Arista DCS-7050DX4-32S-F — 32×400G QSFP-DD Data Center Switch with Front-to-Rear Airflow
The Arista DCS-7050DX4-32S-F is a 1RU, 32-port 400G data center switch built on the 7050X4 platform. It delivers 25.6 Tbps of full-duplex switching capacity, 900 ns cut-through latency, and a 132 MB shared packet buffer with Dynamic Buffer Allocation — the deepest buffer in the 7050X4 family’s 32-port class. The DX4-32S supports flexible deployment as either a high-radix spine or a high-density leaf/ToR switch, with each QSFP-DD port supporting 400G, 200G, 100G, 50G, 40G, 25G, and 10G speeds via breakout for seamless multi-speed migration.
The “-F” suffix denotes front-to-rear (forward) airflow. For rear-to-front airflow, see the DCS-7050DX4-32S-R.
Key Specifications
- Ports: 32 × 400GbE QSFP-DD + 2 × SFP+ (1/10GbE)
- Throughput: 25.6 Tbps full-duplex, non-blocking
- Forwarding Rate: 5.38 Bpps
- Latency: 900 ns cut-through
- Packet Buffer: 132 MB shared with Dynamic Buffer Allocation
- ECMP: 128-way, 4K groups
- CPU/Memory: Quad-Core x86, 16 GB DRAM, 16 GB Flash
- Form Factor: 1RU — 43.9 × 4.45 × 50.56 cm (17.3 × 1.75 × 19.9 in)
- Weight: 11.1 kg (24.4 lbs)
- Power: 353W typical / 880W max; dual redundant PSUs (93% Platinum AC or DC)
- Cooling: Front-to-rear airflow; 3 × N+1 hot-swappable fan modules (reversible airflow available)
- Minimum EOS: 4.28.1 — Feature License Group 3
Deployment Scenarios
400G Spine in Leaf-Spine Fabrics
- 32 × 400G QSFP-DD ports in 1RU provide high-radix spine aggregation for two-tier leaf-spine architectures
- 128-way ECMP with Dynamic Load Balancing (DLB) and Equal and Unequal Cost Multi-Pathing (UCMP) distribute traffic across parallel uplinks
- 64-way MLAG for active/active multi-chassis redundancy at the spine layer
- Hitless speed changes from 400G to 10G allow mixed-speed migration without downtime
AI and Machine Learning Training Clusters
- Lossless Ethernet via RoCEv2 (PFC, ECN, DCBX/ETS) supports RDMA between GPU nodes in training fabrics
- 132 MB shared buffer with Dynamic Buffer Allocation absorbs incast bursts during all-reduce collective operations — approximately 2× the buffer depth of the 7060DX4-32 (64 MB)
- AI Analyzer collects per-ECMP-member utilization data at 100 μs intervals for fine-tuning load distribution in all-reduce workloads
- Dynamic Load Balancing (DLB) performs real-time flow rebalancing across ECMP and LAG/MLAG paths
- CloudVision with Arista Validated Designs (AVD) provides template-driven orchestration for GPU cluster fabrics
High-Density Leaf and Top-of-Rack
- Each 400G QSFP-DD port breaks out to up to 4 × 100GbE or 4 × 50GbE, delivering up to 128 × 100G or 144 × 50G server-facing interfaces from a single 1RU switch
- Optimized for next-generation 50G/100G PAM4-based server NIC connectivity with dedicated 400G uplinks to spine
- Flexible forwarding table allocation allows L2/L3 table sizes to be tuned per deployment role (leaf, spine, or border-leaf)
- Support for 7 speeds per QSFP-DD port (400G, 200G, 100G, 50G, 40G, 25G, 10G) enables in-place migration without optics replacement
NVMe-oF and Distributed Storage
- RoCEv2 with Advanced Congestion Management (PFC, ECN, DCQCN) supports NVMe over Fabrics for RDMA-based storage traffic
- 132 MB shared buffer provides deep burst absorption for storage I/O patterns where multiple compute nodes simultaneously read from the same storage pool
- VXLAN with BGP EVPN enables multi-tenant storage isolation in shared infrastructure
Hyperscale Cloud and Multi-Tenant Data Centers
- VXLAN with EVPN for overlay segmentation and VRF for routing isolation across tenants
- CloudVision with AVD enables template-driven automated deployment and change control at scale
- ZTP, eAPI, gNMI/gRPC, and native Python scripting support full-fleet automation
- VMware vSphere integration with VM Tracer for virtualized environments
Port Speeds and Breakout Options
Each QSFP-DD port supports 7 speeds via native operation or breakout cables:
- 400GbE: 32 ports — native full-rate QSFP-DD
- 200GbE: 64 ports — QSFP-DD to 2×QSFP breakout
- 100GbE: 128 ports — QSFP-DD to 4×QSFP breakout
- 50GbE: 144 ports — QSFP-DD breakout
- 40GbE: 64 ports — QSFP-DD to 2×QSFP breakout
- 25GbE: 128 ports — QSFP-DD breakout
- 10GbE: 130 ports max (including 2 × SFP+)
QSFP-DD optics supported: 400GBASE-CR8, AOC, SR8, DR4, XDR4, FR4, 2FR4, LR4. Full compatibility list at arista.com/transceivers-cables.
Routing and Fabric
- Layer 3: BGP, MP-BGP, OSPF, OSPFv3, IS-IS, RIPv2, VRF, BFD, PBR, PIM-SM/SSM, VRRP, VARP, Anycast RP (RFC 4610)
- Overlay: VXLAN and EVPN for multi-tenant overlay fabrics
- Layer 2: 802.1w RSTP, 802.1s MSTP, RPVST+, 4096 VLANs, Q-in-Q, jumbo frames (9216 bytes)
- Link Aggregation: 802.3ad LACP — 64 ports/channel, 128 groups/system
- MLAG: Up to 64 ports per MLAG
- Load Balancing: 128-way ECMP, Dynamic Load Balancing (DLB), Equal and Unequal Cost Multi-Pathing (UCMP)
Table Sizes
- MAC Addresses: 128K
- IPv4 Host Routes: 320K
- IPv6 Host Routes: 80K
- IPv4 LPM Routes (ALPM): 800K
- IPv6 LPM Routes (≤/64, ALPM): 500K
- IPv6 LPM Routes (any prefix, ALPM): 500K
- IPv4 Multicast (S,G): 160K
- ACLs: 11K ingress / 2K egress
- ECMP: 128-way, 4K groups
QoS and Lossless Ethernet
- Queues: Up to 8 unicast + 2 multicast per port
- Classification: 802.1p and DSCP-based classification and remarking
- Scheduling: Strict priority and Weighted Round Robin (WRR)
- Congestion: ECN (Explicit Congestion Notification), PFC (Priority Flow Control)
- DCB: DCBX and 802.1Qaz ETS — supports RoCEv2 for RDMA workloads
- Shaping: Per-port traffic shaping, rate limiting with ACL-based policing
Telemetry and Monitoring
- LANZ (Latency Analyzer): Real-time per-port queue depth and microburst detection with configurable congestion notification
- sFlow: Packet sampling for flow analysis and capacity planning
- AEM (Advanced Event Management): Programmable event-driven alerting and automation via CLI Scheduler, Event Manager, and Event Monitor
- Streaming Telemetry: GPB-encoded export via gNMI/gRPC to third-party collectors; INT and GREEN-T for in-band telemetry
- Port Mirroring: 8 active sessions with L2/3/4 filtering, port channel source and destination, mirror to CPU
- IEEE 1588v2 PTP: Transparent Clock and Boundary Clock
- Traffic Statistics: Polling as low as 100 ms; optional fast polling at 1 ms
- DMF: Advanced monitoring and aggregation with multi-port mirroring
Automation and EOS
- Operating System: Arista EOS — 64-bit, modular, Linux-based with in-memory state sharing (Sysdb)
- CloudVision: Centralized management, change control, ZTP, and topology visualization
- APIs: JSON-RPC eAPI, OpenConfig, gNMI/gRPC
- Scripting: Native Python, C++, Bash via Linux shell; RPM support and custom kernel modules
- SDN: Arista DirectFlow, OpenStack Neutron support
- ZTP: Zero-Touch Provisioning for automated day-0 deployment
- Programmable Pipeline: Enhanced forwarding architecture with flexible packet pipeline for software-driven data plane updates
Security
- ACLs: IPv4/IPv6 ingress and egress at L2/L3/L4 with drop logging and counters
- Control Plane Protection (CoPP): Rate-limiting of CPU-destined traffic
- Authentication: TACACS+, RADIUS, SSHv2, AAA
- Secure Boot: Digitally signed EOS images
- Layer 2 Security: MAC Security, DHCP relay/snooping, Service ACLs
- MACsec: Not supported on this model (see DCS-7050DX4M-32S for MACsec support)
Reliability and Lifecycle
- Stateful Fault Repair (SFR): Automatic recovery from software faults without data plane impact
- Stateful Fault Containment (SFC): Fault isolation to prevent cascading failures
- Smart System Upgrade (SSU): In-service software upgrades with minimal disruption
- Live Software Patching: Hot-patch capability for critical fixes without reboot
- Redundancy: 1+1 hot-swappable PSUs, 3 × N+1 hot-swappable fan modules; color-coded PSUs and fans
Similar Arista Models to Consider
- DCS-7050DX4M-32S-F: Same platform with MACsec encryption support on 16 of the 32 QSFP-DD ports. Requires LIC-FIX-3-MACSEC license and EOS 4.30.1+.
- DCS-7060DX4-32-F: 7060X4 spine-focused 32×400G QSFP-DD with 64 MB buffer and 700 ns latency. Lower latency but smaller buffer than the 7050DX4-32S.
Additional Resources
The following resources provide deeper context for evaluating the DCS-7050DX4-32S-F within a broader Arista switching strategy:
Summary
The Arista DCS-7050DX4-32S-F is a 1RU, 32-port 400GbE QSFP-DD data center switch delivering 25.6 Tbps non-blocking throughput, 900 ns cut-through latency, and 132 MB shared packet buffer with Dynamic Buffer Allocation. It supports VXLAN, EVPN, MLAG, 128-way ECMP, Dynamic Load Balancing, and the full Arista EOS automation stack including CloudVision, eAPI, and ZTP. Each QSFP-DD port supports 7 speeds from 10G to 400G for flexible leaf-spine and ToR deployments. Front-to-rear airflow with redundant fans and power supplies. Available from BrightStar Systems fully tested, reset to factory defaults, and backed by a 1-year in-house warranty.
Related Arista 7050X Series models: DCS-7050SX3-48YC8-F and DCS-7050SX3-48C8-F.
