DCS-7050TX-64-F Arista 10GB Copper 40 Gigabit Ethernet 48 Ports Managed Switch

Product Overview of Arista 48 Ports Managed Switch

The Arista DCS-7050TX-64-F is a foundational network switch within Arista Networks' renowned 7050X Series, engineered specifically for high-performance, low-latency data centers and enterprise core networks. It exemplifies a fixed-configuration, deep-buffered switch that delivers wire-speed Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching across all ports.

General Information

• Manufacturer: Arista
• Part Number: DCS-7050TX-64-F
• Product Type: Layer 3 Managed Switch

Technical Specifications

• USB interface available for configuration
• Dedicated console management port included
• 48 integrated network ports for Gigabit access
• 4 QSFP+ expansion slots for uplink scalability
• Support for modular expansion to enhance flexibility
• Total fixed ports and expansion slots: 52
• Expansion slot quantity: 4
• Uplink capability supported

Media & Performance

Ethernet Standards

• Compatible with Gigabit Ethernet
• Supports 40 Gigabit Ethernet for high-speed backbone

Transmission Media

• Twisted Pair cabling supported
• Optical Fiber connectivity available

Technology Standards

• 10GBase-T for copper-based connections
• 40GBase-X for optical high-bandwidth links

Management & Layer Support

• Operates at Layer 3 for advanced routing
• Fully manageable for enterprise environments

Arista DCS-7050TX-64-F 48 Ports Managed Switch

The Arista DCS-7050TX-64-F represents a definitive solution in the realm of high-density, low-latency top-of-rack (ToR) and spine-layer switching. Engineered for performance-centric data centers, cloud infrastructures, and enterprise core networks, this switch delivers an optimized blend of port density, wire-speed throughput, and advanced Layer 3 functionality. Its fixed-configuration design integrates 48 copper 10GBASE-T ports and 4 QSFP+ uplink ports into a single rack unit, creating a versatile and powerful foundation for modern network architectures demanding reliability, scalability, and operational simplicity through Arista EOS.

Key Specifications

Built on Arista's proven hardware philosophy, the 7050TX-64-F leverages a deep-buffer, non-blocking switch fabric to ensure consistent performance under varied traffic loads. The hardware is designed for always-on operation, featuring redundant, hot-swappable power supplies and fans for enhanced system resilience.

Chassis and Form Factor

Housed in a robust 1RU chassis, the switch is optimized for data center efficiency. Its compact design maximizes rack space while providing substantial connectivity. The front panel is logically arranged, with the 48 copper ports on the left and the 4 QSFP+ uplink ports on the right, facilitating clean cabling management.

Cooling and Power Redundancy

The system employs a front-to-back airflow scheme, standard in modern data centers. The modular, hot-swappable fan trays and power supplies (AC or DC options) ensure continuous operation. The power supplies operate in a 1+1 redundant configuration, with load-sharing capabilities for improved efficiency and uptime.

Hardware Acceleration & ASIC

At its core, the switch utilizes a high-performance merchant silicon ASIC, finely tuned by Arista's engineering. This enables hardware-based forwarding for IP routing, multicast, and access control lists (ACLs) at line rate, ensuring that advanced features do not compromise the system's switching capacity.

Port Configuration and Connectivity

The defining characteristic of the DCS-7050TX-64-F is its balanced port matrix, crafted to address the transition from 1GbE to 10GbE at the server edge while providing high-bandwidth aggregation.

48-Port 10GBASE-T Copper

The forty-eight 10GBASE-T ports utilize standard RJ-45 connectors, supporting 10Gbps over Cat 6a/7 cabling up to 100 meters. These ports offer autonegotiation, enabling backward compatibility with 1GbE and 5GbE devices, which provides a flexible migration path for legacy server connections and supports a wide array of network interface cards (NICs) and appliances.

4-Port QSFP+ Uplink Modules

The four QSFP+ ports provide flexible uplink and spine connectivity. Each port can operate as a native 40GbE interface using a QSFP+ transceiver, or can be broken out into 4 independent 10GbE SFP+ connections using a breakout cable. This allows for versatile design options: connecting to a 40GbE/100GbE spine, creating high-bandwidth links to core switches, or effectively expanding the 10GbE port count by 16 ports.

Arista Extensible System

The true differentiator for all Arista switches is the Extensible Operating System (EOS). EOS is a modular, Linux-based network operating system that provides unparalleled stability, visibility, and automation capabilities.

Stateful Separation of Control and Data Plane

EOS is built on a unique architecture where the control plane functions run in a protected user-space environment, separate from the kernel. This stateful separation ensures that a process issue never causes a full system failure, leading to exceptional reliability and hitless software upgrades.

Layer 3 Routing and Protocol Support

The DCS-7050TX-64-F is a fully featured Layer 3 switch, capable of performing hardware-accelerated routing at wire speed across all ports. It supports a comprehensive suite of unicast and multicast routing protocols suitable for data center and campus core deployments.

Unicast Routing Protocols

The switch supports static routing, RIP, OSPFv2/v3, IS-IS, and BGPv4/v6 with extensive path control and policy capabilities. Its BGP implementation is particularly robust, supporting large-scale route tables and advanced features like Equal-Cost Multi-Path (ECMP) routing, making it suitable for leaf-spine (CLOS) fabric deployments.

Multi-Path (ECMP) Routing

ECMP is natively supported, allowing the switch to load-balance traffic across multiple equal-cost paths to a destination. This maximizes available bandwidth, provides inherent redundancy, and is a foundational element for building scalable, non-blocking leaf-spine network topologies.

IP Multicast Routing

For applications like financial data distribution, video streaming, or cluster computing, the switch offers full hardware-based multicast routing. It supports PIM-SM, PIM-SSM, and IGMPv2/v3 snooping, ensuring efficient delivery of one-to-many traffic without burdening the network.

Advanced Features for Network Optimization

Beyond basic switching and routing, the DCS-7050TX-64-F includes a suite of advanced features designed to optimize traffic flow, ensure quality of service, and enhance network visibility.

Arista Latency Analyzer (LANZ)

Arista's Latency Analyzer is a groundbreaking feature that provides microsecond-level visibility into congestion events. LANZ monitors egress queue depths and can generate precise timestamped notifications when latency exceeds a configured threshold capacity planning in low-latency environments.

DSCP and Precedence-Based Classification

Traffic can be classified and prioritized based on IP DSCP or precedence bits, allowing the switch to integrate seamlessly into end-to-end QoS policies across the wider network infrastructure.

Virtualization and Network Segmentation

The switch supports VLAN (802.1Q) with a large scale of VLAN IDs. For more sophisticated segmentation, it implements VRF-Lite, allowing multiple routing tables to coexist on a single physical device, effectively creating isolated layer 3 networks for tenants, departments, or application suites.

High Availability and Resiliency

Network uptime is paramount. The DCS-7050TX-64-F incorporates multiple hardware and software features to ensure continuous operation.

Hardware Redundancy

As noted, the switch supports hot-swappable, redundant power supplies and fan trays. The power supplies are auto-sensing and can accept a wide range of AC or DC input voltages, providing flexibility in various data center power environments.

Security Features

A robust security framework includes port security, DHCP snooping, IP Source Guard, and dynamic ARP inspection to protect against layer 2 attacks. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), TACACS+, and RADIUS integration provide secure administrative access. ACLs can be applied in hardware to filter traffic based on a wide range of criteria without impacting performance.

Hardware-Enabled Access Control Lists (ACLs)

Security policies enforced via ACLs are processed in the switching ASIC at line rate. These can be standard or extended IP ACLs, MAC ACLs, or IPv6 ACLs, providing granular control over traffic flows between VLANs, subnets, or individual hosts.

Network Telemetry with sFlow and CloudVision

The switch natively supports sFlow, providing network-wide visibility into traffic flows, trends, and potential security threats. For holistic management, it integrates fully with Arista's CloudVision platform, a centralized toolkit for provisioning, monitoring the entire network fabric through a single pane of glass.

Use Cases and Deployment Scenarios

The versatility of the DCS-7050TX-64-F makes it suitable for a range of demanding environments.

High-Density Server Access (Top-of-Rack)

Its primary role is as a high-density 10GbE ToR switch for server racks, connecting a mix of modern 10GbE servers and legacy 1GbE equipment. The QSFP+ uplinks provide high-bandwidth connectivity to the spine layer (at 40GbE or via 10GbE breakout), forming a high-performance leaf-spine fabric.

Data Center Spine Layer

In medium-sized data centers or as a spine in pod-based designs, the switch's high throughput, low latency, and advanced routing capabilities allow it to efficiently interconnect multiple leaf switches, ensuring non-blocking east-west traffic flow.

High-Performance Computing (HPC) and Storage Networking

The combination of low latency, deep buffers, and high-bandwidth ports makes this switch ideal for HPC clusters and storage backend networks (like iSCSI or NFS), where consistent performance and minimal jitter are critical for application performance.

Enterprise Core Aggregation

In large campus or enterprise networks, it can serve as a core aggregation switch, routing traffic between different building or departmental distribution switches, leveraging its comprehensive Layer 3 feature set and high reliability.