Welcome to the March 2026 Edition of the Arista Federal Newsletter!¶
As we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th and the wearing of the green, it’s a good reminder that while a little luck is always welcome, success in today’s mission-critical environments depends on preparation, performance, and the right technology foundation. As Federal agencies and System Integrators continue advancing initiatives around automation, AI, and secure infrastructure, the network plays an increasingly strategic role.
At Arista, we focus on delivering the performance, reliability, and operational simplicity needed to support these evolving mission requirements. Our consistent architecture helps organizations scale with confidence, reduce complexity, lower operational costs, and keep their networks running smoothly—no four-leaf clover required.
☘️ May your networks run smoothly, your missions succeed, and a little luck of the Irish follow you along the way. Sláinte ☘️
In this month’s newsletter, you’ll find:
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Maximize Your Arista Investment with the Arista Training Academy
Arista Federal Client Director John Corlett explains how the Arista Training Academy equips network engineers with the hands-on skills needed to fully leverage Arista technologies. Discover how the new All-Access Training Pass provides flexible training and certification to help teams build real-world expertise across modern network environments.
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Modernizing Campus Networks with Arista SWAG
Arista Systems Engineer Michael Harrison explains how Arista Switch Aggregation Group (SWAG) redefines traditional campus stacking by using standard Ethernet to simplify management, improve resiliency, and scale campus networks far beyond legacy limitations. Learn how SWAG enables organizations to modernize their campus architecture while reducing complexity and operational overhead.
This newsletter is for you and we welcome your feedback, ideas, and requests at fed@aristafederal.com.
Thank you for reading the Arista Federal Newsletter — your go-to source for the latest innovations, industry insights, and mission-focused networking solutions for Federal Agencies and System Integrators.
Arista Blog¶
Maximize Your Arista Investment with the Arista Training Academy¶
By: John Corlett, Arista Federal Client Director
You’ve invested in Arista networking so now empower your team to get the most from it. Maximizing the value of your network means ensuring your engineers have the skills needed to fully leverage their capabilities. Whether you’re onboarding a new network engineer or helping experienced engineers deepen their expertise with Arista technologies, the Arista Training Academy provides the resources to help your team succeed through structured learning tracks, hands-on labs, and practical certification exams.
The Arista Training Academy offers a fast, flexible way for network engineers to build real-world expertise across campus, data center, automation, AI, and cloud networking.
To make training even more accessible, Arista has introduced the All-Access Training Pass. For $4,995, organizations receive one year of unlimited access to the full Arista training catalog, covering a wide range of real-world networking technologies and operational workflows.
The All-Access Pass also includes 40 hours of hands-on lab time per track, allowing engineers to practice deployments and operational workflows in realistic environments. In addition, the pass includes one certification exam attempt, which can be used toward any Arista Associate or Specialist certification. These exams focus on validating real-world operational knowledge rather than memorization. They are open book and do not require travel to a testing center, making certification both flexible and accessible.
To learn more about the Arista Training Academy and the All-Access Training Pass, visit: https://www.training.arista.com/
Modernizing Campus Networks with Arista SWAG¶
By: Michael Harrison, Arista Systems Engineer
Overview
Traditional switch stacking has long been a bottleneck for campus networks, characterized by proprietary hardware, limited scale, and rigid physical constraints. Arista Switch Aggregation Group (SWAG) redefines this model by leveraging standard Ethernet to group currently supporting 8 switches under a single management IP, theoretically up to 48 switches in future releases.
Strategic Value
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Operational Simplicity: Manage dozens of switches as a single virtual chassis through a single CLI and IP address, significantly reducing administrative overhead.
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Cost Reduction: Conserve scarce IP addresses and potentially reduce licensing costs for third-party tools that charge per managed endpoint.
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Architectural Freedom: Break free from "closet-bound" stacking. SWAG allows switches to be distributed across floors or buildings using standard fiber optics.
Transitioning from Legacy Stacking to Arista SWAG
1. The Limitations of Legacy Stacking
For decades, campus networks relied on "stacking" to simplify management. However, this came at a high technical cost:
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Proprietary Lock-in: Special stacking cables and modules increased CAPEX and limited physical distance to a few meters.
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Brittle Control Planes: Many legacy stacks share a single control plane (fate-sharing), meaning a bug on one switch often downs the entire stack.
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Scalability Caps: Most vendors cap stacks at 8–12 switches, forcing net-admins to manage dozens of separate stacks in large buildings.
2. Technical Architecture of Arista SWAG
Arista SWAG (Switch Aggregation Group) implements a "virtual chassis" model using standard Ethernet as the backplane.
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Standard Interconnects: SWAG uses standard front-panel ports (1G to 100G) and optics, allowing for campus-wide distribution.
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Role-Based Hierarchy: A SWAG cluster consists of two Supervisors (Active/Standby) and multiple Worker nodes. This mirrors the architecture of a high-end modular chassis like the Arista 7500 series.
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Topology Versatility: While legacy stacks are limited to rings or chains, SWAG supports modern Leaf-Spine (LSS) designs, providing higher bandwidth and better redundancy.
3. Operational Advantages
| Capability | Impact of Arista SWAG |
|---|---|
| Scale | Scales to 48 members, 4x more than leading legacy alternatives. |
| Management | Centralized via CloudVision, offering real-time telemetry and AI-driven insights. |
| Flexibility | Decouples management from physical proximity; switches can be anywhere a fiber reaches. |
4. Conclusion: The Path Forward
Arista SWAG allows organizations to migrate gracefully from legacy environments. By adopting an Ethernet-based, software-defined stacking model, enterprises can eliminate proprietary hardware costs, simplify their IP management, and build a campus network that matches the resiliency of a modern data center.
2026 Webinar Series — Coming Soon¶
Our 2026 webinar schedule will be announced shortly, and we look forward to your participation in another year of insightful and informative sessions. In the meantime, we invite you to explore the recordings from our 2025 webinar series featuring valuable discussions, technical deep dives, and best practices across key networking topics.
2025 Webinar replays are available here:
Stay tuned for more details, and we hope you’ll join us for the upcoming 2026 sessions.
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Arista Network Webinars Series with Carahsoft
For Channel Partners Only
Date Name Description TBD TBD TBD
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Webinars
We make is easy for you to view products that are of interest, all virtually! Technical memebers of the team showcase outstading explanation of the products. Click below to see our list of Webinars.
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Events
Join us in person to get a closer look in our list of produts and solution, as well as get the chance to meet members of the team. Click below to see our list of ipcoming Events.
Software Updates¶
Stay informed on the latest software updates across all Arista products and services.
| Software | Version | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| EOS | 4.23.10M 4.34.5M 4.33.7M 4.35.2F |
March 2nd, 2026 February 25th, 2026 February 24th, 2026 February 17th, 2026 |
| CVP | Portal 2025.3.2 Appliance 7.1.0 Sensor 1.3.0 |
February 12th, 2026 September 2nd, 2025 December 5th, 2025 |
| DMF | 8.9.0 | February 13th, 2026 |
| CV-CUE | 21.0.0 | January 16th, 2026 |
| Arista NDR | 5.3.5 | July 16th, 2025 |
| TerminAttr | 1.42.1 | February 4th, 2026 |
| VeloCloud SD-WAN Orchestrator/Gateway/Edge |
6.4.1 | December 19th, 2025 |
View All Latest Software Updates
Security Advisories and Field Notices¶
Stay informed on the latest platform security and field notice updates.
Security Advisories¶
- Hardware IPSec — Security Advisory 0134
(February 17th, 2026) - ETM NGFW — Security Advisory 0133
(February 3rd, 2026)
Field Notices¶
- CV-CUE: Depreciation of IAPC via Wireless Manager — Field Notice 0124
(February 3rd, 2026) - CV-CUE: Depreciation of Probed SSID — Field Notice 0123
(February 3rd, 2026)
View All Latest Advisories & Notices
Product Updates¶
Stay up to date on all new Arista Product Releases, as well as End of Sale/End of Support Notices.
New Product Releases¶
End of Sale / End of Software Support¶
- February 18th, 2026 — DMF Node DCA-DM-AN450
- February 18th, 2026 — DMF Node DCA-DM-C450
- February 2nd, 2026 — CloudVision Portal 2024.2
View All Latest End of Sale & Support Notices
Feel Free to Reach Out To Us For Your Network Needs¶
We thank you for taking the time to read out newsletter today. Feel free to reach out to your SE or ASE for more information or questions regardsing your network operations. Until next month, have a good one!