This guide is an essential tool for network engineers deploying Arista EOS devices. There is a comparison of Arista EOS and equivalent Cisco IOS commands for migration and integration. Coverage includes interfaces, VLANs, routing, and other networking functions to streamline deployment and troubleshooting. Follow the link to Arista configuration cheat sheet as well.
| Cisco IOS Commands | Arista EOS Commands |
| show running-config | show running-config |
| show memory | show system memory / bash -c “free -m” |
| show process cpu | show processes top once |
| dir /all | bash -c “ls -al /mnt/flash” |
| show flash | bash -c “df -h” or dir |
| erase startup-config | delete startup-config |
| copy tftp flash: | copy tftp: flash: |
| copy nvram:startup-config tftp | copy startup-config tftp://host/file |
| show users all | show users |
| show terminal | show terminal |
| show logging | show logging |
| show ip interface brief | show ip interface brief |
| show protocols | show ip interface brief |
| show interfaces <interface> | show interfaces <interface> |
| show vlan brief | show vlan |
| show vlan id <id> | show vlan id <id> |
| show interface <interface> switchport | show interfaces <interface> switchport |
| show interfaces trunk | show interfaces <interface> switchport |
| switchport mode dynamic <mode> | DTP not supported |
| show interfaces status | show interfaces status |
| show etherchannel summary | show port-channel summary |
| show interface port-channel <number> | show interfaces port-channel <number> |
| show spanning-tree vlan <id> | show spanning-tree vlan <id> |
| show spanning-tree interface <interface> | show spanning-tree interface <interface> detail |
| show spanning-tree | show spanning-tree |
| show spanning-tree summary | show spanning-tree summary |
| show mac address-table | show mac address-table |
| show cdp neighbors detail | show lldp neighbors detail |
| show port-security interface <interface> | show port-security interface <interface> |
| show ip route | show ip route |
| show ip protocols | show ip protocols |
| show ip ospf interface <interface> | show ip ospf interface <interface> |
| show ip ospf database | show ip ospf database |
| show ip ospf neighbor | show ip ospf neighbor |
| show ip dhcp conflict | not supported |
| show ip dhcp binding | show ip dhcp lease |
| show ip dhcp pool | show ip dhcp pool |
| show ip dhcp snooping | show ip dhcp snooping |
| show ip arp inspection | show ip arp inspection |
| show ip nat translations | show ip nat translations |
| show ntp status | show ntp status |
| show standby (HSRP) | show vrrp (VRRP) |
| show ip access-lists | show access-lists |
| configure session <name> | not supported (basic archive only) |
| telnet <ip address> <port> | telnet <ip address> <port> |
| show ip ssh | show management ssh |
| ssh –l <username> <ip address> | ssh <username>@<ip address> |
| ping <ip address> | ping <ip address> |
| traceroute <ip address> | traceroute <ip address> |
Systems Architecture
| Cisco IOS | Arista EOS |
| Proprietary monolithic OS | Modular OS built on Fedora Linux |
| Single image architecture | Multi-process feature independent processes |
| Feature failures can crash device | Process restarts do not crash the switch |
| Cisco IOS CLI (no bash shell) | Similar to Cisco CLI plus bash shell |
| Bash shell scripting not supported | Bash shell scripting |
| IOS-XE / IOS-XR virtualization | native support for virtualization + containers |
| In-Service Software Upgrades (ISSU) | Smart System Upgrades (SSU) less disruptive |
| Syslog only | Syslog + local Linux logging tools |
| Complex feature-based licensing | Simpler licensing and less restrictions |
| More complex ZTP (zero-touch) | Easier ZTP with native scripting |
| Basic configuration archive rollback | Full configuration, test, and rollback |
Check out this Arista EOS Configuration Cheat Sheet (Step-by-Step Commands) for real-world configs and lab examples.