Full English Description for Cisco C9300X-12Y-M
1. Part Number Naming Breakdown
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C9300X: Catalyst 9300X high-performance stackable Layer 3 all-fiber enterprise switch hardware platform, powered by UADP 2.0sec ASIC, supporting StackWise-1T 1 Terabit stacking and one modular uplink network module slotCisco Meraki
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12Y: 12 universal SFP28 multi-rate fiber downlink ports, auto-negotiate 1G / 10G / 25G optical transceivers; data-only design with zero PoE power delivery to endpointsCisco
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M: Meraki cloud-native managed suffix. This hardware runs Meraki cloud-managed IOS XE, fully orchestrated via Meraki Dashboard. Feature capabilities are unlocked by renewable term-based Meraki Catalyst 9300-M subscriptions (two tiers: Enterprise / Advanced), no permanent on-prem Network Essentials/Advantage perpetual licenses applyCisco Meraki
2. Short Sales One-Liner (For BOM, Quotation & Datasheet Header)
Cisco Catalyst C9300X-12Y-M, 1RU stackable Meraki cloud-managed Layer3 multi-rate all-fiber aggregation switch, 12-port universal SFP28 1/10/25G fiber downlinks with 1 modular high-speed uplink expansion slot, StackWise-1T 1Tbps stacking supported, factory pre-shipped single 715W AC power supply, unified Meraki Dashboard single-pane cloud management for high-bandwidth campus fiber closets, 25G Wi-Fi 6/7 AP termination, fiber surveillance and small leaf data center deployments.
3. Complete Product Overview Paragraph
The Cisco Catalyst C9300X-12Y-M is a fixed-form-factor high-density all-fiber stackable Layer 3 enterprise switch belonging to the Catalyst 9300X-M Meraki cloud-managed portfolio, engineered for high-throughput fiber aggregation scenarios including enterprise campus fiber distribution closets, 25G high-speed wireless AP termination, multi-megapixel fiber surveillance networks and compact leaf-spine data center topologiesCisco Meraki. Equipped with 12 universal SFP28 multi-speed downlink ports compatible with 1G, 10G and 25G optical transceivers, the chassis integrates one hot-swappable C9300X-NM modular uplink slot to flexibly deploy 10G/25G/40G/100G uplink modules for scalable bandwidth expansion. While sharing identical wire-speed forwarding hardware performance with on-prem IOS XE C9300X-12Y-A/E counterparts, this -M variant operates under exclusive Meraki cloud orchestration: all network configuration, bulk firmware upgrades, real-time traffic monitoring, fault alerting and end-to-end security policy deployment are centralized within the Meraki Dashboard instead of local CLI or Cisco Catalyst CenterCisco Meraki. It leverages StackWise-1T hardware stacking to interconnect up to 8 identical C9300X-M units into a single unified logical switching domain with 1 Tbps aggregate stacking bandwidth, delivering sub-50ms fast stack convergence for carrier-grade resiliency. Dual hot-swappable AC power supply slots and field-replaceable variable-speed fan trays eliminate single points of failure, and native cross-platform policy synchronization unifies management with Meraki MR wireless access points and MX security gateways in one cloud console. Meraki zero-touch provisioning (ZTP), remote cable diagnostics and cross-site network topology visualization are native core functions available on both subscription tiers; premium advanced capabilities including unlimited OSPF dynamic routing entries, Adaptive Policy zero-trust segmentation and Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA) are fully activated only with the higher Meraki Advanced subscription tierCisco Meraki.
4. Detailed Hardware Interface Specifications
Downlink Fiber Ports (12 × SFP28)
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12 universal SFP28 multi-speed fiber ports, auto-detect and negotiate 1000BASE, 10GBASE and 25GBASE optical transceivers
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Zero PoE capability, pure optical data transmission without power output to connected endpoints
Modular Uplink Expansion Slot
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1 dedicated hot-swappable C9300X-NM network module slot, compatible with optional high-speed uplink modules:
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C9300X-NM-8Y: 8 × SFP28 (10G / 25G)
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C9300X-NM-4C: 4 × QSFP+ (40G)
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C9300X-NM-2C: 2 × QSFP28 (100G)
Stacking Interfaces
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Dual rear dedicated StackWise-1T stacking ports, total 1 Tbps aggregate stacking bandwidth per stack group; supports ring topology with sub-50ms stack failover convergence
Management & Auxiliary Ports
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USB Type-A storage port for offline firmware upload and local configuration backup
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Mini-USB Type-B console port for emergency local CLI access during temporary cloud connectivity outages
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Independent 1G RJ45 out-of-band management port
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LED status indicators for port activity, power, fan, stack status and system fault alarms
Power & Physical Form Factor
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Form Factor: 1RU standard 19-inch rack-mount chassis, dimensions 4.4 × 44.5 × 48.8 cm
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Dual hot-swappable redundant AC power supply slots; factory pre-shipped with single 715W AC PSU
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No PoE power budget (data-only fiber switch design)
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Thermal system: 3 field-replaceable redundant variable-speed fan trays with front-to-back airflow
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Environmental compliance: Operating temperature range -5°C ~ 45°C, ENERGY STAR certified, fully compliant with IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standardsCisco Meraki
5. Core Hardware Performance Benchmarks
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Standalone Switching Capacity: 1000 Gbps (1 Tbps)
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Standalone Forwarding Rate: 744.04 Mpps
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MAC Address Table Size: 32,000 MAC forwarding entries
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VLAN Support: Up to 4,094 IEEE 802.1Q tagged VLANs; maximum 1,000 active STP VLANs & SVIs under Enterprise license, unlimited with Advanced license
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QoS Hardware Queues: 8 priority hardware queues per physical port, full DSCP & 802.1p marking and hierarchical traffic scheduling
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Jumbo Frame Support: Up to 9198-byte jumbo frame transmission
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Hardware ACL Capacity: 5,120 ingress/egress access control list entries
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IPFIX Flow Telemetry: Sampled flow export available under Meraki Enterprise license; full unsampled streaming telemetry enabled with Meraki Advanced license
6. Layer 2 Standard Feature Suite (Meraki Cloud Configured, All License Tiers)
IEEE 802.1Q VLAN trunking, IEEE 802.3ad LACP EtherChannel (max 8 ports per bundle), complete spanning tree toolkit including PVST+, RPVST+, MSTP with BPDU guard, root guard and loop guard; LLDP/LLDP-MED unified endpoint discovery, port security with sticky MAC address learning, broadcast/multicast storm suppression, IGMP Snooping v1/v2/v3, SPAN/RSPAN local and remote traffic mirroring, private VLAN edge mode, voice VLAN auto-detection and traffic prioritization, hardware 128-bit AES MACsec link encryption.
7. Meraki Cloud Native Layer 3, Security & Orchestration Features (Tier-Based Feature Control)
Supported Routing Capabilities
Static IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack routing, RIP v1/v2, OSPFv2/v3, VRRPv2/v3 gateway redundancy, basic PIM sparse-mode multicast routing.
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Meraki Enterprise License: OSPF routing table limited to maximum 1,000 learned entries
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Meraki Advanced License: Unlimited OSPF dynamic routing table capacity
Cloud-Managed Enterprise Security
IEEE 802.1X multi-domain port authentication, MAB MAC bypass authentication, DHCP Snooping, Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI), IP Source Guard, CoPP control-plane policing, hardware Secure Boot & Trust Anchor Module, granular RBAC multi-admin dashboard permissions, end-to-end TLS/SSH encrypted communication tunnel between switch and Meraki cloud.
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Meraki Advanced exclusive premium security: End-to-end Adaptive Policy SGT zero-trust micro-segmentation, Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA), 256-bit AES MACsec link encryption full support
Meraki Exclusive Cloud Automation & Visibility
Zero-touch provisioning (ZTP) out-of-box automatic device registration to Meraki organization, global bulk firmware scheduling and staged upgrade deployment, live remote cable diagnostics without on-site IT staff, real-time cross-site network topology mapping, unified wired/wireless policy synchronization with Meraki MR APs and MX security appliances, centralized cloud-hosted event logging, cross-device fault alerting via email/SMS, on-demand remote packet capture for offline troubleshooting.
8. Meraki Catalyst 9300-M Subscription License Tier Differentiation
All C9300X-M cloud-managed switches require renewable term-based Meraki Catalyst subscriptions (1/3/5/7/10-year terms), split into two functional tiers:
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Enterprise License (Base Tier)
Full Layer 2 switching suite, limited OSPF route scale (max 1,000 entries), baseline port security, sampled flow telemetry and standard ZTP automation. Adaptive Policy segmentation, full unsampled IPFIX streaming telemetry and ETA analytics are disabled.
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Advanced License (Full Premium Tier)
Unlimited dynamic routing table capacity, Adaptive Policy zero-trust traffic segmentation with SGT tagging, full unsampled IPFIX flow telemetry, Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA), complete cross-domain wired fabric orchestration and native 256-bit AES MACsec link encryption support.
Key difference versus on-prem C9300X-A/E IOS XE switches: C9300X-M relies entirely on time-limited Meraki cloud subscriptions and Meraki Dashboard management, while C9300X-A/E use permanent standalone IOS XE perpetual licenses and local/Cisco Catalyst Center management. All switches within the same stack must deploy matching Meraki subscription tiers to guarantee full stacking interoperability and consistent end-to-end security policy enforcement.
9. Datasheet Short Summary Paragraph
The Cisco Catalyst C9300X-12Y-M is a Meraki cloud-native stackable Layer 3 multi-rate all-fiber enterprise switch equipped with 12 universal SFP28 1/10/25G downlink ports and one modular high-speed uplink expansion slot, compatible with both Meraki Enterprise and Advanced tier renewable cloud subscriptions. Equipped with StackWise-1T 1Tbps high-bandwidth stacking and redundant AC power/fan resiliency, it delivers complete Layer 2 switching, tier-restricted Layer 3 dynamic routing, unified cross-site wired-wireless cloud management and remote zero-touch automation. This model targets high-bandwidth enterprise campus fiber distribution, 25G Wi-Fi AP termination, fiber surveillance and small leaf data center deployments that prioritize centralized Meraki Dashboard cloud orchestration instead of traditional local CLI or on-premises Cisco Catalyst Center management.
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