Arista Network Foundations (Associate)
Learn Arista EOS as you configure, verify, and troubleshoot switching and routing workflows.
Choose your first lab
Meet the EOS CLI · First Contact
- Labs ready
- 66
- In progress
- 0
- Objectives
- 0/337
66 labs ready
Arista Network Foundations Associate
Arista defines Network Foundations as its recommended associate starting point: a practical EOS exam covering resilient Layer 2 designs, routing, security, IPv6, and evidence-led troubleshooting in leaf-spine environments.
- Level
- Associate
- Format
- Practical
- Duration
- 2 hours
- Study groups
- 4
Study scope
SwitchLab study groups
SwitchLab groups the published skills for study. These are not officially numbered or weighted exam domains.
- 01Layer 2 Switching
- 02Layer 3 Routing
- 03Security and IPv6
- 04Monitoring and Troubleshooting
SwitchLab is independent and is not affiliated with, authorized, sponsored, or endorsed by Arista Networks. Arista®, EOS®, and CloudVision® are trademarks or registered trademarks of Arista Networks, Inc. The Network Foundations credential is referenced solely to identify the relevant learning scope.
Curriculum
Open a stage to inspect its lessons and labs.
Stage 1
Meet the EOS CLI
Read EOS prompts, inspect a switch, make and undo changes, preserve configuration, and establish secure management access.
Stage 2
EOS Layer 2 Switching
Build an access-switch deployment from interface evidence through VLANs, neighbor mapping, loop prevention, and resilient Port-Channels. 42 activities are available. Protected-edge incident recovery and the final deployment handoff are coming soon.
This section is part of the reviewed path direction, but its labs are not published yet.
Stage 3
Routed Connectivity and Gateways
Six activities configure and verify SVI gateways, inter-VLAN forwarding, and routed Ethernet uplinks. Static routing, OSPF, and IPv6 units are coming soon.
This section is part of the reviewed path direction, but its labs are not published yet.
This section is part of the reviewed path direction, but its labs are not published yet.
This section is part of the reviewed path direction, but its labs are not published yet.
Stage 4
Resilient Arista Networks
Extend single-switch aggregation into native Arista peer and gateway resilience.
This section is part of the reviewed path direction, but its labs are not published yet.
This section is part of the reviewed path direction, but its labs are not published yet.
This section is part of the reviewed path direction, but its labs are not published yet.
Stage 5
Secure and Observable Operations
Apply access policy, inspect security behavior, and produce an auditable operational handoff.
This section is part of the reviewed path direction, but its labs are not published yet.
This section is part of the reviewed path direction, but its labs are not published yet.
This section is part of the reviewed path direction, but its labs are not published yet.
Stage 6
CloudVision and Automation Foundations
Move from individual CLI changes toward reviewed, validated configuration workflows.
This section is part of the reviewed path direction, but its labs are not published yet.
This section is part of the reviewed path direction, but its labs are not published yet.
This section is part of the reviewed path direction, but its labs are not published yet.
Stage 7
Arista Deployment Capstone
Deliver a small Arista network from specification through implementation, fault diagnosis, verification, and saved handoff.
This section is part of the reviewed path direction, but its labs are not published yet.
Course details and blueprint
What you will be able to do
- Navigate EOS modes, help, completion, errors, operational inspection, and configuration persistence.
- Configure device identity, local AAA, the native management SSH service, and a management SVI.
- Build and troubleshoot VLANs, trunks, MSTP, and Port-Channels using native EOS commands and packet evidence.
Path notes
- Designed for
- Network operators beginning with Arista EOS or adding data-center CLI fluency to existing networking knowledge.
- Recommended knowledge
- No prior EOS experience requiredShared Network Foundations: networking essentials
Review Ethernet, addressing and subnetting, ARP, ICMP, gateways, and TCP/UDP in the existing shared Foundations content. This is optional preparation, not another required EOS stage.
- Availability
- Beta: 18 Meet the EOS CLI labs, 42 EOS Layer 2 Switching activities, and six SVI and routed-port labs are available. Protected-edge incident recovery (37) and the final switching handoff (44) are coming soon. Static routing, OSPF, IPv6, resilience, secure operations, automation, and the deployment capstone remain planned. Shared Network Foundations is available separately as recommended preparation.
Blueprint and sources
Generic EOS 4.36 · Network Foundations Associate scope · Reviewed 2026-09-06