Arista EOS

Overview:

The World’s Most Advanced Network Operating System

Arista EOS is a software platform designed to provide a foundation for the business needs of next-generation data centers and cloud networks. Arista EOS is a modular switch operating system with a unique state sharing architecture that cleanly separates switch state from protocol processing and application logic. Built on top of a standard Linux kernel, all EOS processes run in their own protected memory space and exchange state through an in-memory database. This multi-process state sharing architecture provides extremely robust and reliable data center communication services while delivering security, stability, openness, modularity and extensibility.

The vEOS extends same the EOS platform from Arista’s award winning physical switching product line to the VM-based hypervisor platforms. With vEOS, Arista goes beyond APIs and development environments to make a programmable network accessible for any organization in a virtual environment. Customers can use vEOS for network design and validation of EOS images, rapid development and testing of EOS, and as a tool for training initiatives.

Network Design and Validation

vEOS enables you to create and run replicas of physical networks within the risk-free virtual environment. Virtual networks created with vEOS can be used for network modeling, planning for new services, or validating new features and functionality for the installed network. vEOS is not a network simulator but the exact EOS implementation that runs on the hardware platforms. As such, vEOS enables virtual networks to interoperate with real world network elements. vEOS provides flexibility and agility by allowing customers to easily scale up or down the size of their virtual network and simplifies configuration changes.

Rapid Development and Testing with vEOS

With vEOS, customers can develop applications and certify EOS in a virtual network environment and diminish the need for physical switches for test and certification. Virtual networks created through vEOS can be used to simulate network events, validate control plane behavior and qualify third party tools and partners. This is a speedier and more cost effective alternative to legacy approach, which often spans many month and involves costly lab expenses.

Training

vEOS can be used as a cost effective, easy to deploy tool for training with the EOS platform. It can scale from a single system to gain basic understanding up to complete lab ecosystem with access to variety of partner tools in addition to EOS network elements. The simplicity and flexibility of a VM-based image provides an easy approach to learn the various EOS features and troubleshooting techniques.

Since vEOS is EOS designed for Virtual Machine, it offers the same capabilities and benefits like software fault containment and Stateful Fault Repair of EOS. Every EOS software image is released along with corresponding vEOS image. vEOS image retains all platform independent features of EOS within a software release and has additional ASIC and driver software simulators that along with the kernel enables software forwarding of packets. While vEOS is designed to run on all hypervisors, it is recommended to run it on VMware ESX, KVM and Oracle Virtualbox.

Product Highlights