Cisco Switch Catalyst 1300

About the Cisco Catalyst 1300 Series

The Cisco Catalyst 1300 is the entry point of the Catalyst switching family — the line a small business, retail site, clinic or branch office buys when it needs a managed switch with real Cisco support rather than an unmanaged box. It is a fixed-configuration, fanless-or-quiet access switch range covering 8, 12, 16, 24 and 48 ports, with Power over Ethernet in most variants and a choice of Gigabit SFP or 10-Gigabit SFP+ uplinks.

Because the naming is dense, it is worth learning to read a part number before comparing prices. A model such as C1300-24FP-4X decodes in three parts:

• 24 — the number of access ports.
• FP — the power class. T is data only, no PoE. P is PoE+ with the standard power budget. FP is the full-power PoE+ variant with a larger budget (typically 370 W on the 24-port and 740 W on the 48-port chassis), so it can feed more powered devices at once.
• 4X — the uplink configuration. 2G is two Gigabit SFP uplinks, 4G is four Gigabit SFP uplinks, and 4X is four 10-Gigabit SFP+ uplinks.

Two models sit slightly apart from this pattern: C1300-12XS and C1300-12XT-2X, the 12-port members of the range, which pair twelve access ports with two uplinks. Everything else follows the port-prefix / power-class / uplink structure above.

The range is managed through a local web interface, Cisco Business Dashboard, or the cloud — there is no CLI-first configuration model here, which is deliberate: the 1300 is aimed at sites without a network engineer on staff.

How to Choose a Cisco Catalyst 1300

1. Count the ports, and add headroom

Port counts run 8, 12, 16, 24 and 48. As a rule, buy for the cabling that will exist in three years rather than the sockets that are patched today — the price step from a 24-port to a 48-port chassis is smaller than the cost of replacing the switch a year later. The 8-port and 12-port models are the right answer for a single small room, a kiosk or a retail counter, not for a wiring closet.

2. Work out the PoE budget properly

This is where deployments most often go wrong. The PoE budget is a total watts for the whole switch, not a per-port allowance:

• T models — no PoE at all. Choose only where every endpoint has its own power supply.
• P models — PoE+ with a standard budget (120 W on the 16-port, 195 W on the 24-port, 370 W on the 48-port). Enough for phones, ordinary cameras and 802.11ac access points.
• FP models — full-power PoE+ with a larger budget (240 W on the 16-port, 370 W on the 24-port, 740 W on the 48-port). Choose where the closet will feed PTZ cameras, wave-2 access points or several high-draw devices at once.

Add up the rated draw of every powered device, then leave at least 20–30% in reserve; a switch running at its PoE ceiling has nothing left for the next device anyone plugs in.

3. Choose the uplink speed

The uplink is the switch's link back to the rest of the network, and choosing it wrong is the most expensive mistake in this range because it cannot be changed later:

• 2G / 4G — Gigabit SFP uplinks. Fine where the upstream is a Gigabit switch or a router with Gigabit ports.
• 4X — four 10-Gigabit SFP+ uplinks. Required where the switch aggregates several access closets, or where the upstream is 10G. Note that a 10G-capable uplink is only a 10G link if the far end is also 10G — the ports negotiate down.

The 4X variants cost more than their 4G equivalents for the same port count. If the site has no 10G anywhere and no plan to add it, that premium buys nothing.

4. Confirm the mounting and power requirements

The larger chassis are rack-mountable; the small ones can sit on a shelf. The FP models with the largest PoE budgets draw more mains power than the standard models and should be checked against the circuit available in the closet — a 48-port full-power switch feeding 740 W of devices is not a device you can put on a shared 5 A circuit.

Cisco Catalyst 1300 Model Comparison

8-port and 12-port models

16-port models

24-port models

48-port models

Prices are our current selling prices in US dollars, excluding shipping. Click a model number for the full specification table and availability.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do the letters in a Catalyst 1300 part number mean?

C1300-24FP-4X breaks down as: 24 access ports, FP full-power PoE+ (as against P for standard-budget PoE+ and T for data only), and 4X for four 10-Gigabit SFP+ uplinks (2G and 4G being two and four Gigabit SFP uplinks respectively).

What is the difference between the P and FP models?

The PoE power budget, not the port count. A P model supplies PoE+ with a standard budget — around 195 W on a 24-port and 370 W on a 48-port chassis. An FP model supplies the same PoE+ standard but with a much larger total budget — around 370 W on a 24-port and 740 W on a 48-port. Choose FP where the closet feeds several high-draw devices at the same time; choose P where the powered load is light.

Do I need the 4X (10-Gigabit) uplink version?

Only if there is 10G elsewhere in the network. A 10G uplink port connected to a Gigabit switch negotiates down to Gigabit, so the premium buys nothing in an all-Gigabit topology. It becomes worthwhile where the switch aggregates several closets, or where the upstream distribution switch already has 10G ports.

Is the PoE budget per port or for the whole switch?

For the whole switch. A 24-port FP model with a 370 W budget can power any mix of devices totalling up to 370 W — it is not 370 W on every port. Add up the rated draw of every powered device and keep 20–30% in reserve, or the last device installed will be the one that does not come up.

How is a Catalyst 1300 managed?

Through a local web interface, through Cisco Business Dashboard, or from the cloud. It is a managed switch with a GUI-first configuration model — there is no expectation that the site has a CLI-trained engineer.

Can I mix 1G and 10G uplink models in the same network?

Yes. The uplink variant only affects how that particular switch connects upward; the access ports are the same 1G ports across the range. In practice a site often uses 4G uplink models in the access closets and a 4X model where several closets aggregate.

Do you supply the SFP modules for the uplinks?

Yes — Gigabit SFP and 10-Gigabit SFP+ transceivers, along with the DAC and fibre patch cords, are stocked separately. Tell us the switch model and the uplink distance and we will quote the complete link rather than just the switch.