Arista Lines Up Networking For 10 Gigawatts Of AI Systems
The Next Platform, Thursday, November 5th, 2026
Arista is positioning its Ethernet switches to network AI systems at a 10 gigawatt scale as open networking competes with Nvidia.
The AI networking ramp at Ethernet switch makers such as Arista and Cisco has taken years and is just getting started.
AI demands high radix switches and flatter, low-latency networks because idle GPUs and XPUs are extremely costly, unlike the cloud networking era of 2010 to 2020.
Balancing workloads across huge accelerator fleets also requires AI in management tools, such as Arista's Autonomous Virtual Assistant, and in security.
The piece argues that apart from Nvidia, hyperscalers, model builders, sovereigns and others want open networks, and that Nvidia's NVLink and NVSwitch will face competition from open Ethernet-based alternatives as Arista lines up networking for 10 gigawatts of AI systems.