Arista Next-Generation Network Management Demo by Andre Pech

Arista’s presentation at Networking Field Day 3, led by Andre Pech, highlights advanced networking solutions focusing on multi-system switch CLI, automation, and extensibility. Arista has emphasized the ease of enabling a single-point management system that does not force customers into specific network architectures or hardware configurations. The demo showcased Arista’s capability to upgrade 50% of a network in approximately five minutes using just two commands, without causing any packet loss. This was coupled with historical event tracking to ensure network visibility and control during the upgrade process.

The demo illustrated the integration of Linux-like capabilities within Arista’s switches, where traditional switch commands can be executed alongside bash commands and Linux utilities. The use of standard tools such as TCP dump and ping for network debugging was demonstrated, highlighting the openness and extensibility of Arista’s network solutions. With VM Tracer, Arista showcased automatic VLAN provisioning for virtual machines based on their dynamic locations, connecting the network’s physical and virtual environments seamlessly. This feature enhances the ease of managing VLANs dynamically, mitigating manual configurations and potential errors.

Additionally, Pech demonstrated Cloud Vision, Arista’s multi-switch CLI, and zero-touch provisioning (ZTP). He explained how ZTP allows for fully automated network upgrades by rebooting switches to a new configuration without manual intervention. The presentation concluded with a discussion on advanced event monitoring, which provides detailed, timestamped logs for network changes, facilitating precise forensic analysis. Arista’s solutions thus focus on simplified management, enhanced automation, and the ability to conduct in-service upgrades with minimized network disruption.