Arista DCS-7280QR-C72-R — 72×QSFP Ports (56×QSFP+ + 16×QSFP100) Switch Router with Rear-to-Front Airflow
TheÂ
Arista DCS-7280QR-C72-RÂ is a 2RU switch router in the 7280R Series, deliveringÂ
6.4 Tbps of non-blocking switching capacity withÂ
72 × QSFP ports (56 × QSFP+ and 16 × QSFP100) supporting flexible 10G, 25G, 40G, 50G, and 100GbE line rates. Built on a deep buffer VOQ ASIC platform withÂ
16 GB of packet buffer memory andÂ
3.8 µs store-and-forward latency, the QR-C72 provides full Layer 2/3 switch router capabilities including BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, MPLS (LDP, RSVP-TE, BGP LU), SR-MPLS, EVPN, VXLAN, and 128-way ECMP. WithÂ
2.88 Bpps forwarding rate, it operates at full line rate across all port combinations. The “
-R” suffix denotesÂ
rear-to-front airflow, where cool air enters from the port side and exhausts from the non-port side. For front-to-rear airflow, see theÂ
DCS-7280QR-C72-F.
Key Features at a Glance
- 72 × QSFP ports (56 × QSFP+ for 10G/40G and 16 × QSFP100 for 25G/50G/100G) with flexible breakout to additional 25G, 10G, and 40G interfaces
- Maximum port density: 16 × 100GbE, 32 × 50GbE, 72 × 40GbE, 64 × 25GbE, or 160 × 10GbE
- 6.4 Tbps non-blocking switching capacity with 2.88 Bpps forwarding rate
- 3.8 µs store-and-forward latency with 16 GB VOQ deep packet buffer — eliminates head-of-line blocking
- Full Layer 3 switch router:Â BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, MPLS (LDP, RSVP-TE, BGP LU), SR-MPLS, EVPN, VXLAN, 128-way ECMP
- 768K host routes (IPv4 and IPv6), over 1M IPv4 LPM routes, 928K IPv6 LPM routes — full Internet routing table support
- Multi-core x86 CPUÂ with 8 GB DRAM (16 GB optional) running Arista EOS
- IEEE 1588v2 PTPÂ hardware-assisted Precision Time Protocol for network clock synchronization
- Telemetry:Â LANZ, sFlow, Advanced Event Management (AEM), DANZ, streaming telemetry via gNMI and eAPI
- CloudVision integration, Zero-Touch Provisioning (ZTP), Python/Bash scripting, OpenConfig
- Hot-swappable dual PSU (1+1) and N+1 fan trays; rear-to-front (-R) airflow
- 2RU form factor — 696W typical / 1200W maximum power draw
- NEBS Level 3 Compliance for carrier-grade reliability
- BrightStar Systems:Â Supplied fully tested, reset to factory defaults, and backed by a 1-year in-house warranty
6.4 Tbps Non-Blocking VOQ Architecture
The DCS-7280QR-C72-R deliversÂ
6.4 Tbps of full-duplex, non-blocking throughput. TheÂ
Virtual Output Queue (VOQ)Â ASIC architecture maintains separate queues for each input-to-output port pair, eliminating head-of-line blocking. With aÂ
2.88 Bpps forwarding rate, the switch operates at full line rate across all port combinations regardless of traffic mix or packet size distribution. TheÂ
16 GB deep packet buffer is distributed across the VOQ structure, providing substantial burst absorption capacity. Unlike shared-memory switches with smaller buffer pools, the VOQ deep buffer architecture handles transient congestion, TCP incast events, and bursty traffic patterns without triggering early packet drops or ECN marking — delivering higher effective throughput in oversubscribed topologies.
3.8 µs Store-and-Forward Latency
The 7280QR-C72-F operates in store-and-forward mode with a measured latency ofÂ
3.8 microseconds. The ASIC receives the complete packet, performs a full Layer 2/3 lookup, applies ACLs and QoS policies, and forwards the packet — all within 3.8 µs. This design trades the sub-microsecond latency of cut-through architectures for the ability to buffer, inspect, and apply policy at every forwarding decision, while maintaining sub-10-microsecond performance suitable for enterprise, service provider, and data center applications.
Port Configuration and Optics
The 7280QR-C72-F provides 72 × QSFP ports with mixed QSFP+ and QSFP100 form factors:
- 56 × QSFP+ ports: Support for 10G (DAC/AOC, SR, LR, ER, ZR) and 40G (SR4, LR4, DR, FR, ZR) line rates.
- 16 × QSFP100 ports: Support for 25G, 50G, 100G (SR4, LR4, DR, FR, CWDM4, ZR/ZR+, DAC/AOC) line rates.
- Breakout capability: QSFP+ ports breakout to 4×10G; QSFP100 ports breakout to 4×25G or 4×10G for maximized port density.
- Management: 1 × 100/1000 Mbps out-of-band management port + 1 × RS-232 RJ-45 console port, independent of the forwarding plane.
- Maximum port configurations: Up to 16 × 100GbE, 32 × 50GbE, 72 × 40GbE, 64 × 25GbE, or 160 × 10GbE interfaces.
Layer 2/3 Switch Router Capabilities
The 7280QR-C72-F operates as a unified switch router with full Layer 2 and Layer 3 feature sets:
- BGP Full-Table Routing:Â 768K IPv4 and IPv6 host routes, over 1M IPv4 unicast LPM routes, 928K IPv6 LPM routes in the hardware FIB. Supports MP-BGP, BGP graceful restart, and 128-way ECMP for load balancing across equal-cost paths.
- MPLS:Â Line-rate MPLS label switching with LDP, RSVP-TE, and BGP Labeled Unicast (BGP LU) for carrier-grade MPLS networks and VPN services.
- Segment Routing:Â SR-MPLS for simplified traffic engineering without per-path LSP state in the network core.
- EVPN and VXLAN:Â VXLAN Tunnel Endpoint (VTEP) and EVPN control plane for multi-tenant overlay networks, data center interconnect, and MAC mobility.
- Routing Protocols:Â OSPF, OSPFv3, IS-IS, RIPv2, VRF, BFD, uRPF, VRRP, VARP, and Policy-Based Routing (PBR).
- Layer 2:Â 802.1w/s Spanning Tree, RPVST+, 4096 VLANs, Q-in-Q, 802.3ad LACP (64 ports/channel, 224 groups), MLAG (128 ports per MLAG), Jumbo Frames (9216 bytes), IGMP snooping.
Telemetry, Monitoring, and Analytics
- LANZ (Latency Analyzer):Â Per-port, real-time microburst detection and queue depth monitoring at microsecond granularity. Records egress port, queue, drop reason, and timestamp for every congestion event.
- sFlow v5:Â Industry-standard traffic sampling for flow analysis and capacity planning. Integrates with third-party collectors (Kentik, Splunk, Solarwinds).
- Streaming Telemetry:Â Real-time counter and state export via gNMI (gRPC) and Arista eAPI (REST). Supports OpenConfig data models for vendor-neutral management.
- Advanced Event Management (AEM): Programmable event-driven automation within EOS — customize alerts and actions, automate routine tasks, and respond to real-time network conditions.
- DANZ:Â Arista’s telemetry fabric for advanced mirroring (14 sessions), port mirroring, SPAN/TAP M:N aggregation, and L2/3/4 filtering.
- IEEE 1588v2 PTP:Â Hardware-assisted Precision Time Protocol for synchronized network timing, supporting Boundary Clock and Transparent Clock modes.
EOS Automation and Provisioning
The 7280QR-C72-F runsÂ
Arista EOS, a modular operating system built on a standard Linux kernel where each process runs in its own protected memory space and communicates through an in-memory state-sharing database (Sysdb). This architecture enables in-service software updates and self-healing resiliency without data plane interruption.
- CloudVision:Â Centralized configuration management, network-wide change control, topology visualization, and compliance monitoring across multi-site Arista deployments.
- Zero-Touch Provisioning (ZTP): Automatic configuration download on first power-up via DHCP — no manual CLI access required for initial deployment.
- Python and Bash:Â Native on-box scripting with full Linux shell access for custom event handlers and automation workflows.
- eAPI (JSON-RPC):Â RESTful programmatic interface to all configuration and operational commands. Integrates with Ansible, Terraform, and custom orchestration.
- OpenConfig and gNMI:Â Vendor-neutral data models and high-performance streaming RPC for configuration and telemetry.
Security
- Control Plane Policing (CoPP):Â Rate-limiting of CPU-destined traffic to protect routing stability
- ACLs: Ingress/egress access control lists at L2, L3, and L4 enforced in the ASIC at line rate — up to 24K ACL entries per forwarding engine
- TACACS+ and RADIUS:Â Centralized authentication and accounting for administrative access
- Secure Boot:Â Cryptographic verification of bootloader and EOS image integrity
- MAC Security, DHCP Relay/Snooping, ARP trapping for Layer 2 security enforcement
Quality of Service (QoS)
- Up to 8 queues per port with strict priority, weighted round-robin (WRR), and weighted fair queueing (WFQ)
- 802.1p and DSCP classification and remarking
- ECNÂ (Explicit Congestion Notification) marking for TCP-friendly congestion signaling
- PFC (Priority Flow Control) and DCBX (Data Center Bridging Exchange) for converged traffic
- Egress shaping and policing per-interface and per-queue
Physical Specifications and Airflow
The “
-R” airflow configuration providesÂ
rear-to-front cooling, where cool air enters from the port side and exhausts from the non-port side. BothÂ
-F (front-to-rear)Â and -R variants are electrically identical.
- Form Factor: 2RU — 19 × 3.5 × 22.2 inches (48.3 × 8.9 × 56.3 cm)
- Weight:Â 47.3 lbs (21.5 kg)
- Power:Â 696W typical / 1200W maximum; 1900W AC or 1900W DC power supplies
- Redundancy:Â Dual hot-swappable PSU (1+1) and 4 hot-swappable fan trays (FAN-7002H-F/R) supporting N+1
- Storage: 4 GB Flash, optional SSD, 1 × USB port
- Compliance:Â NEBS Level 3, FCC Class A, CE, RoHS, WEEE
Lifecycle and Reliability
- Self-Healing Software:Â EOS includes Stateful Fault Repair (SFR) for automatic recovery from software faults without data plane impact, and Stateful Fault Containment (SFC) for fault isolation.
- In-Service Software Updates:Â Dual-partition boot with Smart System Upgrade (SSU) and Accelerated Software Update (ASU) for planned upgrades with minimal disruption.
- Configuration Rollback:Â Instant rollback to previous configuration snapshots via EOS configuration replace.
- BrightStar Systems 1-Year Warranty:Â Supplied fully tested, reset to factory defaults, and backed by a 1-year in-house warranty.
Scalability and Table Sizes
- MAC Addresses:Â 768K
- IPv4 Host Routes:Â 768K
- IPv6 Unicast Host Routes:Â 768K
- IPv4 Unicast LPM Routes:Â Over 1M
- IPv6 Unicast LPM Routes:Â 928K
- Multicast Routes:Â Up to 768K
- ACL Entries per Forwarding Engine:Â 24K
- LACP:Â 64 ports/channel, 224 groups
- MLAG:Â 128 ports per MLAG
- ECMP:Â 128-way
Similar Arista Models to Consider
- DCS-7280QR-C36-F: 36 × QSFP ports with flexible 10G/25G/40G/50G/100G breakout; 3.2 Tbps throughput; 1RU form factor for more compact deployments.
- DCS-7280CR3K-96-F: 96 × QSFP28 ports with 512-way ECMP and over 5M IPv4 routes (R3 series); 9.6 Tbps throughput; 2U form factor.
- DCS-7280CR3-36S-F: 36 × QSFP ports with flexible multi-rate breakout (R3 series); 2.4 Tbps throughput; optimized for high-density deployments.
Related 7280 Series Resources
For comprehensive technical documentation and comparative model information across the Arista 7280 family, visitÂ
In-depth technical overview of the Arista 7280R series.
Summary
The Arista DCS-7280QR-C72-R is a 2RU switch router combining 72 × QSFP ports (56 × QSFP+ and 16 × QSFP100) with flexible 10G/25G/40G/50G/100GbE support, 6.4 Tbps non-blocking throughput, 16 GB VOQ deep packet buffer, and full Layer 2/3 capabilities including BGP, MPLS, SR-MPLS, EVPN, and VXLAN. Running Arista EOS with CloudVision integration, ZTP, and comprehensive telemetry (LANZ, sFlow, AEM, DANZ), the 7280QR-C72-F supports NEBS Level 3 carrier-grade reliability. Available from BrightStar Systems fully tested, reset to factory defaults, and backed by a 1-year in-house warranty.
