Arista DCS-7170-32C-R | 7170 32-Port 100G QSFP28 Switch, 6.4Tbps, Programmable

Q: What makes the DCS-7170-32C-R programmable?
A: The switch uses Intel Tofino architecture with a P4-programmable packet pipeline, allowing customization of packet parsing, forwarding lookups, traffic scheduling, and packet modification through software-defined forwarding profiles without hardware changes.

Q: What port configurations does the DCS-7170-32C-R support?
A: The 32 QSFP28 ports can be configured flexibly to support 128x 10GbE, 128x 25GbE, 32x 40GbE, or 32x 100GbE connections depending on the optics used and breakout configuration required.

Q: Is the DCS-7170-32C-R suitable for data center spine or leaf deployment?
A: Yes, this switch is designed for both spine and leaf tier deployment in large-scale two-tier data center architectures, offering scalable L2/L3 features and programmable forwarding profiles for custom use cases.

Q: What is the difference between the -R and -F suffix models?
A: The -R suffix indicates rear-to-front airflow cooling, while -F models feature front-to-rear airflow. The airflow direction must match your data center hot/cold aisle design for optimal thermal management.

Q: Does the DCS-7170-32C-R require additional licenses for Layer 3 features?
A: Yes, advanced Layer 3 routing protocols like BGP, OSPF, ISIS, PIM require the Enhanced L3 License (LIC-FIX-2-E), while VXLAN and virtualization features require the Virtualization License (LIC-FIX-2-V).