DCS-7050TX-72Q-R Arista 6x 40 Gigabit Ethernet QSFP+ 48 Ports Managed Switch

Understanding of Arista 7050TX Series Managed Switch

The Arista DCS-7050TX-72Q-R is a foundational element within Arista Networks' comprehensive 7050 series of fixed-configuration data center switches. Engineered for performance, density, and flexibility, this model is specifically designed to address the critical demands of modern 10 Gigabit Ethernet access and aggregation layers. It represents a strategic solution for enterprises and cloud providers transitioning from legacy Gigabit infrastructure to high-speed 10GbE, offering a unique blend of copper and fiber connectivity in a highly efficient, 1U form factor. The platform is built on Arista's Extensible Operating System (EOS), providing unparalleled stability, programmability, and integration capabilities for software-driven networking.

Deep Buffer Capabilities

A key performance feature of the 7050TX series is its deep packet buffers. This engineering design is crucial for handling bursty traffic patterns inherent in data center environments, preventing packet loss during instantaneous congestion. This makes the switch exceptionally well-suited for storage traffic, large-scale data migrations, and any application where traffic microbursts could impact performance, ensuring smooth and predictable data flows.

Core Specifications

At its heart, the 7050TX-72Q-R is powered by a high-performance switching silicon, delivering wire-speed L2 and L3 forwarding across all ports. The switch boasts a substantial forwarding bandwidth and packet buffer memory to handle demanding data center traffic patterns, including bursty workloads and east-west data flows. The 1U rack-mountable chassis is constructed for durability and efficient thermal management, with port configurations intelligently laid out for optimal cable management.

Key Specifications Summary

The following specifications encapsulate the key technical details of the Arista DCS-7050TX-72Q-R switch:

Physical Specifications

The switch conforms to a standard 1U rack unit height. Its dimensions are typical for a 1U deep switch, with weight varying based on configuration. It operates within a standard commercial temperature range and is designed for low power consumption per port, a critical consideration for 10GBASE-T technology.

Power Efficiency

The system supports dual, hot-swappable AC power supplies for redundancy. Its typical power draw and heat dissipation are optimized for efficiency. The rear-to-front airflow (R-to-F) is a key environmental specification for proper integration into cooled aisles.

Standards and Compliance

The Arista DCS-7050TX-72Q-R complies with a wide range of industry standards, including IEEE standards for Ethernet (802.3), bridging (802.1D), VLANs (802.1Q), and data center bridging (802.1Qbb, 802.1Qaz). It also meets relevant safety and electromagnetic compliance certifications for global deployment.

Port Configuration and Connectivity Details

The port configuration is the defining feature of this switch, offering versatile connectivity options.

48 x 10GBASE-T RJ-45 Ports

The switch provides forty-eight 10GBASE-T ports using standard RJ-45 connectors. These ports support speeds of 10Gb/s, 1Gb/s, and 100Mb/s, enabling auto-negotiation for seamless connection to a wide range of devices from modern servers to legacy networking equipment. The use of Cat6a/Cat7 cabling allows for distances up to 100 meters, offering significant deployment flexibility within racks and across adjacent rows.

6 x QSFP+ Uplink Ports

For uplink and aggregation, the switch is equipped with six QSFP+ (Quad Small Form-factor Pluggable Plus) ports. Each QSFP+ port can operate as a single 40GbE interface or, through the use of breakout cables, can be split into four independent 10GbE SFP+ connections. This flexibility allows the six QSFP+ ports to be configured in various ways—for example, as six 40GbE uplinks or up to twenty-four 10GbE uplinks, providing immense scalability and bandwidth headroom for spine-leaf architectures or connections to core network layers.

Airflow Design: Rear-to-Front (R-to-F)

The DCS-7050TX-72Q-R model features a rear-to-front airflow design. This means the switch draws cool air from the port side (rear) and exhausts hot air out the fan side (front). This configuration is specifically engineered for data centers employing a hot aisle/cold aisle layout where the cold aisles are located at the rear of cabinets and the hot aisles are at the front. Matching the switch's airflow to the room's cooling scheme prevents hot air recirculation, improves cooling efficiency, reduces energy consumption, and enhances overall system reliability.

Performance and Switching Capacity

The switch is designed for non-blocking, wire-speed performance. It offers a total aggregate switching capacity of over 1.2 Tbps, ensuring that all ports can operate at full line rate simultaneously. This capacity is complemented by a high packet forwarding rate, measured in millions of packets per second (Mpps), enabling it to handle even the most demanding micro-burst traffic and latency-sensitive applications without packet loss or increased latency.

Layer 3 Routing Capabilities

The DCS-7050TX-72Q-R is a fully featured Layer 3 switch. It supports a comprehensive suite of dynamic routing protocols, including BGP (Border Gateway Protocol), OSPF (Open Shortest Path First), and RIP (Routing Information Protocol) for enterprise routing. It also supports advanced features like ECMP (Equal-Cost Multi-Path) for efficient load balancing across multiple uplinks, VRF (Virtual Routing and Forwarding) for network segmentation, and PIM-SM for multicast routing, making it suitable for complex data center and campus core deployments.

Advanced Network Virtualization

The switch offers robust network virtualization features. It fully supports VXLAN (Virtual Extensible LAN) in both bridge and routing modes, enabling the creation of large-scale, multi-tenant Layer 2 overlay networks over an IP underlay. This is essential for modern cloud architectures and software-defined data centers (SDDC). Integration with VMware NSX, Microsoft Hyper-V, and OpenStack is seamless through Arista's open APIs.

Arista CloudVision Integration

For network-wide management and automation, the switch integrates fully with Arista CloudVision. CloudVision provides a unified framework for orchestration, workflow automation, and telemetry across the entire Arista network estate. It enables zero-touch provisioning, configuration compliance, and real-time visibility into network performance and health, transforming operational paradigms.

Network Visibility and Telemetry

Arista places a strong emphasis on visibility. The switch supports advanced sFlow and LANZ (Latency Analyzer) for real-time network monitoring and anomaly detection. More importantly, it features deep buffer telemetry and programmable mirroring, allowing operators to gain granular insights into traffic patterns, identify bottlenecks performance issues with precision.

Use Cases and Application Scenarios

The versatile design of the Arista DCS-7050TX-72Q-R makes it suitable for a wide array of deployment scenarios.

High-Density 10GBase-T Top-of-Rack (ToR)

This is the primary use case. The switch is ideally positioned in server racks hosting equipment with 10GBase-T network interfaces. Its 48 copper ports provide direct, cost-effective connectivity, while the QSFP+ uplinks offer high-bandwidth paths to the data center spine or core layer, forming a classic leaf-spine architecture.

Storage and Data Backup Networks

The combination of low latency, high throughput, and deep buffers makes this switch an excellent candidate for IP-based storage networks, such as those using iSCSI or NFS protocols. It can efficiently handle large, sequential data flows typical in backup and replication workloads.

Virtualization and Cloud Hosting Platforms

In hypervisor clusters (VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, etc.), the switch provides the necessary bandwidth and features like VXLAN routing for network virtualization. Its programmability via CloudVision and EOS APIs allows for tight integration with cloud orchestration platforms like OpenStack, enabling automated network provisioning aligned with compute and storage resources.

Enterprise Campus Core and Aggregation

Beyond the data center, the robust Layer 3 feature set and high port density allow this switch to serve as an aggregation or core switch in large enterprise campus networks, routing traffic between different building or department networks efficiently.