arista 7280R 7280CR3-32P4
The Arista 7280CR3-32P4 is a 2U modular-density deep-buffer spine and DCI switch powered by Jericho 2 silicon. Providing 32 ports of 100GbE QSFP28 and 4 ports of 400GbE QSFP-DD with an integrated high-bandwidth memory packet buffer, the 7280CR3 delivers 9.6 Tbps of switching throughput with straightforward speed migration to 400G backbones.
Specifications
| Brand | arista |
|---|---|
| Family | 7280R |
| Form factor | 2U fixed switch |
| Released | Oct 2019 |
| Ports | 32x 100G QSFP28 and 4x 400G QSFP-DD ports |
| Switching capacity | 9.6 Tbps / 2.8 Bpps |
| Buffer | Integrated HBM deep packet buffer with VOQ scheduling |
| Routing | Full internet routing table scale with EVPN, MPLS, and SRv6 |
| Form factor | 2U rack mount |
Generations
- Previous generation: arista 7280R 7280CR2-60
- Next generation: arista 7280R 7280CR3-32D4
Works together
How the arista 7280R 7280CR3-32P4 connects to servers, storage and the network: 4 ways, with the parts and products on each path.
iSCSI and NVMe/TCP over Ethernet
Keep the speed the same at all three points: a 25GbE server, a 25GbE switch port and a 25GbE array port. Mixed speeds work but the slowest link sets the pace.
Servers
HPE Edgeline EL8000 5U ruggedized edge system
HPE ProLiant DL160 Gen10 1U rack
HPE ProLiant DL180 Gen10 2U rack
HPE Apollo 4200 Gen10 2U rack
HPE Apollo 4510 Gen10 4U rack
HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen10 1U rack
Adapters for the server
BCM957504A5041CC Broadcom NetXtreme-E BCM57504 Quad-Port 100GbE QSFP56 PCIe 4.0 Ethernet Network Adapter
540-BDBX Dell NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-6 Dx Dual Port 100GbE QSFP56 PCIe Adapter
540-BDCF Dell Intel E810-CQDA2 Dual Port 100GbE QSFP28 PCIe Gen4 Adapter
540-BDCP Dell Broadcom 57508 Dual Port 100GbE QSFP56 PCIe Gen4 Adapter
Storage
Lenovo ThinkSystem DM7100H 4U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem DM5100F 2U rack
Dell PowerStore 1200T 2U rack
Dell PowerStore 3200T 2U rack
Dell PowerStore 5200T 2U rack
Dell PowerStore 9200T 2U rack
Optics
QSFP-100G-SR4 Arista 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver
QSFP-100G-SR4-S Cisco 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver
407-BBOY Dell 100GbE QSFP28 SR4 Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MPO-12)
File storage (NFS and SMB)
Front-end ports face the clients; back-end ports (on scale-out systems) connect the nodes to each other and need their own switch pair.
Servers
- HPE Edgeline EL8000 5U ruggedized edge system
- HPE ProLiant DL160 Gen10 1U rack
- HPE ProLiant DL180 Gen10 2U rack
- HPE Apollo 4200 Gen10 2U rack
- HPE Apollo 4510 Gen10 4U rack
- HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen10 1U rack
Adapters for the server
- BCM957504A5041CC Broadcom NetXtreme-E BCM57504 Quad-Port 100GbE QSFP56 PCIe 4.0 Ethernet Network Adapter
- 540-BDBX Dell NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-6 Dx Dual Port 100GbE QSFP56 PCIe Adapter
- 540-BDCF Dell Intel E810-CQDA2 Dual Port 100GbE QSFP28 PCIe Gen4 Adapter
- 540-BDCP Dell Broadcom 57508 Dual Port 100GbE QSFP56 PCIe Gen4 Adapter
Storage
Dell PowerScale F600 1U rack- Lenovo ThinkSystem DM7100H 4U rack
- Lenovo ThinkSystem DM5100F 2U rack
Dell PowerScale F900 2U rack
Dell PowerScale H700 4U- Dell PowerStore 1200T 2U rack
Optics
- QSFP-100G-SR4 Arista 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver
- QSFP-100G-SR4-S Cisco 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver
- 407-BBOY Dell 100GbE QSFP28 SR4 Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MPO-12)
Hyperconverged cluster
Plan at least two 25GbE ports per node to two switches; all-NVMe clusters often move to 100GbE.
HCI nodes
HPE SimpliVity 325 Gen10 1U rack
HPE SimpliVity 380 Gen10 G 2U rack
HPE SimpliVity 325 Gen10 Plus v2 1U rack
HPE SimpliVity 380 Gen10 2U rack
Adapters for the server
- BCM957504A5041CC Broadcom NetXtreme-E BCM57504 Quad-Port 100GbE QSFP56 PCIe 4.0 Ethernet Network Adapter
- 540-BDBX Dell NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-6 Dx Dual Port 100GbE QSFP56 PCIe Adapter
- 540-BDCF Dell Intel E810-CQDA2 Dual Port 100GbE QSFP28 PCIe Gen4 Adapter
- 540-BDCP Dell Broadcom 57508 Dual Port 100GbE QSFP56 PCIe Gen4 Adapter
Optics
- QSFP-100G-SR4 Arista 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver
- QSFP-100G-SR4-S Cisco 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver
- 407-BBOY Dell 100GbE QSFP28 SR4 Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MPO-12)
GPU cluster fabric
InfiniBand adapters and switches must match the generation: HDR is 200Gb, NDR is 400Gb. VPI adapters such as ConnectX-6 and ConnectX-7 can run either InfiniBand or Ethernet.
Servers
HPE Apollo 6500 Gen10 Plus 4U rack
HPE Apollo 6500 Gen10 4U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem SR860 V2 4U rack
Dell PowerEdge XE8545 4U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem ST650 V2 tower
HPE ProLiant DL580 Gen10 4U rack
GPUs
NVIDIA Data Center GPU A100 SXM4 80GB SXM4 module
NVIDIA Data Center GPU A40 PCIe 4.0 dual-slot full-height full-length
NVIDIA Data Center GPU T4 PCIe low-profile half-height half-length
NVIDIA Data Center GPU Tesla V100 SXM2 32GB SXM2 module
Adapters for the server
540-BCVE Dell NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-6 VPI Single Port 200Gb/s HDR InfiniBand / 200GbE PCIe Adapter
540-BDDW Dell NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-6 VPI Dual Port 200Gb/s HDR InfiniBand / 200GbE PCIe Adapter
540-BDRV Dell NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-7 Dual Port 400Gb/s NDR InfiniBand / 400GbE PCIe Gen5 Adapter
MCX556A-ECAT NVIDIA ConnectX-5 VPI Dual-Port 100Gb/s EDR InfiniBand and 100GbE QSFP28 PCIe 3.0 x16 Adapter
Plan and size it
- Draw this setup in the topology planner mrplanb.com
- Add up rack power and space rack-density.com
- iSCSI explained mrplanb.com
- Virtualization storage Ledger: scored storage platforms mrplanb.com
- Network monitoring tools compared mrplanb.com
Check compatibility with Arista
Before you buy, confirm the exact configuration against the vendor's own lists: firmware levels, operating systems, adapters and optics that Arista has tested with the arista 7280R 7280CR3-32P4.
- Compatibility Arista transceivers and cables
- Support Arista Support
Equivalent models from other brands
FAQ
What is the purpose of the four 400G ports on the 7280CR3-32P4?
The 400G ports serve as ultra-high-speed uplinks to core network spines while the 32 100G ports aggregate leaf traffic.
Does the 7280CR3 support line-rate MACsec?
Yes, MACsec encryption is available across all 100G and 400G interfaces.
Buying or selling 7280CR3-32P4?
New, refurbished or used. Tell us the quantity and condition and we connect you with a vetted reseller in your region, usually within one working day.
Sources
- Arista 7280CR3-32P4 Product Overview, checked 2026-10-27
- Arista 7280CR3-32P4 Data Sheet and Specifications, checked 2026-10-27