Arista Networks joins a growing group of vendors offering 1.6 Tb/s (1.6T) networking switches targeting AI-centric network architectures.
The 7060XE7 portfolio of rack-scale switches supports both Arista’s Enhanced Operating System (EOS) and Open Operating System. Designed on Broadcom’s Tomahawk 6 switch silicon, Artisa positions it as an enabler for high-density computing.
Arista’s 1.6T platform consists of three switches. The air-cooled 7060XE7-64PS is one of the first three models to be released and is expected to be available during the fourth quarter. It has a four rack unit (4RU) design with 64 1.6T capable ports.
The latter pair is expected to launch in early 2027 and will consist of the 7060XE7-64PRS. The 7060XE7-64PRS is available in air-cooled or water-cooled versions, both housing 64 1.6T ports. Another air-cooled switch, the 7060XE7-128PE, houses 128 800 Gb/s (800G) ports. Arista believes the 800G variant is suitable for environments that require “deployment flexibility and backward compatibility.”
In preparation for its entry into the fast-growing 1.6T switch space, Arista has equipped the 7060XE7 series with what it calls “smart AI” software that improves AI performance, including dynamic and cluster load balancing options to optimize traffic distribution, Multipath Reliable Connection (MRC) support to ensure large workloads are stopped by link flaps, and additional congestion management capabilities to give users greater visibility into network health.
“The AI era requires a shift in the way we think about networks. The network is no longer a standalone layer of infrastructure, but a tightly integrated component of an AI supersystem,” explained Tyson Lamoreaux, SVP of Cloud and AI Networking at Arista. “With the 7060XE7 series, we are delivering a large-scale 1.6T system that combines world-class reliability and EOS differentiation with liquid cooling and low-power optics to help customers build AI fabrics designed for maximum performance and power efficiency.”
Arista said its 1.6T networking will be supported by its work on “next generation compute silicon and NICs (network interface cards) for scale-out AI fabrics” with none other than AMD.
“As AI systems expand, the network is becoming a critical foundation for performance and efficiency,” said Ravi Pendekanti, corporate VP of AMD’s Data Center Solutions Group. “By working with partners like Arista to advance the Ethernet networking ecosystem, we are helping enable flexible, high-performance AI fabrics built on open standards.”
Sample shipments of the 1.6T line from multiple competing vendors have already begun, and Dell’Oro Group anticipates a ramp-up for a kickstart in late 2026. Early examples share Arista’s support for Broadcom’s Tomahawk 6, which includes products from Edgecore and Aria Networks, while Broadcom’s own Tomahawk Ultra debuted last summer. Nvidia’s upcoming co-packaged optical (CPO) switches, such as the recently unveiled Quantum-X Q3450-LD, are also built around 1.6T.
