Arista’s Newest Switch, the 7124SX, is the Fastest DC Switch in the World

| Mar 16, 2011 | Enterprise Networking, Data Center Technology
| Analyst: Mike Spanbauer

Event Summary

March 15, 2011 - Arista’s new 7124SX edge switch is the latest volley in high performance networking switches, boasting an ultra-low 500ns latency metric. In certain environments, where applications demand the absolute fastest response times, the 7124 brings differentiated performance. The ability to add an optional solid state disk drive internally, which enables latency analysis and troubleshooting, may provide an edge in the ever-faster data center switching race.

Quick Take

Analytical Summary

• Current Perspective: Positive on Arista's announcement of the 7124SX switch, because it provides the fastest edge connectivity for customers who demand such performance there. Latency sensitive applications, such as trading exchanges and financial institutions, can benefit from such edge performance.

• Vendor Importance: High to Arista as this switch places it once again in the performance lead, which is key to the company’s image and growth. Arista wants to be the networking company that customers consider when they investigate the highest performance network available. The 7124SX once again places Arista in the lead, latency-wise, in an industry where micro-seconds – and now nano-seconds matter.

• Market Impact: Moderate on data center technology as the 7124SX may be fast, but it’s still a single device. It will address some challenges faced today in specific environments, but the entire data center fabric must be considered when comparing solutions as well as the management of the entire solution. The 7124SX is the latest salvo in the latency battle, and it brings a unique differentiator in the solid state disk analyzer, but it is a top of rack switch and therefore must connect to a distribution or core switch above, which will inherently be slower (after all, every other Ethernet switch is slower than this device today).

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