Arista Networks Overview

 

Arista Networks was founded to deliver cloud networking solutions for large data center and high-performance computing environments. Arista delivers a portfolio of Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet switches that redefine network architectures, bring extensibility to networking, and dramatically change the price/performance of data center networks.

At the core of Arista’s platform is the Extensible Operating System (EOS™), a ground-breaking network operating system with single-image consistency across hardware platforms, and modern core architecture enabling in-service upgrades and application extensibility.

 

 

Arista’s team is comprised of experienced management and engineering talent from leading networking companies. Arista designs revolutionary products in California and delivers them worldwide through distribution partners, systems integrators and resellers with a strong dedication to partner and customer success.

 

Arista’s Extensible Modular Operating System

 

Arista EOS™ was designed to provide a foundation for the business needs of next-generation datacenters and cloud networks. EOS is a highly modular software design based on a unique multi-process state sharing architecture that completely separates networking state from the processing itself. This enables fault recovery and incremental software updates on a fine-grain process basis without affecting the state of the system.

 

Arista EOS provides extremely robust and reliable data center communication services while delivering security, stability, openness, modularity and extensibility. This unique combination offers the opportunity to significantly improve the functionality and evolution of next generation data centres.

Modularity

• Software fault containment to single modules for superior system stability
• Modules may be upgraded independent of the others

High Availability

• In-service software upgrades (ISSU) of individual modules
• Stateful fault repair of modules for automatic self healing

Third Party Extensibility

• Customizable to particular customer needs
• Native integration with virtualized environments

Manageability

• Familiar industry standard CLI eases management tasks
• Easily adaptable to in-house network management systems

 

Key Features

 

Built with a modular software design with a unique multi-process, state sharing architecture, EOS offers open access to Linux tools, extensible network services, and allows easy integration with third-party applications. A first in the networking industry, EOS provides a single binary image across all Arista networking platforms and delivers mission-critical data center features such as Stateful Fault Repair and In-Service Software Upgrades. Quick highlights of key Arista EOS features are provided below:

 

Multi-Chassis Link Aggregation (MLAG)

MLAG enables the network administrator to use all interconnects in an active/active, Layer-2 topology. MLAG and Spanning Tree (STP) can work together, with STP only kicking in during a misconfiguration, while ports remain active/active during normal operation. This enables an increase in cross-sectional bandwidth and faster failover times measured in the 100s of milliseconds for link or nodal failure.

Control Plane Protection (CPP)

Arista switches are equipped with a robust dual-core processor to handle all control plane functions. However, the control plane should be protected from un-authorized access or attacks. With CPP, you can prevent unauthorized access and block any attacks or worms that otherwise can impact system performance.

Data Center Bridging

Arista EOS includes support for Per-priority Flow Control (PFC) and Data Center Bridging Exchange (DCBX). By using LLDP extensions to negotiate various classes of storage traffic, Arista EOS continues to add IEEE standards based solutions. PFC and DCBX allow Arista switches to separate data and storage traffic, providing a lossless fabric for optimal performance.

Rich Layer-3 Features

Arista switches can forward both at Layer 2 and Layer 3 at wirespeed. Arista EOS includes support for OSPF, BGP, PIM-SM and VRRP thus allowing for scalable data center designs using dynamic Layer 3 protocols. The Layer 3 feature set, combined with multicast and ACL support is especially well suited for low latency, financial exchange connectivity.

Linux Based Extensions

In addition to Arista EOS features, users can take full advantage of the underlying Linux kernel. Extensions such as DHCP server, Precision Time Protocol (PTP) Server can be added in just a few minutes. All CLI command output can also be piped to tools such as grep, egrep or awk. A full Layer 2 and Layer 3 feature set, coupled with Linux extensions make Arista EOS a unique platform.