Arista Networks has taken the wraps off its 7060XE7 Series, a new portfolio of 1.6T networking platforms designed to provide the foundation for rack-scale AI infrastructure. These platforms are specifically engineered to handle the extreme bandwidth and low-latency requirements of modern AI workloads, including large-scale model training and inference. The 7060XE7 family features both fixed switch platforms and configurable rack-scale systems, targeting racks for vertical and horizontal AI workflows. All will run Arista’s Extensible Operating System (EOS), which includes low-latency and intelligent packet buffering to manage the intense microbursts typical of AI communication and collective patterns, Arista stated.
Under the Hood: Broadcom Tomahawk 6 and AMD Collaboration
The 7060XE7 family is built on Broadcom Tomahawk 6 silicon, a high-bandwidth switching ASIC capable of delivering 1.6T per port. This silicon is optimized for AI fabrics, offering advanced features like in-band telemetry and fine-grained load balancing. Arista is also working with AMD on next-generation compute silicon and NICs to enable scale-out AI fabrics. This collaboration aims to create tightly integrated compute and networking solutions that maximize performance for AI clusters, reducing latency and improving overall job completion times.
Product Lineup: From Air-Cooled to Liquid-Cooled
The 7060XE7 Series includes several specific configurations catering to different deployment scenarios. The 7060XE7-64PS and 7060XE7-64PRS are 4U rack switches available in Q4, designed for air-cooled data centers. They support pluggable Integrated heat sink (IHS) and Riding heat sink (RHS) optics. IHS is aimed at current air-cooled data centers, while RHS is intended for future liquid-cooled AI fabrics and extreme port density. The 7060XE7-64PRS-RV3-L is a specialized 2OU liquid-cooled platform for high-density clusters. It features 224G SerDes, uses DC power from an ORv3 rack, and contains no internal fans, integrating with liquid-cooled XPU servers to maximize power efficiency. This model will be available in Q1 2027. Finally, the 7060XE7-128PE provides 128 800G ports in an air-cooled 4RU design, utilizing 100G SerDes for environments requiring backward compatibility and deployment flexibility. It also arrives in Q1 2027.
Software and Protocol Innovations
On the software side, EOS is the featured network operating system, but the family also supports open-source software such as Software for Open Networking in the Cloud (SONIC) and OpenSwitch, giving customers flexibility in their network OS choice. One of the portfolio’s key features is the full support for Open Compute Project’s Multipath Reliable Connection (MRC). MRC is an RDMA‑based transport protocol that allows a single reliable connection to simultaneously use many network paths over Ethernet. Arista’s blog by Kenneth Duda and Alan Judge explains that MRC monitors each path, steering around congestion, avoiding paths with link errors, and avoiding failed links. This approach achieves very high fabric utilization with good load balancing, while interoperating seamlessly with scale-across and WAN networks using standard dynamic routing protocols. The software also supports load balancing, congestion management, telemetry and diagnostics, and other technologies core to AI networking.
Strategic Positioning and Market Context
Strategically, the 7060XE7 Series signifies Arista’s transition from offering standalone, high-performance switches to providing complete rack-scale systems that can handle the extreme density, power, and thermal efficiency AI requires. The platforms allow customers to build scale-up and scale-out AI fabrics using air, liquid, and hybrid-cooled technology. This shift aligns with broader industry trends where AI workloads demand integrated solutions that optimize power and cooling at the rack level. The new Arista family joins a growing ecosystem of vendors looking to tap into the 1.6T Ethernet world, including Cisco, Nvidia, Celestica and others. Sameh Boujelbene, vice president of data center switch and AI networks market research at Dell Oro, highlighted the strong customer and ecosystem validation from Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Meta, AMD, and Broadcom. These endorsements underline the credibility and potential impact of Arista’s new platforms in powering next-generation AI data centers.
Arista’s announcement comes at a time when AI networking is undergoing rapid transformation. The demand for higher bandwidth, lower latency, and better power efficiency is driving innovation across the entire stack, from silicon to optics to cooling. With the 7060XE7 Series, Arista is betting that rack-scale, disaggregated systems with open protocols like MRC will become the standard for AI infrastructure. The company’s long experience in building high-performance data center networks, combined with strong partnerships, positions it well to capture a significant share of this fast-growing market. As AI models continue to grow in size and complexity, the networking layer will become increasingly critical to overall system performance. Arista’s new family addresses these challenges head-on, offering a comprehensive solution that promises to deliver the performance, reliability, and flexibility that modern AI workloads demand.
Source: Network World News