Arista Networks expanded its X-series switch family to support 400-Gb/s adoption by cloud, hyperscale, and enterprise customers.

With the new set of 400-Gb/s products, “we've now got a broader portfolio than ever before,” said Martin Hull, VP of cloud and platform product management at Arista Networks. “It's a holistic view, hyperscalers, service providers, enterprises, and we're looking forward to customers of all sizes starting now to deploy 400 Gb/s.”

For hyperscalers, the new 7060X5-series switches delivers a twofold performance improvement over the previous generation, the company claimed.

The switch “allows the hyperscalers to keep doubling the network performance every 18 to 24 months, Hull said, adding that customers can use the switch in 100 Gb/s, 200 Gb/s, or 400 Gb/s environments.

Most major cloud vendors have already deployed 400-Gb/s systems, Hull noted, adding that when transitioning to higher performance systems, there’s an opportunity to eke out lower cost per gigabit while also increasing compute density.

However, most enterprises have a broader set of considerations and a slower journey from 10 Gb/s to 400-Gb/s systems, he said. “There isn't necessarily one product that fits all. What you need is a holistic approach with solutions that accommodate the enterprise needs and the hyperscaler needs.”

Alongside the 7060X5s, Arista also introduced the 7050X4-and 7358X4-series switches. These switches boost network capacity fourfold over the previous generation, driving the cost per gigabit even lower, Arista claims.

The switches support port speeds ranging from 10 Gb/s to 400 Gb/s, which the company claims eases the transition to higher-performance compute without disrupting existing infrastructure.

“We are seeing customers of all sizes show interest in the next generation of 400-Gb/s systems that provide incremental improvements without sacrificing backward compatibility,” COO Anshul Sadana said in a statement. “The Arista 7050X5 and 7358X5 are the latest in the long line of systems built around the Broadcom Trident chipsets that have delivered 20 times the performance increases over the last 10 years.”

In addition to expanding the 7050X and 7060X switch families, Arista unveiled its 7388X5 switches at this year’s OCP Global Summit. The switch is compliant with Meta's  — formerly known as Facebook — Open Compute Project (OCP) Minipack2 specification. 

Meta’s data center fabrics have improved from 100-Gb/s systems to the Minipack2 and the Arista 7388X5, both of which will support upgrades up to 400 Gb/s. The two fabric switches are based on the Broadcom Tomahawk4 25.6-Tb/s switch ASIC, and the Arista switch adds a Credo chipset to the mix.

Meta’s Minipack2 bares a striking resemblance to Arista's 7388X5 thanks to the joint development, Hull noted. 

“The vendor diversity here is done in such a way that as much as possible,” he said. The two switches “are completely interchangeable; they run the same operating system; they have the same ports in the same place; they have the same operating techniques in terms of removing parts, replacing parts, so they are very compatible.”

The Arista 7388X5 targets hyperscale cloud scalability and supports multiple operating systems, including Arista EOS and Meta’s FBOSS network operating system.

Arista 7050X4 and 7358X4 series switches will be available in the first quarter of 2022, while the vendor plans to release the 7388X5 and 7060X5, which are already sampling, in the first half of next year.