Cisco IE-9320-24T4X-E Catalyst IE9300 Ethernet Switch 24 Ports GE and 4 Ports 10G SFP+

Overview of Cisco IE-9320-24T4X-E Catalyst IE9300 Switch 

The Cisco IE-9320-24T4X-E Catalyst IE9300 Ethernet Switch is a fully manageable, stackable Layer 3 device designed for high-performance networks. Featuring 24 Gigabit Ethernet copper downlink ports and 4 SFP+ uplink slots for 10 Gigabit connectivity, this switch provides reliable scalability and advanced network essentials.

Main Specifications  

• Manufacturer: Cisco  
• Part Number: IE-9320-24T4X-E
• Product Category: Catalyst IE9300 Switch

Technical Specifications  

• Form Factor: Rack-mountable, 1U height
• Device Type: Managed, stackable switch
• Port Count: 24 × Gigabit Ethernet copper downlinks + 4 × 10G SFP+ uplinks
• Layer Support: 3 Features
• 24 × RJ-45 ports supporting 10/100/1000 Mbps
• 4 × SFP+ uplink slots delivering 10 Gigabit performance
• Modular and stack port capabilities for extended deployment

Performance Capabilities

• Media Types Supported: Optical fiber and twisted pair cabling
• Ethernet Standards: Gigabit Ethernet compliance
• Network Protocols: Compatible with 10GBASE-X and 10/100/1000BASE-T
• Manageability: Advanced configuration and monitoring supported

Power and Redundancy

• Maximum Supported Power Supplies: 2
• Installed Power Supply: None pre-installed
• Power Redundancy: Supported, scheme 1+1
• Operational Power Consumption: 32 Watts

Outline of Catalyst IE9300 Ethernet 24 Ports Switch  

Category snapshot

The Catalyst IE-9320 category represents a family of high-performance, compact enterprise switches designed for the network edge and small-to-medium aggregation points. These switches combine a wide set of Layer 2/Layer 3 capabilities with modular uplink options, a focus on deterministic performance, flexible stacking and a simplified licensing set such as "Network Essentials" for predictable feature availability. The Cisco IE-9320-24T4X-E variant — described here as the 24-port Gigabit copper downlink / 4 × 10G SFP+ uplink, stackable model under the Network Essentials license — is a common choice for branches, wiring closets, small data closets and converged access use cases that require low-latency connectivity, modern security controls and centralized manageability.

Core hardware & port architecture

24 Gigabit copper downlinks — flexible edge connectivity

The 24 × 1G copper downlink arrangement provides broad support for typical access devices: desktops, IP phones, APs, cameras and small servers. Gigabit copper ports give IT architects the flexibility to populate network closets quickly without the immediate need for fiber infrastructure, enabling rolling upgrades and mixed-media deployments while preserving high throughput for local edge traffic.

4 × 10G SFP+ uplinks — aggregation and resiliency

Four 10 Gigabit SFP+ uplinks act as high-capacity aggregation paths to distribution switches, routers or compute clusters. Multiple 10G uplinks simplify bandwidth scaling and provide redundancy options (active/active MLAG-style designs or link aggregation groups) to maintain deterministic forwarding under heavy east-west traffic. The SFP+ form factor supports both short-range DAC and long-range optics, giving deployment flexibility across campus or data center interconnects.

Stackable design — scale without complexity

Stackability is a crucial feature for scaling access-layer capacity while maintaining a single control and management plane. Stackable Catalyst switches present as a single logical unit to administrators, simplifying firmware management, configuration consistency and topology changes. This reduces the operational overhead associated with managing many independent devices while enabling near-linear bandwidth and port expansion as you add stack members.

Software & licensing: Network Essentials

Predictable features for enterprise access

The Network Essentials software tier is tailored to organizations that need a strong, stable set of access and management features without the complexity or cost of advanced services. Typical elements include fundamental Layer 2 and Layer 3 functionality, QoS basics, security features for access control, and support for standard management protocols. This tier helps teams deploy consistent, supported configurations across distributed sites with predictable behavior and licensing compliance. 

Management, automation & observability

Centralized management integration

Catalyst-class switches like the IE-9320 integrate smoothly with Cisco management ecosystems — including on-prem and cloud-based controllers — enabling zero-touch provisioning, bulk firmware updates and consistent policy push across many sites. For distributed deployments, single-pane-of-glass management reduces mean time to repair and simplifies configuration drift remediation.

Programmability and automation

Modern enterprise switches provide APIs, NETCONF/RESTCONF, and SDKs for automation. This category supports infrastructure-as-code workflows for configuration, monitoring and upgrades. Programmability reduces manual CLI tasks, enabling repeatable deployments and quick rollbacks where necessary. Integration with orchestration tools allows patch windows to be automated and monitored to minimize impact on operations.

Security & segmentation

Access control and network admission

At the access layer, granular control is essential. This category supports authentication and access policies (802.1X, MAC authentication, and port-security) to prevent unauthorized devices from joining the network. Role-based access and dynamic VLAN assignments enable contextual policy enforcement, ensuring that IoT, guest, and corporate devices remain segmented per organizational requirements.

Threat mitigation and visibility

Edge switches are increasingly used as enforcement points for basic threat mitigation — through features like DHCP snooping, ARP inspection, dynamic ACLs and unicast/multicast controls. When combined with centralized security analytics, these features can detect suspicious behavior at the edge and help isolate devices quickly, reducing the blast radius of compromised endpoints.

Performance 

Converged traffic

With modern networks carrying voice, video and data, QoS becomes indispensable. Edge switches in this category support classification, marking and queueing mechanisms to prioritize latency-sensitive flows (VoIP, video conferencing) while still ensuring throughput for bulk transfers. Proper QoS profiles allow consistent user experiences across the corporate network and through the aggregated uplinks.

High availability and redundancy

Redundancy can be achieved at multiple layers: uplink redundancy through multiple SFP+ ports and LAGs, stack-level redundancy with multi-chassis stack high-availability, and management-plane redundancy via out-of-band interfaces. For environments requiring near-continuous uptime, the ability to upgrade software with minimal disruption and to failover traffic quickly is essential.

Deterministic forwarding and traffic engineering

Edge switches in a Catalyst family are engineered to handle deterministic forwarding through hardware-based switching and ASIC optimizations. This ensures consistent latency and throughput — critical for industrial control systems, real-time analytics, and voice/video applications. Traffic engineering features provide control over path selection and load distribution to maximize overall fabric efficiency.

Deployment scenarios & real-world use cases

Campus access & building aggregation

In a multi-floor office building, a bundle of IE-9320 switches can serve wiring closets on each floor, using the 24 copper downlinks to connect end-user devices and the 10G uplinks to connect to building aggregation switches. Stacking or logical aggregation reduces management overhead and ensures consistent policy enforcement across the building.

Branch office and retail

Branch locations benefit from compact, powerful switches that can host local services (Wi-Fi controllers, small servers) and secure remote access. With Network Essentials licensing, branches can have consistent, predictable features for remote IT teams to manage, plus enough performance headroom to support backups, video surveillance and point-of-sale systems.

Industrial edge and manufacturing floors

When deployed in industrial settings, edge switches must offer rugged reliability, deterministic performance and strong security. Although physical ruggedization depends on the exact model and options (consult product datasheets), the core capabilities — fast copper access ports and long-range uplink optics options — support PLCs, cameras and control networks while keeping automation traffic isolated and prioritized.

Wireless access backhaul

Dense enterprise Wi-Fi deployments require resilient, high-bandwidth backhaul. The 24 × 1G ports can connect large numbers of APs while the 10G SFP+ uplinks aggregate wireless traffic to distribution layers. Combined with QoS and multicast control, this ensures high-quality wireless user experiences during peak demand.

Key Benefits of Cisco IE-9320-24T4X-E

Reliable and Efficient Network Solution

The IE-9320-24T4X-E offers optimized performance with redundant power capabilities and low energy consumption, making it suitable for mission-critical environments.

Scalable and Flexible Deployment

Stackable architecture allows seamless expansion, while modular design ensures future-proof investment for growing network demands.

Advanced Manageability

Equipped with intuitive management options, this switch ensures simplified configuration, troubleshooting, and monitoring for IT professionals.

Enhanced Connectivity

With a combination of 24 Gigabit downlinks and 4 high-speed SFP+ uplinks, the Cisco Catalyst IE-9320-24T4X-E ensures reliable throughput and optimal traffic flow across enterprise and industrial networks.