Getting Started 
18
M4300 Series and M4300-96X Fully Managed Switches User Manual 
Slot Configuration
By default, the slots of the M4300-96X are configured as empty slots, that is, as slots in which 
no port cards are installed. None of the slots are preconfigured. For information about 
configuring slots, see Configure and View Information About Slots and Port Cards on 
page  48.
PoE Operation and Configuration
The PoE feature supports port cards in the slots of switch model M4300-96X:
• When you start switch model M4300-96 with APM408P PoE port cards already installed, 
the switch initializes these port cards for PoE operation. 
Any existing configurations for 
the slots is automatically applied. Therefore, PoE is operational immediately after the 
switch completes its startup process.
• When you install one or more 
APM408P PoE port cards while switch model M4300-96 is 
operating, the switch detects these modules, initializes them, and automatically apples 
any existing configurations for the slots.
• When you remove one or more APM408P PoE port cards while switch model M4300-96 
is operating, the switch detects the absence of these port cards and automatically adjusts 
the configuration.
Power management enhances PoE functionality through the following features:
• Priority-based dynamic power management
• Automatic power rebalancing to meet the PoE power demand if system power is limited
• Automatic detection of insertion and removal of a power supply unit (PSU) and automatic 
recalculation of the available power
PoE firmware updates occur on a slot basis (that is, for each APM408P port card).
For more information about PoE, see Configure Power over Ethernet on page  119.
Stacking
You can configure all ports on switch model M4300-96X as stacking ports. However, a limit of 
a maximum of 16 active stacking links applies.
The APM402XL port card supports stacking over 40G ports only (that is, over port 1 and 
port  5 only). When you expands the ports, you cannot use the 10G ports for stacking.
For more information about stacking, see Chapter 3, Stacking.