DCS-7368-SUP-D Arista 7368X4 16GB Switch Supervisor Module

Arista DCS-7368-SUP-D 7368X4 16GB Switch Supervisor Module

The Arista DCS-7368-SUP-D 7368X4 Supervisor Module is engineered for high-performance networking, offering robust processing power and advanced storage capabilities. Designed to enhance scalability and reliability, this module ensures seamless integration into enterprise-level infrastructures.

Main Information

Manufacturer Details

• Brand: Arista Network
• Part Number: DCS-7368-SUP-D
• Category: Supervisor Module

Technical Specifications

Connectivity Options

Network Interfaces

• 1x Gigabit Management RJ45 Port
• 1x Gigabit SFP Management Uplink

Management Interfaces

• 1x RS-232 RJ45 Management Port
• 1x USB Port for external devices

Storage Capabilities

Solid-State Drive (SSD)

• 256GB SSD Storage for fast data access

Flash Memory

• 8GB Flash for firmware and system files

Processing Power

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

• Multi-core x86 architecture for optimized performance

System Memory

• 32GB RAM for efficient multitasking and workload handling

Arista DCS-7368-SUP-D Switch Supervisor Category Overview

The Arista DCS-7368-SUP-D 7368X4 Quad Core CPU 16GB W-SSD Switch Supervisor Module belongs to a high-performance enterprise switching infrastructure category engineered for data center aggregation, cloud networking, and high-density spine deployments. As part of the broader Arista modular switching ecosystem, this supervisor module category delivers control plane intelligence, system management capabilities, and operating system functionality for advanced switching platforms. Designed to integrate seamlessly into compatible chassis systems, this supervisor module enhances scalability, operational efficiency, and network reliability in mission-critical environments.

Supervisor modules within this category serve as the central processing and management core of modular switches. They handle routing protocols, system monitoring, configuration management, and control plane traffic while maintaining consistent network performance. The integration of a quad core CPU and 16GB of memory ensures the computational power required to support advanced routing tables, large-scale virtualization overlays, and real-time telemetry processing. By incorporating a solid-state storage drive, the module also supports reliable operating system storage, logging, and advanced software feature deployment.

Control Plane Architecture and System Intelligence

In modular switching platforms, the supervisor module category plays a critical role in separating control plane and data plane operations. The Arista DCS-7368-SUP-D is designed to manage control plane tasks with high efficiency, ensuring stable routing convergence and deterministic network behavior. This architecture allows forwarding ASICs to focus on line-rate packet processing while the supervisor manages routing protocols such as BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, and EVPN.

The quad core CPU architecture significantly enhances multi-threaded performance, enabling simultaneous handling of protocol computations, telemetry collection, management services, and security processes. With increased processing headroom, the supervisor module ensures low latency control plane responses even during peak network events such as route recalculations or topology changes.

Memory Capacity and High-Scale Routing Tables

With 16GB of system memory, this supervisor module category supports extensive routing tables and large-scale MAC address databases. In modern data centers where east-west traffic dominates and virtualization overlays expand routing complexity, sufficient memory allocation is essential. The enhanced memory footprint allows operators to maintain comprehensive route tables without sacrificing responsiveness or stability.

High-capacity memory also enables advanced monitoring features such as real-time analytics and detailed traffic statistics collection. These capabilities are vital for network visibility, troubleshooting, and performance optimization across large enterprise and cloud environments.

Enterprise Data Center Switching Infrastructure

The Arista DCS-7368-SUP-D belongs to a modular switching category widely deployed in spine and aggregation layers within high-performance data centers. This category is optimized for environments that demand predictable latency, non-blocking throughput, and high port density. By supporting advanced network operating systems and programmable frameworks, supervisor modules within this class enable automation and orchestration at scale.

Data center networks are increasingly software-defined, requiring switches that can integrate with automation platforms, monitoring systems, and orchestration frameworks. The supervisor module’s integrated storage and processing capabilities support containerized services, configuration archives, and firmware management while maintaining system uptime.

Integration with Arista EOS Operating System

The Arista DCS-7368-SUP-D operates within the Arista EOS ecosystem, a Linux-based network operating system known for its modularity and stability. EOS leverages a multi-process state-sharing architecture that enhances reliability by isolating faults and enabling non-disruptive software updates. The supervisor module’s quad core CPU ensures EOS services operate efficiently even in demanding network conditions.

With EOS, administrators gain access to advanced programmability options, including APIs, scripting support, and integration with DevOps tools. This flexibility allows organizations to deploy network automation frameworks that align with cloud-native infrastructure strategies.

Solid-State Storage and System Resilience

The inclusion of an integrated solid-state drive enhances system reliability and performance. SSD storage supports fast boot times, rapid firmware loading, and efficient log management. In enterprise environments where logging and event tracking are critical for compliance and auditing, reliable storage ensures data retention without performance degradation.

Solid-state storage also improves resilience against mechanical failure compared to traditional spinning disks. This contributes to overall system uptime and reduces maintenance requirements within data center racks.

Scalability and High-Performance Networking

This supervisor module category is designed to scale alongside evolving network demands. As data center traffic grows due to cloud computing, virtualization, and AI workloads, the control plane must accommodate increasing route entries and protocol sessions. The quad core processing architecture ensures adequate computational resources to support high-density topologies.

Scalability also extends to support for advanced features such as VXLAN overlays, network segmentation, and policy-based routing. These capabilities are central to modern leaf-spine architectures, enabling flexible tenant isolation and efficient resource allocation.

High Availability and Redundancy Capabilities

Supervisor modules in this category often support redundant configurations, allowing for active-standby failover mechanisms. In mission-critical networks, redundancy is essential to prevent single points of failure. The Arista DCS-7368-SUP-D contributes to high availability designs by supporting state synchronization and rapid switchover between supervisor units.

Redundant supervisor deployment ensures that control plane operations continue uninterrupted in the event of hardware or software anomalies. This capability is vital for industries such as finance, healthcare, and cloud service providers where downtime can have significant operational consequences.

Non-Disruptive Upgrades and Maintenance

Modern network infrastructures require minimal downtime for upgrades and maintenance. Supervisor modules within this category support non-disruptive software upgrades, leveraging the modular design of the operating system. Administrators can update or restart individual processes without impacting overall switch functionality.

This capability aligns with the operational requirements of always-on data centers, enabling continuous service delivery even during maintenance windows.

Advanced Network Monitoring and Telemetry

The supervisor module category integrates advanced monitoring features that enable granular visibility into network performance. Real-time telemetry streaming allows network engineers to collect metrics such as interface utilization, latency, and packet drops without introducing additional overhead.

By leveraging the quad core CPU and substantial memory resources, the Arista DCS-7368-SUP-D can process and export telemetry data efficiently. This supports proactive network management strategies and predictive analytics initiatives.

Security and Control Plane Protection

Security remains a central focus within this switching category. Supervisor modules implement control plane protection mechanisms to safeguard against malicious traffic and protocol abuse. Features such as access control lists, rate limiting, and authentication protocols ensure secure operation in multi-tenant and internet-facing environments.

Secure boot processes and signed firmware validation contribute to hardware-level integrity, preventing unauthorized modifications. These security measures align with enterprise compliance requirements and cybersecurity best practices.

Segmentation and Policy Enforcement

Advanced network segmentation features supported by this supervisor module category enable granular policy enforcement. Organizations can isolate workloads, enforce compliance standards, and manage traffic flows according to business policies. Integration with network virtualization technologies enhances flexibility and simplifies large-scale deployments.

Policy enforcement mechanisms operate efficiently due to the processing capabilities of the supervisor module, ensuring minimal latency impact on control plane operations.

Deployment Scenarios 

The Arista DCS-7368-SUP-D supervisor module is commonly deployed in large enterprise campuses, hyperscale data centers, and cloud service provider networks. In spine switch roles, it supports high-bandwidth interconnects and large routing domains. In aggregation layers, it manages diverse traffic types from edge devices and servers.

Enterprises undergoing digital transformation initiatives rely on this category of switching infrastructure to support hybrid cloud architectures and distributed workloads. The supervisor module’s capacity to handle extensive routing and management tasks ensures consistent performance as network complexity increases.

Virtualized and Cloud-Native

Cloud-native applications and virtualized server environments generate dynamic network topologies. Supervisor modules must rapidly adapt to changing virtual machine states and container orchestration events. The quad core CPU and ample memory allow the Arista DCS-7368-SUP-D to manage dynamic routing updates efficiently.

Integration with orchestration tools and API-driven automation further enhances operational agility. Network administrators can implement infrastructure-as-code strategies, reducing configuration errors and accelerating deployment timelines.