Arista Networks 7500R & 7800R Modular Spine Maintenance
side by side.

7500R series · modular spine

7504R · 7508R · 7512R · 7516R (all with R/R2/R3 line card generations)

7800R series · modular spine (current)

7804R3 · 7808R3 · 7812R3 · 7816R3 (400G, higher backplane bandwidth)

Line cards & components

Line cards (R, R2, R3 for 7500R · R3 for 7800R) · supervisor modules · switch fabric modules · power supplies (AC/DC) · fan trays

Optics & connectivity

1/10/25/40/100/400G optics · QSFP+/QSFP28/QSFP-DD · DAC and AOC cables

EOSL status of modular spine generations

Modular spine maintenance is the highest lever in the Arista maintenance portfolio. Arista A-Care for a fully populated 7516R with 16 line cards, redundant supervisor modules and N+N power supply redundancy is a major annual budget item. For 7800R platforms (higher backplane bandwidth, 400G connectivity), the hardware value is even higher — and Arista A-Care correspondingly more expensive. TPM reduces these maintenance terms to 35-50 percent without limiting EOS, MLAG, EVPN or other software functionality.

We service 7500R and 7800R with OEM line cards, supervisor modules, switch fabric modules, power supplies and fan trays from our own warehouse. 7500R has gone through three line card generations over the years (R, R2, R3) — components are not interchangeable across generations, so we stock all generations. 7800R uses its own line card generation R3 with 400G optimization. For very old 7500R first-generation components, we use certified refurbishing partners from the service provider networking ecosystem.

The full OEM-vs-TPM matrix (spare parts, SLA tiers, language, sub-outsourcing, compliance docs, reporting) is the same for every Arista Networks line — see the Arista Networks battle card.

BAIT/MaRisk documentation package, DORA Art. 28 contract template, ISO 27001 and GDPR-compliant media handling apply identically to every Arista Networks line — details on the Arista Networks battle card.

Same four steps for every Arista Networks line: inventory → fixed-price quote in 48 h → contract (BAIT/MaRisk/DORA hooks) → hand-over with spare-parts provisioning. Details on the Arista Networks battle card.

Which modular spine models do you service?

Complete modular spine family: 7500R series (7504R 4-slot, 7508R 8-slot, 7512R 12-slot, 7516R 16-slot chassis) with all line card generations (R, R2, R3) and 7800R series (7804R3, 7808R3, 7812R3, 7816R3 — current generation with 400G and higher backplane bandwidth). Including all line cards, supervisor modules, switch fabric modules, power supplies (AC and DC) and fan trays.

What does TPM cost for 7500R/7800R compared to A-Care?

30 to 60 percent savings. For a 7508R with 4 line cards, redundant supervisor modules and 24×7×4, TechCare is roughly 55% below the Arista price; for a fully populated 7516R also roughly 55% below Arista A-Care. 7808R3 with 400G line cards higher in absolute terms. For EOSL 7500R first generation we see up to 70 percent — Arista often no longer offers renewal.

Can you service older 7500R first generation?

Yes, a focus area of our Arista business. 7500R first generation with R line cards (released 2014-2016, EOSL from 2022-2024) is still productive in DACH data centers and service provider fleets — typically in stable spine roles that don't necessarily need refresh. We stock line cards, supervisor modules, switch fabric modules and power supplies for the first generation. For very old components we use certified refurbishing partners.

Are R, R2, R3 line cards interchangeable?

No. R, R2 and R3 line cards are hardware-wise different generations with different ASICs and backplane specifications. An R3 line card cannot be operated in a 7500R chassis with R-generation supervisor modules — generation must be consistent. 7500R chassis is compatible with R/R2/R3 as generation if all cards match the supervisor module generation. For EOS versions, R-generation requirements must be observed — that's part of the Arista software subscription.

Which SLA levels do you recommend for modular spine?

Modular spine is tier-1 networking — a 7508R/7516R outage affects the entire data center fabric or service provider backbone. 24×7×4 with German-speaking onsite engineer is standard. For dual-homed spine architectures with two 7500R/7800R in active-active setup, a spine failure can be absorbed by the partner — 5×9 NBD is theoretically possible here, but we recommend 24×7×4 because of the complexity of the modular platform and the criticality of the backbone role.

Can we operate 7500R and 7800R in parallel in the same chassis fleet?

Yes, that's a typical migration scenario — 7500R stays productive for established workloads, 7800R is rolled out in parallel for new 400G requirements. From a maintenance perspective, we cover both platforms with the same contract. EOS versions must match per platform, but that's a software subscription topic with Arista, not hardware maintenance.