DCS-7260CX-64-F Arista 64x 100GB QSFP100 2x 10GB SFP F-b Air Switch

Overview of the Switch

Designed to meet the rigorous performance demands of hyperscale environments, cloud infrastructures, enterprise cores, and high-performance computing networks, this advanced 100 Gigabit Ethernet switch delivers exceptional throughput, low-latency forwarding, and robust hardware architecture. Built for scalable deployments and mission-critical workloads, it combines high port density, powerful switching performance, and redundant hardware components to ensure operational continuity and network stability.

General Information

• Part: DCS-7260CX-64-F
• Brand: Arista
• Product Type: Switch

Technical Features

• Network Ports: 64x 100 Gigabit Ethernet Qsfp100
• Uplink Ports: 2x 10 Gigabit Ethernet Sfp+
• management Ports: 1x Rs-232 Rj45 Serial, 1x Rj45 Out Of Band Management, 1x Usb
• Airflow Direction: Front-to-back Airflow
• Fan Module Options: 4x Fan-7002h-f Fan Modules Included
• Power Supplies Included: 2x Pwr-1900ac-f Power Supplies (ac) Included
• Switching Capacity: 9.52 Bpps
• Forwarding Rate: 12.8 Tbps

64x 100 Gigabit Ethernet QSFP100 Network Ports

• High-density 100GbE interfaces for spine or core switching layers
• Ideal for leaf-spine topologies in cloud-scale data centers
• Optimized for high-throughput east-west traffic
• Supports bandwidth-intensive applications such as big data analytics and high-frequency trading
• Enables seamless interconnection between top-of-rack switches and core aggregation devices
• Facilitates backward compatibility with 10GbE environments
• Supports high-speed uplink connections to aggregation or core layers
• Ideal for management traffic isolation
• Provides additional redundancy or out-of-band connectivity
• Supports high-density virtualization clusters
• Maintains low-latency forwarding for real-time applications
• Handles microbursts and peak traffic conditions effectively
• Optimized for carrier-grade network reliability
• High-performance computing (HPC) environments
• Large-scale data center cores
• Massive storage area network interconnects
• Service provider backbone deployments

Arista 100GB QSFP100 10GB SFP Airflow Data Center Switch

The Arista DCS-7260CX-64-F is a high-performance, ultra-low-latency 100GbE data center switch designed to meet the rigorous demands of modern cloud, enterprise, and service provider networks. Built on the advanced Arista EOS operating system and engineered for high-density 100GbE deployments, this model delivers 64 x 100Gb QSFP100 ports along with 2 x 10Gb SFP+ ports in a compact 2RU form factor. The “F” designation indicates front-to-back airflow, making it ideal for hot aisle/cold aisle data center environments that require efficient thermal management.

High-Density 100GbE Architecture for Modern Data Centers

The Arista DCS-7260CX-64-F is purpose-built to address the exponential growth in east-west traffic within data centers. With 64 dedicated 100GbE QSFP100 ports, this switch supports massive throughput and enables simplified network topologies. Each QSFP100 port can operate at 100GbE or be broken out into 4 x 25GbE connections, providing exceptional flexibility for mixed-speed deployments.

64 x 100Gb QSFP100 Ports

The 64 high-speed QSFP100 ports offer line-rate performance across all ports simultaneously, supporting aggregate bandwidth in the multi-terabit range. This density allows data center architects to reduce the number of devices required in spine or aggregation layers, leading to lower power consumption, reduced rack space usage, and simplified cabling.

2 x 10Gb SFP+ Management or Uplink Ports

In addition to the 100GbE interfaces, the DCS-7260CX-64-F includes 2 x 10Gb SFP+ ports. These are commonly used for out-of-band management, dedicated uplinks, or integration into existing 10GbE infrastructures. This dual-speed support ensures backward compatibility and seamless integration into hybrid network environments.

Front-to-Back Airflow (F-B Air) for Optimized Cooling

The front-to-back airflow design is engineered specifically for modern data center racks that follow cold aisle intake and hot aisle exhaust best practices. Cool air is drawn in from the front of the chassis and exhausted through the rear, aligning with standardized rack cooling strategies and maximizing thermal efficiency.

Advanced Arista EOS Operating System

The DCS-7260CX-64-F runs on Arista EOS (Extensible Operating System), a highly programmable and resilient network operating system built on a Linux foundation. EOS provides a single binary image across all Arista switches, simplifying network operations, upgrades, and automation strategies.

Programmability and Automation

Arista EOS offers extensive programmability through APIs, scripting capabilities, and integration with orchestration platforms. Data center operators can automate configuration management, monitoring, and provisioning tasks using tools such as Ansible, Python, and REST APIs. This significantly reduces manual configuration errors and accelerates network deployment.

High Availability and Resiliency

EOS features a modular architecture with state separation between processes. This design ensures that individual software components can be restarted without impacting overall switch operation. Combined with redundant power supplies and hot-swappable fans, the DCS-7260CX-64-F is built for mission-critical environments requiring maximum uptime.

Ideal for Spine-Leaf Architectures

The 7260CX-64-F is particularly well-suited for spine roles in leaf-spine data center architectures. With 64 x 100GbE ports, it can connect to a large number of leaf switches while maintaining full non-blocking throughput. Its high port density minimizes the number of spine switches required, simplifying network design and reducing capital expenditure.

When deployed as a leaf switch, the 100GbE ports can be broken out into multiple 25GbE server-facing connections, making it adaptable for hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) and high-density server racks.

Scalable East-West Traffic Handling

Modern workloads generate significant east-west traffic due to virtualization, containerization, and microservices architectures. The DCS-7260CX-64-F provides consistent low-latency forwarding, ensuring optimal application performance across distributed compute nodes.

Layer 2 and Layer 3 Capabilities

The DCS-7260CX-64-F supports a rich set of Layer 2 and Layer 3 features, enabling it to function as both a high-speed switch and a powerful routing platform. It supports VLANs, link aggregation (LACP), spanning tree protocols, and advanced routing protocols such as OSPF, BGP, and IS-IS.

Advanced Routing Protocols

With full BGP and OSPF support, the switch can operate in large-scale data center fabrics and interconnect with upstream routers. Equal-Cost Multi-Path (ECMP) routing enhances load balancing and network resiliency, ensuring optimal path utilization and redundancy.

VXLAN and EVPN

Overlay networking technologies such as VXLAN, combined with EVPN control planes, enable scalable multi-tenant environments. The DCS-7260CX-64-F supports hardware-accelerated VXLAN routing and bridging, allowing for seamless integration into software-defined data center (SDDC) architectures.

Performance and Low Latency

One of the defining characteristics of the 7260CX-64-F is its ultra-low latency. Designed for performance-critical workloads such as high-frequency trading, real-time analytics, and storage networks, the switch provides predictable and consistent forwarding performance.

Its deep buffering and advanced congestion management capabilities help maintain throughput during traffic bursts, reducing packet loss and ensuring application-level stability.

High-Performance Computing (HPC) 

The DCS-7260CX-64-F is widely deployed in HPC clusters and high-performance storage networks. Its 100GbE interfaces support RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE), enabling low-latency communication between compute nodes and storage arrays.

Energy Efficiency 

Despite its high port density and performance capabilities, the Arista DCS-7260CX-64-F is designed with power efficiency in mind. Efficient power supplies and intelligent fan controls reduce energy consumption without compromising performance.

Security and Network Visibility

Security and visibility are critical in modern data centers. The DCS-7260CX-64-F includes robust access control mechanisms, traffic filtering capabilities, and detailed telemetry features. With support for sFlow and advanced monitoring tools, administrators gain granular visibility into traffic flows and network performance metrics.

This visibility enables proactive troubleshooting, capacity planning, and compliance reporting, strengthening overall network security posture.

Scalability for Future Growth

As network demands continue to evolve, the Arista DCS-7260CX-64-F provides the scalability needed to support future expansion. Its high-density 100GbE design ensures that organizations can scale bandwidth without major infrastructure overhauls.

Whether supporting virtualization, container orchestration platforms like Kubernetes, or large-scale cloud services, the 7260CX-64-F offers a future-ready networking foundation capable of adapting to emerging technologies and increasing performance requirements.