Campus Access Switch Comparison: Cisco Catalyst 9300X-48HX vs HPE Aruba CX 6300M vs Juniper EX4400-48MP vs Arista CCS-720XP-48ZC2

Cisco Catalyst 9300X-48HX and Juniper EX4400-48MP both document 802.3bt Type 4 (up to 90 W) on every port. HPE Aruba CX 6300M 48-port SmartRate is specified at Class 6 (60 W per port) in the JL659A variant reviewed here; the family supports Class 4 / 6 / 8 across SKUs with PoE budgets of 740 W / 1,440 W / 2,880 W per PSU.

Arista CCS-720XP-48ZC2 carries a split PoE profile — 40 ports at 30 W (802.3af / at, Type 2 / PoE+) plus 8 ports at 60 W (802.3bt, Type 3 / PoE++) — with no 802.3bt Type 4 (90 W) on the platform.

Yes, as of AOS-CX 10.16.1005 released August 2025. Before that release, VSX was not supported on the 6300 family and customers had to use VSF (up to 10 switches in a single logical stack) or an 83xx / 84xx distribution pair upstream. EVPN-VXLAN on the 6300 is supported from AOS-CX 10.05 / 10.06 and later. New deployments should confirm the target AOS-CX train carries the VSX-on-6300 capability.

No. The CCS-720XP-48ZC2 does not support MACsec. At this tier, Arista’s MACsec-capable sibling is the CCS-722XPM-48ZY8: 48 x 100M / 1G / 2.5G ports + 8 x 25G uplinks, 640 Gbps throughput / 952 Mpps, with integrated MACsec-256 on all 48 downlink + 8 uplink ports at line rate. The 48ZC2 is the right choice for Wi-Fi 6E AP backhaul where MACsec is not a requirement; the 722XPM-48ZY8 is the right choice when MACsec is in scope.

The Cisco 9300X-48HX, Aruba CX 6300M (MACsec-256 point-to-point included in Foundation feature pack), and Juniper EX4400-48MP all document MACsec AES-256 on every port.

Different 9300 family members with different capabilities. The 9300X-48HX reviewed on this page runs dual UADP 2.0sec ASICs with 2.0 Tbps switching, 1,488 Mpps forwarding, 90 W UPOE+ on every port, and modular uplinks (NM-2C 100G, NM-8Y 25G, NM-8X 10G). The 48UXM is a different 9300 family SKU with its own port layout and PoE profile. Buyers should confirm the exact PID and feature set with Cisco ordering before comparing feature parity; this page covers 9300X-48HX only.

All four. Cisco Catalyst 9300X-48HX supports SD-Access fabric edge and border (LISP control plane + VXLAN data plane) via Catalyst Center, plus native EVPN-VXLAN on IOS-XE. HPE Aruba CX 6300M supports EVPN-VXLAN from AOS-CX 10.05 / 10.06 and later with Aruba Fabric Composer. Juniper EX4400-48MP supports EVPN-VXLAN native on Junos OS; Mist Wired Assurance Premium adds BGP, IS-IS, and full L3 scope for fabric-edge use cases. Arista CCS-720XP-48ZC2 supports EVPN-VXLAN via Arista EOS.

Both are 1G-only. A Wi-Fi 6E flagship AP uplinks at 2.5G or 5G under real load; a Wi-Fi 7 flagship uplinks at 5G or 10G. A 1G-only access switch bottlenecks the AP below its rated speed regardless of how many radios or spatial streams it has. For a campus refresh pairing APs at Class 6 or Class 8 PoE with multigig uplink, the multigig members of each family — CX 6300M SmartRate and 720XP-48ZC2 — are the correct comparison set.

Cisco Catalyst 9300X-48HX is managed via Catalyst Center (on-prem), Meraki Dashboard (on the -M SKU), ThousandEyes agent, plus IOS-XE CLI / NETCONF / RESTCONF / YANG. HPE Aruba CX 6300M is managed via Aruba Central (cloud or on-prem), Aruba Fabric Composer, NetEdit, CLI, web, REST API, and Network Analytics Engine (NAE).

Juniper EX4400-48MP is managed via Mist Wired Assurance (cloud) with Marvis AI and Junos OS CLI.

Arista CCS-720XP-48ZC2 is managed via CloudVision CVP (on-prem) or CVaaS (cloud), with telemetry via IPFIX, sFlow, and Flow Trackers.

Stack fabric (StackWise-1T, VSF, Virtual Chassis) presents a single logical switch across multiple physical members and simplifies L2 adjacency for the AP layer, but a stack failure can impact all members. Distribution-pair resiliency (StackWise Virtual, VSX, MC-LAG on Juniper / Arista) keeps the access switches standalone and uses LAG / LACP upstream to a redundant distribution pair.

Large campus environments typically combine a stack at access with a distribution pair upstream.

The right choice depends on blast-radius tolerance, maintenance-window policy, and the existing distribution platform; a site-specific SOW picks the fabric pattern based on fit.

FIPS 140 and Common Criteria are table stakes for enterprise campus access at the four major vendors and should not be treated as a vendor differentiator at this tier. Cisco Catalyst 9300X-48HX is FIPS 140-2 Level 1 listed with FIPS 140-3 listed as in progress; Common Criteria NDcPP is listed on the Cisco Trust Portal. HPE Aruba AOS-CX Cryptographic Module is FIPS 140-2 certificate 140sp3958 and FIPS 140-3 certificate 140sp4876.

Juniper EX4400-48MP is listed in the Common Criteria FIPS 22.3 Evaluated Configuration Guide.

Arista 48ZC2 FIPS and Common Criteria status were not publicly validated in the primary sources reviewed. Federal and FedRAMP-adjacent buyers must verify the specific certificate number and firmware train with each vendor’s compliance team before downselecting.

Tightly. A Class 8 Wi-Fi 7 flagship at 802.3bt 71 W needs an access switch that delivers Type 4 PoE on every port and has a PoE budget to cover a fully loaded chassis. A 5G or 10G AP uplink needs multigig or 10G on every port, not just the uplink ports.

MACsec requirements propagate from the endpoint through the access switch, so a MACsec-scope refresh narrows the switch choice.

For Wi-Fi 6E AP backhaul, review the Wi-Fi 6E flagship comparison; for Wi-Fi 7, review the Wi-Fi 7 flagship comparison.

Cisco UPOE+ is a pre-standard 60 W PoE implementation on legacy Catalyst silicon that predates IEEE 802.3bt ratification (Sep 2018). UPOE+ delivers 60 W over all four pairs but uses Cisco-specific negotiation before 802.3bt was finalized. 802.3bt Type 3 is the IEEE standard 60 W four-pair PSE class.

Practical consequence: 802.3bt Type 3 and Type 4 PDs (LLDP negotiation per 802.3bt-2018) work out-of-the-box on any 802.3bt-compliant switch. A pre-standard UPOE+ device typically still works on 802.3bt Catalyst platforms because IOS-XE negotiates both. For mixed-vendor AP fleets, 802.3bt Type 3 / Type 4 is the interoperable target.

Type 4 (71.3 W minimum at PD) is reserved for the few APs that require both radios at full power plus USB / IoT payload simultaneously. The Cisco CW9178I datasheet documents Class 8 (71.3 W) for full 2x 4×4 MLO operation, dual-radio 6 GHz, and onboard IoT. The Juniper AP47 datasheet documents 802.3bt Type 4 for full-feature operation.

For single-6 GHz-radio Wi-Fi 7 APs and most 4×4 tri-band Wi-Fi 7 APs, 802.3bt Type 3 (60 W PSE) delivers sufficient power. The switch side still needs Type 4 headroom when the AP mix includes 71 W PDs.

Cisco Catalyst 9300X-48HX runs dual Unified Access Data Plane (UADP) 2.0 sec ASICs (2.0 Tbps switching, 1,488 Mpps forwarding). HPE Aruba CX 6300M runs Broadcom Trident 3 variant silicon. Juniper EX4400-48MP runs the Juniper ExpressPlus fixed-form ASIC. Arista CCS-720XP-48ZC2 runs Broadcom Trident 3.

ASIC choice drives buffer depth, pipeline features, VXLAN scale, and line-rate MACsec. Two Broadcom Trident 3 platforms (Aruba 6300M, Arista 720XP) share similar fundamentals but differ on NOS-level feature exposure.

Cisco Catalyst 9300X-48HX supports MACsec AES-256-GCM (IEEE 802.1AE) with 256-bit GCM-AES-XPN extended-packet-number mode on all 48 downlink ports plus uplinks. HPE Aruba CX 6300M supports MACsec-256 point-to-point on all ports via the Foundation feature pack. Juniper EX4400-48MP supports MACsec AES-256-GCM per Junos OS documentation.

Arista CCS-720XP-48ZC2 does not support MACsec at all; the 722XPM-48ZY8 is the Arista MACsec-capable sibling at this tier. Federal customers requiring MACsec-everywhere on the access edge should confirm cipher-suite strength (GCM-AES-256-XPN vs GCM-AES-128) at the NOS level, not just “MACsec supported”.

48 Wi-Fi 7 APs at 10 Gbps per AP theoretical ceiling total 480 Gbps downstream. Under real-world offered load (typical 10 percent to 20 percent of theoretical), 48 to 96 Gbps of aggregate client traffic is more realistic. A 2 x 25G LACP uplink (50 Gbps) is the modern campus baseline; 2 x 100G is the headroom target for high-density closets.

Cisco 9300X-48HX supports modular NM-2C (2x 100G QSFP28) or NM-8Y (8x 25G SFP28). Aruba CX 6300M has 4x 50G QSFP28 uplinks. Juniper EX4400-48MP has 4x 25G SFP28 plus 2x 100G QSFP28. Arista 720XP-48ZC2 has 2x 100G QSFP28 uplinks.

Cisco StackWise-1T stacks Catalyst 9300X members on 1 Tbps ring bandwidth (max 8 members per stack) — single logical switch, shared control plane, unified config. Aruba Virtual Switching Framework (VSF) stacks CX 6300 members (max 10 members) over standard uplinks — single logical switch, lower bandwidth than dedicated stack ring. Juniper Virtual Chassis on EX4400 supports up to 10 members with dedicated 240 Gbps VCP ports.

Arista does not ship a classic stack fabric on 720XP — Arista’s preference at this tier is MLAG pairs with independent control planes. Stack fabric trades single-pane simplicity against blast-radius (one stack master failure can ripple). For maintenance-window-sensitive environments, MLAG / distribution-pair is the preferred pattern.

Cisco 9300X-48HX gets 25G via the NM-8Y uplink module (8x 25G SFP28). Aruba CX 6300M has 4x 50G QSFP28 uplinks onboard that negotiate to 25G with a 4x25G breakout cable. Juniper EX4400-48MP has 4x 25G SFP28 uplinks fixed onboard. Arista 720XP-48ZC2 has 2x 100G QSFP28 that can be broken out to 4x 25G SFP28 each (8x 25G total with breakouts).

For a design that targets 25G uplinks as the default (Wi-Fi 7 era baseline), native SFP28 ports avoid the $200-$400 breakout-cable line item per switch.

Cisco Catalyst 9300X-48HX supports SD-Access fabric edge and border roles (LISP control plane + VXLAN data plane) via Catalyst Center, plus native EVPN-VXLAN on IOS-XE 17.x and later. HPE Aruba CX 6300M supports EVPN-VXLAN from AOS-CX 10.05 / 10.06 and later; Aruba Fabric Composer orchestrates the fabric.

Juniper EX4400-48MP supports EVPN-VXLAN natively on Junos OS; Mist Wired Assurance Premium exposes full BGP / IS-IS / L3 fabric-edge scope. Arista CCS-720XP-48ZC2 supports EVPN-VXLAN on Arista EOS 4.28+ with CloudVision Studios for fabric orchestration.

Cisco Catalyst 9300X-48HX runs three modes: Catalyst Center (on-prem controller), Meraki Dashboard (on the -M SKU, cloud-only), or standalone IOS-XE CLI. HPE Aruba CX 6300M runs via Aruba Central (cloud or on-prem), Aruba Fabric Composer, NetEdit, or standalone CLI. Juniper EX4400-48MP is cloud-only via Mist Wired Assurance with Marvis AI; no on-prem controller path.

Arista CCS-720XP-48ZC2 runs via CloudVision CVP (on-prem) or CVaaS (cloud). Federal / air-gap customers lose Juniper EX (cloud-only) and the Cisco Meraki -M variant — the remaining options are Catalyst 9300X standalone, Aruba CX 6300M with Central On-Premises, or Arista with CVP.

Cisco Catalyst 9300X-48HX exports via gNMI over gRPC, NETCONF-over-SSH, RESTCONF-over-HTTPS, plus legacy sFlow (RFC 3176) and NetFlow v9 (RFC 3954) / IPFIX (RFC 7011). HPE Aruba CX 6300M exports via NETCONF / YANG, REST API, plus sFlow and IPFIX; Network Analytics Engine (NAE) runs scripts on the switch.

Juniper EX4400-48MP exports via Junos Telemetry Interface (JTI) gRPC, NETCONF, plus sFlow. Arista CCS-720XP-48ZC2 exports via TerminAttr gRPC streaming to CloudVision NetDL (Arista-native), plus OpenConfig gNMI, sFlow, and IPFIX. OpenConfig YANG models (github.com/openconfig) are supported on all four platforms.

Cisco Catalyst 9300X-48HX ships with on-board Trust Anchor Module (TAm) — a TPM 2.0-equivalent secure-enclave supporting SUDI and Secure Unique Device Identifier per IEEE 802.1AR. HPE Aruba CX 6300M ships with TPM 2.0 supporting AOS-CX Secure Boot with signed images. Juniper EX4400-48MP ships with TPM 2.0 supporting Junos Secure Boot.

Arista CCS-720XP-48ZC2 supports Secure Boot via Arista EOS with TPM 2.0 per the 720XP datasheet. Federal and DoD buyers should verify the specific TPM cert number and EAL assurance on each vendor’s compliance portal before downselecting.

Cisco Catalyst 9300X-48HX uses Cisco Plug-and-Play (PnP) via Catalyst Center, or Meraki claim-and-ship on the -M SKU. DHCP option 43 + HTTPS pull to PnP server is the classic on-prem flow. HPE Aruba CX 6300M uses Aruba Activate via HTTPS pull to Aruba Central, or ZTP via DHCP option 67 to an HTTP server.

Juniper EX4400-48MP uses Mist Claim Code + cloud-mediated ZTP — the switch pulls config from the Mist cloud on first boot. Arista CCS-720XP-48ZC2 uses Arista ZTP via CloudVision with DHCP option 67 pointing to a Python bootstrap script, plus CVaaS-native claim flows.

Cisco Catalyst 9300X-48HX Unified Access Data Plane (UADP) 2.0sec carries 36 MB unified buffer per ASIC (72 MB in dual-ASIC chassis) per the Catalyst 9300 Series data sheet. HPE Aruba CX 6300M on Broadcom Trident 3 carries a 32 MB shared packet buffer per AOS-CX specs. Juniper EX4400-48MP ExpressPlus ASIC carries 24 MB.

Arista CCS-720XP-48ZC2 on Broadcom Trident 3 carries 32 MB shared packet buffer. At the access tier, shallow-buffer ASICs are the norm — deep-buffer (GB-scale) campus access switches do not exist. Buffer depth matters more at aggregation / core than at access for typical campus traffic patterns.

Cisco Catalyst 9300X-48HX enforces TrustSec Security Group Tags (SGT) inline plus dynamic ACL (dACL) download from Cisco ISE via RADIUS Filter-ID or Cisco AV-pair. HPE Aruba CX 6300M enforces Dynamic Segmentation with user / device roles plus dACL push via RADIUS CoA, plus ArubaOS 10 AOS-CX role-based policy.

Juniper EX4400-48MP enforces Group-Based Policy (GBP) with Scalable Group Tags over VXLAN EVPN, plus Mist Access Assurance cloud-NAC policy. Arista CCS-720XP-48ZC2 enforces Multi-Domain Segmentation Services (MSS) via Arista MSS Group / Tag policy plus dACL from CloudVision or RADIUS.

Cisco Catalyst 9300X-48HX supports MKA (MACsec Key Agreement per IEEE 802.1X-2010) with dynamic keying from ISE or PSK-mode for host-to-switch and switch-to-switch. HPE Aruba CX 6300M supports MKA dynamic keying plus PSK via AOS-CX for switch-to-switch adjacencies. Juniper EX4400-48MP supports MKA and PSK via Junos.

Static PSK keying is typically used for switch-to-switch uplinks where no RADIUS-based dynamic keying is desired. Dynamic keying (802.1X + MKA) is the norm for host-to-switch MACsec with user-specific CAK rotation.

Cisco Catalyst 9300X-48HX supports 32,000 MAC addresses in the Unified Access Data Plane (UADP) 2.0sec MAC table per the 9300 Series data sheet. HPE Aruba CX 6300M supports 64,000 MAC entries on Broadcom Trident 3 per the AOS-CX 6300 data sheet. Juniper EX4400-48MP supports 32,000 MAC entries.

Arista CCS-720XP-48ZC2 supports 256,000 MAC entries per the Arista EOS 720XP data sheet. At the campus access tier, 32K MACs is sufficient for typical office floors; dense IoT / multi-tenant rooms can approach the limit.

Cisco Catalyst 9300X-48HX 48-port HX variant has all 48 ports at mGig (1G / 2.5G / 5G / 10G) per IEEE 802.3bz and NBASE-T Alliance specs. HPE Aruba CX 6300M JL659A supports SmartRate on all 48 ports (1G / 2.5G / 5G / 10G). Juniper EX4400-48MP has all 48 ports at mGig (1G / 2.5G / 5G / 10G).

Arista CCS-720XP-48ZC2 has a split port layout — 40 ports at 100M / 1G / 2.5G (up to 2.5G only) plus 8 ports at 1G / 2.5G / 5G / 10G (mGig full range). A Wi-Fi 7 AP uplinking at 5G or 10G on the 720XP needs to land on one of the 8 mGig-capable ports, not the 40x 2.5G-max ports.