Arista Switches?

[vrod]

Hi,

So I found an insane deal for 10gbe equipment. It was a 52 port 10gbe l2/3/4 switch from Arista. It was the last one so I couldn't hesitate to click "buy".

Now, I've heard quite good things about arista. But I have never owned a switch of that brand before, always been used to Cisco.

How are their switches?
What cables do I need for mgmt? I just bought the switch, not accessories.
Anything to look out for?
Any good tips?

How many bgp routes can the device hold?

 

[aero]

Arista switches are great. I prefer them over cisco. The cli is nearly identical to cisco, so you'll feel right at home.

Perhaps the best thing about arista is that you can also drop down to a shell and do things from there too.

Arista does require vendor coded sfp, which is a bummer.

For the console port a normal cisco console cable works.

Also like cisco, software updates require an active service contract.

Which exact model did you get?

 

[vrod]

That sounds great! I saw it's based on linux, that's pretty cool!

Yeah i had VC SFP stuff with cisco too. But I found a way to disable it. I just googled the same for arista and found this What is the command to enable 3rd party SFP+ transceivers on Arista switch?

I'll be using twinax for the most, but I will also use some optics for the uplink and other stuff. I think this kills the support on the switch, should it be related to the switch but I'm not planning on getting this on support anyway, as long as it does what it's supposed to.

It's the DCS-7050S-52 https://www.arista.com/assets/data/pdf/Datasheets/7050S_Datasheet.pdf

 

[aero]

That enable3px hack most likely will not work on your device. It was only available on very old EOS images, and has been removed.

I've tried it personally, to no avail.

Edit: do please give it a try though and let us know if it worked for you. I've only tested it on a 7124, and years ago. Can't remember which EOS version.

 

[Jerry Renwick]

I have used Arista 7500E Series modular switches, it works great for me.

 

[vrod]

Yeah I read that too, I'll see what options are available. I guess it doesn't matter though, if I use twinax cables? I have asked the seller if they know what EOS version is on it, waiting for answer. The switch has been shipped today and hopefully will be with me by friday the latest. I hope I can get to geek with it on the weekend.

So far I have established that their switches are good, however how is their lifespan? I remember cisco rates their switches for 20+ years, how is it with Arista? Couldn't seem to find any information here. I hope this switch will at least 5 years.

 

[JeffroMart]

You should be able to order the twinax cables programmed from a vendor, we typically use www.fiberstore.com and they can pre-program to whatever vendor you may need.

 

[vrod]

Lol wow I regret now that I ordered the twinax cables on Ebay... looks like fiberstore has a bit better prices and more accessories. Thanks for the link, it's bookmarked.

 

[aero]

I have some Arista switches that have been running 24x7 for 5 years with no issues whatsoever. I've never seen one fail in fact. The company hasn't been around that long though.

Also, check out the EOL roadmaps for their products...it's not like Cisco where their switches take 20 years to be EOL, it's much shorter. But I suspect the devices will run for a very long time, they're well built.

 

[vrod]

Cheers. Damn, I can't wait till I get going with this switch... I am looking forward to get started with pxe booting over 10Gb/s! woohoo. It's like christmas!

Oh and I have some SFP -> RJ45 modules that I need for server remote management. I suppose any will work, right? I have a few cisco's.

 

[aero]

1Gbe RJ45 SFPs will work, although they'll need to be Arista brand as well (unless of course enable3px works for you).

 

[vrod]

I'll pray that it works with 3rd party SFPs then. I think it's so pointless to make vendor specific SFP's... lots of those go to waste for no reason.

 

[vrod]

OK so I got the switch now... It seems to work all OK, had to do password-recovery since the previous owners did not reset it.

I have a question though: no rack rails/mounts was included, do you guys have a part# for that or know where to buy? Oh and by the way, it connects fine with a DeLock TwinAx cable to my pc with a QLE8152 adapter

 

[DrunkenLoliOni]

I have used Arista 7500E Series modular switches, it works great for me.

In your home? If so, I would imagine it's the 4 line card version. Even still those are pretty neato switches and I certainly wouldn't mind playing with one.

 

[vrod]

I got pretty well going with the switch now. I'm gonna do some testing on the switch and do a pve hyperconverged build with it. I found that the previous owners had already "hacked the switch to allow 3rd party sfp's so all good. even my cisco FET-10G sfp's work!