances system resiliency and simplifies power management in the network infrastructure.

Converged Access:

Converged Access is a noteworthy capability of the Cisco Catalyst 3850 switches, enabling wired and wireless convergence through a single platform. This simplifies network deployment and management, particularly in environments with both wired and wireless devices.

Integrated Wireless Controller:

Some models within the Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series come equipped with an integrated wireless controller. This eliminates the need for a separate wireless LAN controller, streamlining network architecture and reducing costs.

What are the Cisco 9300 switches?

The Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches often abbreviated as c9300, are part of the Cisco Catalyst 9000 family. These switches are recognized for their advanced security features and high-performance capabilities. Key features of the Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series include:

Cisco DNA (Digital Network Architecture):

The Cisco Catalyst 9300 switches are designed with Cisco DNA, providing an intent-based networking approach. This allows for automation, assurance, and analytics, facilitating a more responsive and adaptive network infrastructure.

Multigigabit Technology:

The c9300 switches support multigigabit technology, allowing for faster data rates over existing cabling infrastructure. This is particularly beneficial for organizations looking to upgrade their network speeds without incurring significant rewiring costs.

Modular Uplinks:

Cisco Catalyst 9300 switches offer modular uplinks, providing flexibility in choosing the type and speed of uplink interfaces. This modular approach enables organizations to adapt their networks to changing requirements.

System Hardware

The Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series is built on Cisco's UADP ASIC and x86 CPU architecture. Cisco's UADP 2.0sec ASIC is used in 9300X models, while UADP 2.0 is used in 9300 modular and fixed uplink models. It also offers additional internal and external storage options of up to 240GB of SSD, allowing the device to host containers and run third-party applications and scripts natively within the switch.

Table 1. summarizes the system hardware differences between the Cisco 3850 and Catalyst 9300 switches.

Feature	Cisco 3850 Series	Catalyst 9300 Series
Form Factor	Stackable or standalone	Stackable or standalone
Switching Capacity	Up to 480 Gbps (3850-48XS model)	Up to 480 Gbps (C9300-48P model)
Forwarding Rate	Up to 130.95 Mpps (3850-48XS model)	Up to 130.95 Mpps (C9300-48P model)
Uplink Ports	Modular with various options	Modular with various options
PoE (Power over Ethernet)	Available on selected models	Available on selected models
Stacking Technology	StackWise-480	StackWise-480
Power Supply Options	Various options, including redundant	Various options, including redundant
Dimensions (HxWxD)	1.75 x 17.5 x 17.7 inches	1.73 x 17.5 x 17.7 inches
Weight	Varies depending on model	Varies depending on model
Modular Slots	3 fixed uplink slots, 4 optional	2 fixed uplink slots, 3 optional
CPU	Multicore CPU (model dependent)	Multicore CPU (model dependent)
RAM	4 GB DRAM, upgradable	4 GB DRAM, upgradable
Flash Memory	2 GB, upgradable	8 GB, upgradable
Redundancy Features	Hot-swappable power supplies and fans	Hot-swappable power supplies and fans
Software Support	Cisco IOS XE Software	Cisco IOS XE Software
Licensing	IP Base, IP Services, and more options	Network Essentials, Network Advantage, and more options

Modular Uplinks

The comparison between the modular links of the c3850 and Cisco 9300 switches is shown in Table 2 below.

Feature	Cisco Catalyst 3850	Cisco Catalyst 9300
Modular Uplink Ports	Available in fixed models	Available in fixed and modular models
Uplink Module Options	C3850-NM-4-1G or C3850-NM-2-10G	C9300-NM-2Q or C9300-NM-4M
Uplink Speeds	1 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) or 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GE)	1GE, 10GE, 25GE, 40GE, or 100GE
FlexStack and StackWise	Supports StackWise-480 technology for stacking multiple switches	Supports StackWise-480 or StackWise-320 technology for stacking multiple switches
Stacking Bandwidth	Up to 480 Gbps in full-duplex mode	Up to 480 Gbps in full-duplex mode (with StackWise-480) or 320 Gbps (with StackWise-320)
Uplink Redundancy	StackWise-480 provides redundant paths for uplinks	StackWise-480 or StackWise-320 provides redundant paths for uplinks
Uplink Port Density	Varies based on the switch model	Varies based on the switch model
Power Over Ethernet (PoE)	Available in PoE and non-PoE models	Available in PoE and non-PoE models
MACsec Encryption	Supported on some models with the Network Module (NM)	Supported on some models with the Network Module (NM)
Software Compatibility	Compatible with Cisco IOS XE Software	Compatible with Cisco IOS XE Software
Smart Licensing	Supports Smart Licensing	Supports Smart Licensing

System Default Behavior

The system default behavior on the Cisco Catalyst 3850 switches is very much the same as that of the Catalyst 9300 Series switches. For example, interfaces default to Layer 2 switch port mode, IP routing is disabled, and the management interface is in a dedicated Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) instance, and so on. However, there is one difference in the control plane policy when the Catalyst 3850 switches are running Release 3.X.

Table 3. lists the differences in system default behavior between the two switch series.

Feature	Cisco Catalyst 3850	Cisco Catalyst 9300
Switching Mode	LAN base and IP base feature sets available.	LAN base, IP base, and IP services feature sets are available.
StackWise Virtual	Supported, allowing multiple switches to be managed as a single logical unit.	Supported, enabling virtual stacking for increased flexibility.
Uplink Interfaces	Various uplink interfaces including Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and 40 Gigabit Ethernet options.	Similar range of uplink interfaces, supporting Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and 40 Gigabit Ethernet.
Power over Ethernet (PoE)	Supports PoE and PoE+ for powering connected devices.	PoE and PoE+ capabilities available for powering connected devices.
QoS	Default QoS configurations for prioritizing traffic.	Default QoS configurations to prioritize and manage traffic effectively.
VLAN Support	Supports VLANs for network segmentation.	Comprehensive VLAN support for network segmentation.
Security Features	Default security features such as DHCP snooping, Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI), and IP Source Guard.	Built-in security features including DHCP snooping, DAI, IP Source Guard, and TrustSec for enhanced network security.
Multicast Routing	Supports multicast routing protocols such as Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM).	Similar support for multicast routing with protocols like PIM.
Wireless Integration	Integrated wireless controller for managing access points.	Integrated wireless controller for managing access points and wireless clients.
Software Updates	Supports modular software updates through Cisco IOS-XE.	Software updates through Cisco IOS-XE, providing flexibility and ease of management.
High Availability	Redundancy features for high availability include StackWise technology.	Redundancy features for high availability, with StackWise technology and Hot Standby (HSRP) support.
Network Management	Integrated with Cisco Prime Infrastructure for network management.	Integrated with the Cisco DNA Center for comprehensive network management and automation.
Port Security	Supports port security features for restricting access to authorized devices.	Similar port security features for access control and network security.

Operations

Interface Reference

Only Gigabit Ethernet and 10G Ethernet ports are available on Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Multigigabit switches. The Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Multigigabit switches now support 1G, 2.5G, 5G, and 10G Ethernet on the 48-port models.

Management Interface

The management interface on the Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series is Gigabit Ethernet, similar to the interface on the Cisco 3850 switches. On both platforms, the management port has its own VRF instance to separate management traffic from normal data traffic.

Software Features

The following are the only feature differences for customers migrating from the Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series to the Catalyst 9300 Series:

Host Tracking Feature

Release 3.X of the Cisco Catalyst 3850 switches supports IP Device Tracking (IPDT), which is a mechanism for tracking connected hosts (MAC and IP address associations). With the most recent release of Cisco IOS XE software, the Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series is compatible with the new IP device-tracking feature based on Switch Integrated Security Features (SISF). Using IP-agnostic Command-Line Interface (CLI) commands, this feature enables snooping and device-tracking capabilities available with First Hop Security (FHS) in IPv4 and IPv6.

Quality of Service

The most recent ASIC and operating system enable new features and improvements for the Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series. Each downlink or uplink port on the Catalyst 9300 Series can have a unique egress queuing policy thanks to the support for per-port queuing. All uplinks and downlinks in the Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches use the same egress queuing policy.

QoS Specifications

Table 4. QoS specifications in the Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series and Catalyst 9300 Series Switches.

Specifications

Table 5 showcases the specification differences between the Cisco 3850 series and Catalyst 9300 switches.

Feature	Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series	Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series
Switch Models	Various models with different port configurations and performance levels	Various models with different port configurations and performance levels
Ports	24, 48 ports with Gigabit Ethernet (GE), 10 GE, or 40 GE options	24, 48 ports with Gigabit Ethernet (GE), 10 GE, 25 GE, or 40 GE options
Uplink Interfaces	4 x 1 GE or 4 x 10 GE or 2 x 40 GE	4 x 1 GE or 4 x 10 GE or 4 x 25 GE or 2 x 40 GE or 2 x 100 GE
Stacking Capability	Stackable up to 9 switches	Stackable up to 8 switches
Modular Uplinks	Optional uplink module for additional flexibility	Optional uplink module for additional flexibility
Power Supply Options	AC and DC power supply options	AC and DC power supply options
PoE (Power over Ethernet)	PoE and PoE+ support	PoE, PoE+, and UPOE+ support
Max Power Consumption	Varies based on model and configuration	Varies based on model and configuration
Switching Capacity	Up to 480 Gbps	Up to 480 Gbps
Forwarding Rate	Up to 190.48 Mpps	Up to 190.48 Mpps
MAC Address Table Size	Up to 32,000 entries	Up to 64,000 entries
Memory	4 GB DRAM, 2 GB Flash	16 GB DRAM, 16 GB Flash
Operating System	Cisco IOS XE	Cisco IOS XE
Security Features	TrustSec, MACsec, Cisco ISE integration	TrustSec, MACsec, Cisco ISE integration
QoS (Quality of Service)

Recent blogs

View All ➜

Cisco Catalyst C9200-24P-A Ordering Guide

11 Jun, 2025

Cisco 3850 vs 9300 Switches: Which is Better?

Contents: