Cisco vs Arista Cheat Sheet

Navigation & Basic Commands

FunctionCisco IOS/NX-OSArista EOS
Enter privileged modeenableenable
Enter configuration modeconfigure terminalconfigure terminal or conf t
Exit configuration modeexit or endexit or end
Show running configshow running-configshow running-config
Show startup configshow startup-configshow startup-config
Save configurationcopy running-config startup-config or write memorywrite memory or copy running-config startup-config
Show versionshow versionshow version
Show interfacesshow interfacesshow interfaces
Show IP interfacesshow ip interface briefshow ip interface brief

Interface Configuration

FunctionCisco IOS/NX-OSArista EOS
Enter interface configinterface ethernet1/1interface ethernet1
Set IP addressip address 192.168.1.1 255.255.255.0ip address 192.168.1.1/24
Enable interfaceno shutdownno shutdown
Disable interfaceshutdownshutdown
Set descriptiondescription "Link to Router"description Link to Router
Set duplexduplex fullspeed forced 1000full
Set speedspeed 1000speed forced 1000full
Configure trunkswitchport mode trunkswitchport mode trunk
Configure access portswitchport mode accessswitchport mode access
Set access VLANswitchport access vlan 10switchport access vlan 10

VLAN Configuration

FunctionCisco IOS/NX-OSArista EOS
Create VLANvlan 10vlan 10
Name VLANname Salesname Sales
Show VLANsshow vlanshow vlan
Show VLAN briefshow vlan briefshow vlan brief
Configure SVIinterface vlan 10interface vlan 10

Routing Configuration

FunctionCisco IOS/NX-OSArista EOS
Enable IP routingip routingip routing
Static routeip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 192.168.1.1ip route 0.0.0.0/0 192.168.1.1
Show routing tableshow ip routeshow ip route
Show ARP tableshow arpshow arp
Configure OSPFrouter ospf 1router ospf 1
OSPF network statementnetwork 192.168.1.0 0.0.0.255 area 0network 192.168.1.0/24 area 0
BGP configurationrouter bgp 65001router bgp 65001
BGP neighborneighbor 192.168.1.2 remote-as 65002neighbor 192.168.1.2 remote-as 65002

Spanning Tree

FunctionCisco IOS/NX-OSArista EOS
Enable STPspanning-tree mode pvstspanning-tree mode mstp
Show STPshow spanning-treeshow spanning-tree
Set port priorityspanning-tree port-priority 128spanning-tree port-priority 128
Set root priorityspanning-tree vlan 1 priority 4096spanning-tree mst 0 priority 4096

Port Channel/LAG

FunctionCisco IOS/NX-OSArista EOS
Create port-channelinterface port-channel 1interface port-channel 1
Add interface to channelchannel-group 1 mode activechannel-group 1 mode active
Show port-channelshow etherchannel summaryshow port-channel
LACP configurationlacp mode activelacp mode active

Monitoring & Troubleshooting

FunctionCisco IOS/NX-OSArista EOS
Show interface countersshow interfaces countersshow interfaces counters
Show interface statusshow interface statusshow interfaces status
Show MAC address tableshow mac address-tableshow mac address-table
Show CDP neighborsshow cdp neighborsshow lldp neighbors (LLDP)
Show system uptimeshow versionshow uptime
Show memory usageshow memoryshow system memory
Show CPU usageshow processes cpushow processes top
Show logsshow loggingshow logging
Clear countersclear countersclear counters
Clear MAC tableclear mac address-tableclear mac address-table

Access Control Lists

FunctionCisco IOS/NX-OSArista EOS
Create standard ACLaccess-list 10 permit 192.168.1.0 0.0.0.255ip access-list standard ACL-10
Create extended ACLaccess-list 100 permit tcp any any eq 80ip access-list ACL-100
Apply ACL to interfaceip access-group 100 inip access-group ACL-100 in
Show ACLshow access-listsshow ip access-lists

Quality of Service (QoS)

FunctionCisco IOS/NX-OSArista EOS
Create class-mapclass-map match-all VOICEclass-map VOICE
Create policy-mappolicy-map QOS-POLICYpolicy-map QOS-POLICY
Apply service policyservice-policy input QOS-POLICYservice-policy input QOS-POLICY
Show QoSshow policy-map interfaceshow policy-map interface

System Management

FunctionCisco IOS/NX-OSArista EOS
Set hostnamehostname Router1hostname Switch1
Set domain nameip domain-name company.comip domain-name company.com
Configure DNS serverip name-server 8.8.8.8ip name-server 8.8.8.8
Set timezoneclock timezone EST -5clock timezone EST -5 0
Configure NTPntp server pool.ntp.orgntp server pool.ntp.org
Show clockshow clockshow clock

User Management

FunctionCisco IOS/NX-OSArista EOS
Create userusername admin password cisco123username admin secret cisco123
Set privilege levelusername admin privilege 15username admin privilege 15
Enable passwordenable password cisco123enable password cisco123
Enable secretenable secret cisco123enable secret cisco123
Show usersshow usersshow users

SNMP Configuration

FunctionCisco IOS/NX-OSArista EOS
Enable SNMPsnmp-server community public rosnmp-server community public ro
Set SNMP locationsnmp-server location "Data Center"snmp-server location "Data Center"
Set SNMP contactsnmp-server contact admin@company.comsnmp-server contact admin@company.com
SNMPv3 usersnmp-server user admin v3 auth md5 passwordsnmp-server user admin v3 auth md5 password

High Availability

FunctionCisco IOS/NX-OSArista EOS
HSRP configurationstandby 1 ip 192.168.1.1N/A (Uses VRRP)
VRRP configurationvrrp 1 ip 192.168.1.1vrrp 1 ip 192.168.1.1
Show HSRPshow standbyN/A
Show VRRPshow vrrpshow vrrp

Key Differences & Notes

Arista EOS Specific Features:

  • Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP): show zerotouch
  • CloudVision Integration: Built-in cloud management
  • MLAG (Multi-Chassis LAG): mlag configuration
  • EVPN/VXLAN: Native support with router bgp and interface vxlan
  • Python Integration: python-shell for custom scripting
  • Advanced Event Management: event-handler and event-monitor

Command Syntax Differences:

  1. Subnet Masks: Cisco uses dotted decimal (255.255.255.0), Arista uses CIDR (/24)
  2. Interface Naming: Cisco uses GigabitEthernet0/1, Arista uses Ethernet1
  3. Configuration Mode: Both are similar but Arista has some unique modes
  4. Show Commands: Generally similar but some output formats differ

Advanced OSPF Configuration

FunctionCisco IOS/NX-OSArista EOS
OSPF process IDrouter ospf 1router ospf 1
Router IDrouter-id 1.1.1.1router-id 1.1.1.1
Network advertisementnetwork 10.1.1.0 0.0.0.255 area 0network 10.1.1.0/24 area 0.0.0.0
Interface OSPFip ospf 1 area 0ip ospf area 0.0.0.0
OSPF costip ospf cost 100ip ospf cost 100
OSPF priorityip ospf priority 255ip ospf priority 255
OSPF authenticationip ospf message-digest-key 1 md5 passwordip ospf message-digest-key 1 md5 password
Area authenticationarea 0 authentication message-digestarea 0.0.0.0 authentication message-digest
Stub areaarea 1 stubarea 0.0.0.1 stub
NSSA areaarea 1 nssaarea 0.0.0.1 nssa
Default route injectiondefault-information originatedefault-information originate
Redistribute staticredistribute staticredistribute static
Show OSPF databaseshow ip ospf databaseshow ip ospf database
Show OSPF neighborsshow ip ospf neighborshow ip ospf neighbor
Show OSPF interfaceshow ip ospf interfaceshow ip ospf interface
OSPF LSA filteringarea 1 filter-list prefix LIST-NAME inarea 0.0.0.1 filter-list prefix LIST-NAME in

Advanced BGP Configuration

FunctionCisco IOS/NX-OSArista EOS
BGP processrouter bgp 65001router bgp 65001
BGP router-idbgp router-id 1.1.1.1bgp router-id 1.1.1.1
eBGP neighborneighbor 10.1.1.2 remote-as 65002neighbor 10.1.1.2 remote-as 65002
iBGP neighborneighbor 10.1.1.3 remote-as 65001neighbor 10.1.1.3 remote-as 65001
BGP update sourceneighbor 10.1.1.2 update-source loopback0neighbor 10.1.1.2 update-source loopback0
BGP next-hop-selfneighbor 10.1.1.3 next-hop-selfneighbor 10.1.1.3 next-hop-self
Route reflector clientneighbor 10.1.1.3 route-reflector-clientneighbor 10.1.1.3 route-reflector-client
BGP peer-groupneighbor SPINE peer-groupneighbor SPINE peer-group
Maximum pathsmaximum-paths 4maximum-paths 4
BGP confederationbgp confederation identifier 100bgp confederation identifier 100
Route map inboundneighbor 10.1.1.2 route-map MAP-IN inneighbor 10.1.1.2 route-map MAP-IN in
Route map outboundneighbor 10.1.1.2 route-map MAP-OUT outneighbor 10.1.1.2 route-map MAP-OUT out
Prefix listip prefix-list ALLOW-DEFAULT permit 0.0.0.0/0ip prefix-list ALLOW-DEFAULT permit 0.0.0.0/0
AS-path filterip as-path access-list 10 permit ^65001_ip as-path access-list 10 permit ^65001_
BGP dampeningbgp dampeningbgp dampening
Show BGP summaryshow ip bgp summaryshow ip bgp summary
Show BGP neighborsshow ip bgp neighborsshow ip bgp neighbors
Show BGP tableshow ip bgpshow ip bgp
BGP soft resetclear ip bgp * softclear ip bgp * soft

EVPN Configuration

FunctionCisco NX-OSArista EOS
Enable EVPNnv overlay evpnservice routing protocols model multi-agent
BGP EVPN address-familyaddress-family l2vpn evpnaddress-family evpn
EVPN neighbor activateneighbor 10.1.1.2 activateneighbor 10.1.1.2 activate
EVPN route-targetroute-target import 65001:100route-target import 65001:100
EVPN RDrd 10.1.1.1:100rd 10.1.1.1:100
Show EVPN routesshow bgp l2vpn evpnshow bgp evpn
Show EVPN summaryshow bgp l2vpn evpn summaryshow bgp evpn summary
EVPN MAC mobilitydup-addr-detection max-moves 5evpn mac mobility moves 5

VXLAN Configuration

FunctionCisco NX-OSArista EOS
Create VXLAN interfaceinterface nve1interface vxlan1
VXLAN source interfacesource-interface loopback1vxlan source-interface loopback1
VLAN to VNI mappingmember vni 10100vxlan vlan 100 vni 10100
Multicast groupmcast-group 239.1.1.100vxlan vlan 100 flood vtep
VTEP discoveryhost-reachability protocol bgpvxlan flood vtep
L3 VNImember vni 50001 associate-vrfvxlan vrf TENANT vni 50001
Show VXLANshow nve peersshow vxlan vtep
Show VXLAN tunnelshow interface nve1show interfaces vxlan1
VXLAN MAC tableshow l2route evpn mac-ipshow vxlan address-table

Advanced Troubleshooting Commands

FunctionCisco IOS/NX-OSArista EOS
CPU utilization historyshow processes cpu historyshow processes top once
Memory detailedshow memory detailedshow system memory detailed
Interface errorsshow interfaces counters errorsshow interfaces counters errors
Interface ratesshow interfaces counters ratesshow interfaces counters rates
Buffer usageshow buffersshow system buffers
Hardware infoshow moduleshow version detail
Temperature monitoringshow environment temperatureshow system temperature
Power supply statusshow environment powershow system power
Fan statusshow environment fansshow system fans
System resourcesshow system resourcesshow system resources
Process listshow processesshow processes
File systemdirdir or bash df -h
System uptimeshow version | include uptimeshow uptime
Hardware platformshow platformshow platform
Transceiver infoshow interface transceivershow interfaces transceiver
Port channel load balanceshow port-channel load-balanceshow port-channel load-balance

Advanced Debugging & Packet Capture

FunctionCisco IOS/NX-OSArista EOS
Enable debugdebug ip packetdebug ip packet
Disable all debugno debug allno debug all
Show debug statusshow debugshow debug
Packet capturemonitor capture CAP interface gi0/1monitor capture CAP interface ethernet1
Start capturemonitor capture CAP startmonitor capture CAP start
Stop capturemonitor capture CAP stopmonitor capture CAP stop
Export capturemonitor capture CAP export tftp://1.1.1.1/cap.pcapmonitor capture CAP export tftp://1.1.1.1/cap.pcap
Mirror sessionmonitor session 1 source interface gi0/1monitor session 1 source ethernet1
Mirror destinationmonitor session 1 destination interface gi0/2monitor session 1 destination ethernet2
Flow monitoringip flow monitor FLOW-MONflow monitor FLOW-MON

Advanced Logging & Event Handling

FunctionCisco IOS/NX-OSArista EOS
Logging levellogging console 6logging console 6
Remote logginglogging host 192.168.1.100logging host 192.168.1.100
Logging sourcelogging source-interface loopback0logging source-interface loopback0
Buffer sizelogging buffered 16384logging buffered 16384
Show logs filteredshow logging | include ERRORshow logging | grep ERROR
Event handlerN/A (Limited support)event-handler HANDLER
Event triggerN/Atrigger on-logging
Event actionN/Aaction bash echo "Event occurred"
Show event handlersN/Ashow event-handler

Arista-Specific Advanced Features

FunctionCommandDescription
Zero Touch Provisioningshow zerotouchDisplay ZTP status
Python shellpython-shellAccess Python interpreter
Bash shellbashAccess Linux bash shell
Configuration sessionsconfigure session SESSION1Create config session
Session commitcommitCommit session changes
Session abortabortAbort session changes
Configuration rollbackconfigure replace terminalReplace running config
MLAG configurationmlag configurationEnter MLAG config mode
MLAG domain IDdomain-id MLAG1Set MLAG domain
MLAG peer-linkpeer-link port-channel10Configure peer-link
MLAG peer addresspeer-address 192.168.1.2Set peer IP
Show MLAGshow mlagDisplay MLAG status
CloudVisiondaemon cvpEnable CloudVision
gNMImanagement api gnmiEnable gNMI
REST APImanagement api http-commandsEnable REST API
Docker supportdockerAccess Docker commands
Advanced event monitorevent-monitor urlMonitor URL events
SFlow configurationsflow sample 4096Configure sFlow sampling
Configuration checkpointcheckpoint save BACKUP1Save configuration checkpoint
Restore checkpointcheckpoint restore BACKUP1Restore from checkpoint

Performance Monitoring & Analytics

FunctionCiscoArista EOS
Interface statisticsshow interface countersshow interfaces counters
Historical statisticsshow interface counters detailedshow interfaces counters bins
Latency monitoringshow interface counters detailedshow interfaces counters latency
Queue statisticsshow queueing interfaceshow interfaces counters queue
Traffic shapingshow traffic-shape statisticsshow qos interface
SPAN statisticsshow monitor sessionshow monitor session statistics
Flow statisticsshow ip flow monitorshow flow monitor statistics

IS-IS Configuration

FunctionCisco IOS/NX-OSArista EOS
Enable IS-ISrouter isis AREA1router isis AREA1
NET addressnet 49.0001.1921.6800.1001.00net 49.0001.1921.6800.1001.00
IS-IS on interfaceip router isis AREA1isis enable AREA1
IS-IS circuit typeisis circuit-type level-2-onlyisis circuit-type level-2
IS-IS metricisis metric 100isis metric 100
IS-IS priorityisis priority 64isis priority 64
IS-IS authenticationisis password cisco123isis password cisco123
Area authenticationarea-password cisco123area-password cisco123
Domain passworddomain-password cisco123domain-password cisco123
IS-IS wide metricsmetric-style widemetric-style wide
Show IS-IS databaseshow isis databaseshow isis database
Show IS-IS neighborsshow isis neighborsshow isis neighbors
Show IS-IS topologyshow isis topologyshow isis topology
Show IS-IS interfaceshow isis interfaceshow isis interface
Default route injectiondefault-information originatedefault-information originate

MPLS Configuration

FunctionCisco IOS/NX-OSArista EOS
Enable MPLSmpls ip (global)mpls ip (global)
MPLS on interfacempls ip (interface)mpls ip (interface)
MPLS LDPmpls ldp router-id loopback0mpls ldp router-id loopback0
LDP on interfacempls ldp discovery transport-address interfacempls ldp interface
LDP neighborsmpls ldp neighbor 10.1.1.2mpls ldp neighbor 10.1.1.2
MPLS TEmpls traffic-eng tunnelsmpls traffic-eng level-2
TE on interfacempls traffic-eng tunnels (int)mpls traffic-eng (int)
RSVP-TEip rsvp bandwidthrsvp interface ethernet1
Show MPLS forwardingshow mpls forwarding-tableshow mpls forwarding-table
Show LDP neighborsshow mpls ldp neighborshow mpls ldp neighbor
Show MPLS interfacesshow mpls interfacesshow mpls interfaces
MPLS VPN (L3VPN)vrf definition CUSTOMER-Avrf instance CUSTOMER-A
Route distinguisherrd 65001:100rd 65001:100
Route target exportroute-target export 65001:100route-target export 65001:100
Route target importroute-target import 65001:100route-target import 65001:100

Segment Routing (SR-MPLS)

FunctionCisco IOS-XR/NX-OSArista EOS
Enable segment routingsegment-routing mplsrouter isis 1segment-routing mpls
SR global blocksegment-routing mpls global-block 16000 23999segment-routing mpls global-block 16000 23999
Node SIDsegment-routing mpls sr-prefersegment-routing mpls
Prefix SIDsegment-routing prefix-sid absolute 16001isis segment-routing prefix-sid absolute 16001
Adjacency SIDsegment-routing mpls sr-preferisis segment-routing adjacency-sid
SR-TE policysegment-routing traffic-eng policy POLICY1router path-selectionpolicy POLICY1
Show SR MPLSshow segment-routing mpls mapping-servershow segment-routing
Show SR-TE tunnelsshow segment-routing traffic-eng policyshow path-selection policy
PCE configurationsegment-routing traffic-eng pccpath-selection pce
SR with BGPsegment-routing srv6 locator LOC1Limited support

Datacenter Leaf-Spine Architecture

FunctionCisco NX-OSArista EOS
Leaf Configuration
BGP underlayrouter bgp 65001router bgp 65001
Spine neighborsneighbor 10.0.1.1 remote-as 65100neighbor 10.0.1.1 remote-as 65100
ECMP pathsmaximum-paths 64maximum-paths 128 ecmp 128
BGP timersneighbor 10.0.1.1 timers 3 9neighbor 10.0.1.1 timers 3 9
BFD for BGPneighbor 10.0.1.1 fall-over bfdneighbor 10.0.1.1 bfd
Spine Configuration
Multiple AS supportbgp router-id 10.0.0.1bgp router-id 10.0.0.1
Leaf neighborsneighbor LEAFS peer-groupneighbor LEAFS peer-group
EVPN Overlay
EVPN address familyaddress-family l2vpn evpnaddress-family evpn
Route reflectorneighbor 10.1.1.1 route-reflector-clientneighbor 10.1.1.1 route-reflector-client
EVPN send-communityneighbor 10.1.1.1 send-community extendedneighbor 10.1.1.1 send-community extended

Multi-Tenancy & VRF

FunctionCisco NX-OSArista EOS
Create VRFvrf context TENANT-Avrf instance TENANT-A
VRF route distinguisherrd autord 10.1.1.1:1001
VRF address familyaddress-family ipv4 unicastN/A (automatic)
Interface VRF assignmentvrf member TENANT-Avrf TENANT-A
VRF routing tableshow ip route vrf TENANT-Ashow ip route vrf TENANT-A
BGP VRFrouter bgp 65001vrf TENANT-Arouter bgp 65001vrf TENANT-A
VRF leakimport from default-vrf route-map LEAKimport route-target 65001:999
L3 VNI assignmentl3 vni 50001vxlan vrf TENANT-A vni 50001

Advanced MLAG Configuration (Arista-Specific)

FunctionArista EOS Command
MLAG configuration modemlag configuration
MLAG domain IDdomain-id MLAG-DOMAIN
Local interfacelocal-interface vlan4094
Peer addresspeer-address 192.168.255.2
Peer linkpeer-link port-channel1
Reload delayreload-delay mlag 300
Reload delay non-MLAGreload-delay non-mlag 330
MLAG interfaceinterface port-channel10mlag 10
Show MLAG statusshow mlag
Show MLAG configshow mlag config-sanity
Show MLAG detailshow mlag detail
MLAG troubleshootingshow mlag interfaces

CloudVision & Automation (Arista-Specific)

FunctionArista EOS Command
Enable CloudVisiondaemon cvp
CVP streamingdaemon cvp streaming
gNMI configurationmanagement api gnmi
gNMI transporttransport grpc default
REST APImanagement api http-commands
RESTCONFmanagement api restconf
Event handlerevent-handler INTERFACE-DOWN
Event triggertrigger on-intf oper-status
Event actionaction bash FastCli -p 15 -c "show int et1"
Python script executionschedule SCRIPT interval 60
Configuration sessionconfigure session MY-SESSION
Commit confirmcommit confirm 300
Session diffshow session-config diffs

Advanced QoS & Traffic Engineering

FunctionCisco NX-OSArista EOS
Traffic Classes
QoS enablefeature qosqos map dscp (built-in)
Class mapclass-map type qos match-all VOICEclass-map VOICE
Policy mappolicy-map type qos POLICY1policy-map POLICY1
Traffic shapingshape average 1000000shape rate 1000 mbps
Traffic policingpolice cir 500000000police rate 500 mbps
WRED/ECN
WRED configurationrandom-detect dscp-basedqueue-monitor length notify 100
ECN markingrandom-detect ecnecn trigger drop-probability
Buffer Management
Buffer poolshardware qos buffer-space sharedqos map buffer-pool
Priority flow controlpriority-flow-control onpriority-flow-control priority 3
Latency Optimization
Low latency queuingpriority level 1priority strict
Queue schedulingbandwidth percent 25shape rate 25 percent

Security & AAA

FunctionCisco NX-OSArista EOS
AAA Configuration
AAA new modelaaa new-modelaaa authentication login default local
TACACS+ servertacacs-server host 192.168.1.100tacacs-server host 192.168.1.100
RADIUS serverradius-server host 192.168.1.101radius-server host 192.168.1.101
Local usersusername admin password 5 $1$hashusername admin secret 5 $1$hash
Authorizationaaa authorization exec default group tacacs+ localaaa authorization exec default group tacacs+ local
Accountingaaa accounting exec default start-stop group tacacs+aaa accounting exec default start-stop group tacacs+
Access Control
Extended ACLip access-list extended WEB-FILTERip access-list WEB-FILTER
Time-based ACLtime-range BUSINESS-HOURStime-range BUSINESS-HOURS
Object groupsobject-group network WEB-SERVERSobject-group network WEB-SERVERS
Dynamic ACLip access-list extended DYNAMICip access-list dynamic DYNAMIC
Control Plane Security
CoPP/Control planecontrol-planesystem control-plane
Rate limitingpolice cir 1000000police rate 1000 kbps
Management planefeature managementmanagement ssh

Network Automation & APIs

FunctionCisco NX-OSArista EOS
NETCONF
NETCONF enablefeature netconfmanagement api netconf
NETCONF SSHnetconf sshtransport ssh default
REST API
REST API enablefeature restconfmanagement api http-commands
HTTPSrestconfprotocol https
Model-Driven Telemetry
Telemetry enablefeature telemetrydaemon terminattr
Sensor groupssensor-group 1daemon terminattr streaming
Destination groupsdestination-group 1Built into TerminAttr
Python Integration
Python enablefeature pythonpython-shell (built-in)
Python scriptspython bootflash:script.pyschedule script.py interval 300
Zero Touch Provisioning
ZTP enablefeature ztp (limited)zerotouch enable
ZTP statusshow ztp statusshow zerotouch
ZTP scriptN/A (basic)zerotouch config-url

Monitoring & Observability

FunctionCisco NX-OSArista EOS
sFlow/NetFlow
sFlow enablefeature sflowsflow enable
sFlow collectorsflow collector 192.168.1.200sflow destination 192.168.1.200
sFlow samplingsflow sampling-rate 4000sflow sample 4000
SPAN/RSPAN
SPAN sessionmonitor session 1monitor session 1
SPAN sourcesource interface ethernet1/1 bothsource ethernet1 both
SPAN destinationdestination interface ethernet1/2destination ethernet2
RSPAN VLANmonitor session 1 type rspan-sourcemonitor session 1 type rspan
Streaming Telemetry
Streaming enabletelemetrydaemon terminattr
gNMI subscribeN/A (limited)Native gNMI support
Kafka streamingThird-party requiredNative with TerminAttr

High Availability & Redundancy

FunctionCisco NX-OSArista EOS
Graceful Restart
BGP graceful restartgraceful-restartgraceful-restart
OSPF graceful restartgraceful-restartgraceful-restart
NSF/SSO
Non-stop forwardingnsfBuilt-in with MLAG
Stateful switchoverredundancyMLAG provides redundancy
BFD (Bidirectional Forwarding Detection)
BFD enablefeature bfdbfd (enabled by default)
BFD for BGPneighbor x.x.x.x fall-over bfdneighbor x.x.x.x bfd
BFD for OSPFip ospf bfdip ospf bfd
BFD intervalsbfd interval 300 min_rx 300 multiplier 3bfd interval 300 min-rx 300 multiplier 3

Platform-Specific Advanced Features Summary:

Cisco NX-OS Strengths:

  • FEX (Fabric Extender) support for extended port density
  • OTV (Overlay Transport Virtualization) for DCI
  • LISP support for mobility and multi-homing
  • Comprehensive MPLS feature set
  • Advanced security with TrustSec, MACsec
  • Traditional data center features like FCoE

Arista EOS Unique Advantages:

  • Native Linux integration – full bash shell access
  • Advanced event handling and automation
  • Superior MLAG implementation vs traditional stacking
  • CloudVision integration for centralized management
  • Zero Touch Provisioning – industry-leading automation
  • Native streaming telemetry with TerminAttr
  • Configuration sessions with rollback capabilities
  • Built-in Python scripting environment
  • Modern API support (gNMI, REST, RESTCONF)
  • Container support with Docker integration

Key Architectural Differences:

Cisco Approach:

  • Feature-based licensing model
  • Traditional hierarchical CLI structure
  • Modular feature enablement (feature xyz)
  • Complex VDC (Virtual Device Context) support
  • Hardware-dependent features

Arista Approach:

  • Software-driven with EOS consistency across platforms
  • Linux-based foundation enables powerful scripting
  • Event-driven automation built into the OS
  • Cloud-native design principles
  • Simplified licensing model

When to Choose Each Platform:

Choose Cisco NX-OS for:

  • Legacy MPLS/service provider networks
  • Fibre Channel/FCoE requirements
  • Complex multi-tenancy with VDCs
  • Integration with existing Cisco infrastructure
  • Advanced security requirements (TrustSec)

Choose Arista EOS for:

  • Modern cloud/web-scale data centers
  • Automation-first environments
  • Streaming telemetry and observability
  • DevOps/NetOps integration
  • Container/microservices architectures
  • Simplified operations at scale

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