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Arista has announced an Ethernet-based rack-scale network for connecting AI accelerators inside and across racks, alongside Ethernet designs for connecting those racks across a data center. Its Etherlink SU-144 architecture is presented as an open alternative to proprietary scale-up fabrics such as Nvidia NVLink—but the announcement establishes a design and a competitive strategy, not that Arista has matched Nvidia’s performance in deployed systems.
What Arista announced
On October 7, 2026, Arista announced a rack-scale portfolio intended to cover both scale-up and scale-out AI networking. Scale-up networking tightly connects accelerators within a rack-scale computing domain; scale-out networking connects servers or racks across a larger cluster. The distinction matters because the announcement addresses both jobs, but with different designs and technologies.
Arista calls its scale-up architecture Etherlink SU-144. The company says it can connect up to 144 accelerators, or XPUs, in one rack using a single-hop network, and can extend to as many as 1,024 XPUs through cross-rack topologies. These are vendor-stated design capacities, not independently verified deployment results. Arista’s broader pitch is that Ethernet can become part of the rack’s tightly integrated compute fabric rather than serving only as a network between servers. Senior vice president Tyson Lamoreaux described the rack-scale network as essential to maximizing compute.
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Arista describes three ways to build the physical network. They address different rack and deployment requirements; the announcement does not establish that one is universally preferable.
#1 Best Overall
- 8 GIGABIT PORTS: Features 8 RJ45 ports supporting 10/100/1000 Mbps speeds, providing high-speed wired network connectivity for computers, printers, gaming consoles, and other Ethernet-enabled devices
- PLUG AND PLAY SETUP: No configuration required; simply connect the switch to your network devices and it is ready to use immediately, making network expansion quick and hassle-free
- FANLESS QUIET DESIGN: The fanless design ensures silent operation, making this switch suitable for noise-sensitive environments such as home offices, bedrooms, or conference rooms
- STURDY METAL CONSTRUCTION: Built with a durable metal housing and shielded ports that provide reliable performance, better heat dissipation, and protection against electromagnetic interference
- TRAFFIC OPTIMIZATION: Supports IEEE 802.3x flow control and advanced traffic optimization technology to reduce data bottlenecks and ensure smooth, efficient data transfer across your network
| Design | How it is arranged | Stated role or specification |
|---|---|---|
| Orthogonal chassis | Accelerator and switch blades connect directly in an orthogonal chassis. | Intended for dense training and inference. Arista gives a liquid-cooling envelope of 100–400 kW for this design. |
| Cabled backplane | Dense cabling is combined with a modular rack structure designed to be serviceable. | An alternative rack-scale arrangement; the release does not give a separate capacity figure for it. |
| Modular cross-rack system | Networking components extend the scale-up domain across multiple racks. | Arista cites cross-rack topologies as the route to connecting up to 1,024 XPUs. |
The shared Etherlink SU-144 capacity claims are up to 144 XPUs within a rack and up to 1,024 across a cross-rack topology. Arista does not publish, in the materials accompanying the announcement, a like-for-like latency or workload result for those configurations.
Scale-out designs add a separate Ethernet layer
For scale-out, Arista describes heterogeneous Ethernet designs that use multiple techniques to manage traffic and resilience. Its announcement names Ultra Ethernet Consortium (UEC) features, Multipath Reliable Connection (MRC) resiliency, multi-plane routing, Dynamic Load Balancing (DLB), and Cluster Load Balancing (CLB). Trade coverage reports reference designs with 8, 12, and 16 switches.
Rank #2
- 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗠𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸: 5× 10/100/1000Mbps RJ45 Ports supporting Auto Negotiation and Auto MDI/MDIX.
- 𝗚𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆: Latest innovative energy-efficient technology greatly expands your network capacity with much less power consumption and helps save money.
- 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁: IEEE 802.3X flow control provides reliable data transfer and Fanless design ensures quiet operation.
- 𝗣𝗹𝘂𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆: Easy setup with no software installation or configuration needed.
- 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀: Prioritize your traffic and guarantee high quality of video or voice data transmission with Port-based 802.1p/DSCP QoS and IGMP Snooping.
The proposed system is more than a switch configuration. Arista’s named components include 7060EX7 switches, rated by the company at 102.4 Tbps per switch; fiber patch panels; liquid-cooling manifolds; drip trays with active leak detection; rack-management controllers; and power shelves with backup battery units. These details make deployment a facilities and systems-engineering decision involving cabling, power, cooling, monitoring, and serviceability—not simply a decision about network switch ports.
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Arista also claims that next-generation optics could raise rack capacity from 1.6 Pb/s with OSFP-based switches to 6.5 Pb/s, and says the resulting densification could reduce overall data-center footprint by nearly 50%. These are company projections, not independently validated outcomes; the announcement does not provide a benchmark methodology that establishes those results in customer deployments.
Rank #3
- GIGABIT ETHERNET PORTS: Features 5 x 1.0Gbps Ethernet ports for high-speed connectivity. Auto-negotiating ports detect the optimal speed for connected devices and work with existing Cat5e or Cat6 Ethernet cables.
- PLUG-AND-PLAY UNMANAGED NETWORK SWITCH: Simple plug-and-play setup with no software to install or configuration required.
- FLEXIBLE MOUNTING OPTIONS: Compact metal design supports desktop or wall-mount placement for versatile installation.
- SILENT & ENERGY-EFFICIENT OPERATION: Fanless design ensures silent performance, while IEEE 802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet reduces power consumption without compromising high-speed network performance.
- REGIONAL COMPATIBILITY: Made for use in U.S. & CA only
How the Ethernet approach differs from Nvidia NVLink
Arista frames Ethernet for Scale-Up Networking (ESUN) as an open, standards-based approach that can give operators choice across accelerators, switching silicon, optics, rack designs, and network software. Network World reports that Arista contrasts this with proprietary NVLink and InfiniBand stacks; Arista executive Hardev Singh characterized the scale-up approach as “Strictly Ethernet.” That framing describes Arista’s competitive position, not a measured advantage in throughput, latency, or AI workload performance.
Arista’s release says its designs can support scale-up protocols including ESUN, Nvidia NVLink, NVLink Fusion, or PCIe in scale-out networking solutions. In other words, the rack-scale portfolio is presented as able to accommodate different architectures; it is not a claim that every component replaces Nvidia’s fabric. ESUN and the Ultra Ethernet Consortium are related but distinct initiatives, with different scopes. Arista’s technical blog describes ESUN as focused on open Ethernet switching and framing for tightly coupled AI fabrics, including lossless delivery, error resiliency, and scale.
Rank #4
- GIGABIT ETHERNET PORTS: Features 5 x 1.0Gbps Ethernet ports for high-speed connectivity. Auto-negotiating ports detect the optimal speed for connected devices and work with existing Cat5e or Cat6 Ethernet cables.
- EASY SMART MANAGED NETWORK SWITCH: Intuitive software interface offers Easy Smart Managed Essentials capabilities to configure VLANs, prioritize traffic with QoS, monitor ports, and manage network security for small businesses.
- FLEXIBLE MOUNTING OPTIONS: Compact metal design supports desktop or wall-mount placement for versatile installation.
- SILENT & ENERGY-EFFICIENT OPERATION: Fanless design ensures silent performance, while IEEE 802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet reduces power consumption without compromising high-speed network performance.
- REGIONAL COMPATIBILITY: Made for use in U.S. & CA only
The announcement names AMD, Arm, Broadcom, d-Matrix, Meta, Microsoft, and Qualcomm as partners in the rack-scale effort. A partner list signals participation in the effort, but does not by itself establish that each partner has a shipping product, a customer deployment, or an identical implementation.
What would make an Arista–Nvidia comparison fair?
The announcement supports a comparison of architectural direction and ecosystem choices, but it does not settle whether one system performs better. A meaningful evaluation would need comparable configurations and workloads, rather than headline capacity or bandwidth figures alone.
Best Value
- 【One Switch Made to Expand Network】Features 5 RJ45 ports with 10/100/1000Mbps speeds, supporting Auto-Negotiation and Auto MDI/MDIX for hassle-free setup. Ideal for expanding your network, with 1 uplink (input) port and 4 output ports to split your Ethernet connection to multiple devices.
- 【Gigabit that Saves Energy】Latest innovative energy-efficient technology greatly expands your network capacity with much less power consumption and helps save money
- 【Reliable and Quiet】IEEE 802.3X flow control provides reliable data transfer and Fanless design ensures quiet operation
- 【Plug and Play】Easy setup with no software installation or configuration needed
- 【Ethernet Splitter】Connect to your router or modem for additional wired connections (laptop, gaming console, printer, etc)
- Scale-up domain and topology: How many accelerators can communicate in the target configuration, and what are the hop count and topology?
- Measured performance: What are the bandwidth and latency under the same conditions, and how do collective operations perform for the intended AI workload?
- Accelerator and software support: Which accelerators, drivers, libraries, and operational tools work together, and how much integration is required?
- Resilience and diagnostics: How are failures detected, isolated, and recovered from, and what evidence is available for operation at cluster scale?
- Rack and facility demands: What power, cooling, cabling, footprint, and maintenance requirements apply to a complete deployed system?
- Maturity and cost: Are systems shipping and deployed at scale, and what is the total system cost rather than the price of an individual switch?
The October announcement and cited coverage do not provide independent head-to-head benchmarks, confirmed customer deployments, pricing, or a firm general-availability date. Arista’s capacity, footprint, and performance language should therefore be read as company claims unless independently validated. The official release also notes that forward-looking statements carry risks and uncertainties.
Why the market is watching Ethernet scale-up
The announcement targets a consequential architectural question: whether data-center operators can use Ethernet not only to link AI servers but also to build tightly coupled networks among accelerators. Arista’s argument is that an Ethernet-based design could give operators more choice in components and system design. Whether that openness translates into competitive performance, easier operation, or lower total cost remains to be demonstrated by products and deployments.
Fierce Network reported a 650 Group forecast from analyst Alan Weckel estimating a roughly $20 billion scale-up market in 2026, growing to $105 billion in 2030. Weckel estimated Ethernet’s portion at below $1 billion in 2026 and $30 billion in 2030. Those figures are forecasts, not realized market totals, and provide context for the competition rather than evidence of Arista’s future share.
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What the announcement means for infrastructure buyers
For organizations planning AI infrastructure, Etherlink SU-144 is a signal to evaluate Ethernet-based scale-up as an emerging architecture, not yet a basis for assuming parity with an established alternative. The practical next step is to ask vendors for configuration-specific evidence: supported accelerators and software, measured workload results, failure behavior, power and cooling requirements, deployment references, availability, and complete-system pricing. Until those details are established, Arista’s announcement is strongest as a statement of architectural direction and system scope.
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