If you're researching the Arista DCS-7050SX3-48YC8-F, you're likely trying to answer one of three questions: what does this switch actually do, what's a fair price for a used/tested unit, and does the "-F" suffix matter for your rack. This guide covers all three.
What Is the Arista DCS-7050SX3-48YC8-F?
Part number: DCS-7050SX3-48YC8-F Arista 7050X3 Series, 48x25GbE SFP28 + 8x100GbE QSFP28 switch, front-to-rear airflow, 2x AC power supplies
The DCS-7050SX3-48YC8-F is a 1RU leaf switch built on a third-generation Broadcom Trident chipset. It delivers 4.0 Tbps of non-blocking throughput and forwards up to 1 billion packets per second, with typical port-to-port latency around 800 nanoseconds. It's a common choice for spine-leaf data center fabrics, high-performance server/storage deployments, and low-latency environments like trading infrastructure.
Core specs:
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| SFP28 ports | 48x 10G/25GbE |
| QSFP28 ports | 8x 40G/100GbE |
| Switching capacity | 4.0 Tbps |
| Forwarding rate | ~1 billion pps |
| Latency | ~800ns typical |
| Chipset | Broadcom Trident 3 |
| OS | Arista EOS |
| Airflow | Front-to-rear (port-side exhaust) |
| Power | 2x AC PSU (hot-swap) |
It supports VXLAN and EVPN for overlay networking, up to 128-way ECMP, and Arista's standard telemetry/automation stack (OpenConfig, gRPC, streaming telemetry).
The "-F" Suffix: Why Airflow Direction Matters
Arista sells this switch in multiple airflow/power configurations, and mixing them up is one of the most common (and expensive) mistakes buyers make:
| Variant | Airflow | Power |
|---|---|---|
| DCS-7050SX3-48YC8-F | Front-to-rear (port-side exhaust) | AC |
| DCS-7050SX3-48YC8-R | Rear-to-front (port-side intake) | AC |
| DCS-7050SX3-48YC8-DC-F | Front-to-rear | DC |
The -F designation means the fans pull air in from the back of the chassis and exhaust it out the port side. This is the standard configuration for traditional hot-aisle/cold-aisle containment, where cold air enters through the front of the rack. If your rack uses standard containment, you want -F. If you order an -R by mistake, it will fight your rack's airflow and can cause other equipment to run hot — always confirm the suffix before you buy, especially on used gear where the label is your only guarantee.
What's a Fair Price for a Used, Tested Unit?
New list price on this switch runs well into the $20,000+ range, and even street pricing on new units typically lands around $7,000+. The used/refurbished market is where most buyers actually shop, and pricing tends to fall into three tiers:
- Refurbished with multi-year warranty (professionally tested, cleaned, restored to factory defaults): roughly $6,000–$7,500
- Used, tested, shorter/lifetime warranty: roughly $4,500–$5,800
- Bare "as-is" / pulled listings with no warranty: often under $4,000, but with real risk
If a listing seems dramatically cheaper than these ranges, ask directly whether the unit was powered on and tested, or simply pulled from a rack and resold as-is. That distinction is the biggest driver of both price and risk.
What "Tested" Should Actually Mean
Not all "tested" listings mean the same thing. Before buying, it's worth confirming the seller checked:
- ✅ Full power-on and POST (power-on self-test)
- ✅ All 48 SFP28 and 8 QSFP28 ports verified for link
- ✅ Fans and both power supplies confirmed operational
- ✅ EOS boots cleanly and reports no hardware faults
- ✅ Chassis reset to factory defaults (no leftover configs)
A switch that's simply "powered on and it booted" is a much lower bar than one that's had every port and PSU individually verified.
Compatible Optics
The DCS-7050SX3-48YC8-F works with standard SFP28 and QSFP28 optics/DACs:
- SFP28 ports: 10GBASE and 25GBASE optics, and 25G/10G direct-attach copper (DAC) cables
- QSFP28 ports: 100GBASE-SR4/LR4/ER4, 40GBASE-SR4/LR4, and 4x25G/4x10G breakout cables
If you're building out a leaf-spine fabric with this switch, our DAC Cables and Transceivers collections cover both port types.
Quick Buying Checklist
- ✅ Confirm airflow suffix matches your rack (-F for standard hot/cold aisle)
- ✅ Confirm AC vs DC power matches your PDU setup
- ✅ Ask what "tested" specifically covered
- ✅ Confirm warranty length and whether it's return-to-base or on-site
- ✅ Check EOS version and whether it's a supported release for your needs
Shop This Product
The Arista DCS-7050SX3-48YC8-F, used and fully tested, is available from Resilient Tec with our Lifetime Warranty.