Chapter 1. Why Arista?
If you’re reading this book, you have an interest in Arista products for any number of reasons. My goal is for you to understand why Arista is here, why it should be taken seriously, and why its products are selling like crazy. So let’s get started by explaining how it all began.
A Brief History of Arista
Arista Networks is a successful networking equipment company that’s been around only since 2004. It takes something special to succeed in an industry dominated by well-entrenched companies, many of which have been on top for decades. Certainly, a good product is needed, but that product and everything it takes to produce it comes from people. The people are what make Arista great.
Key Players
Please indulge me while I give you a quick tour of some of the key players at Arista, because having met many of them, I firmly believe that these people infect everyone around them with the same attitudes, excitement, and belief in what they’re doing. There are three people responsible for the creation of Arista Networks: Andy Bechtolsheim, David Cheriton, and Ken Duda.
Andy Bechtolsheim
Andy Bechtolsheim cofounded a company called Sun Microsystems in 1982. You might have heard of it. In 1995, he left Sun to found a company called Granite Systems. This new company made its mark by developing (then) state-of-the-art high-speed network switches. In 1995, Cisco acquired Granite Systems for a cool $220 million. With the sale, Andy became vice president and general ...