It is well suited in environments that have a low change rate. Once configured, the Arista Extensible Operating System (EOS) is rock solid but changes can be a little cumbersome. The good news is that the learning curve of the Arista Extensible Operating System (EOS) commands is relative short. Many of the commands are similar to other vendors and so expertise in one command set should easily translate to Arista Extensible Operating System (EOS). Our network admins had no problem making the adjustment.
Windows Server and Active Directory is very robust and stable, it has been a staple in every IT environment I have worked in during my career. Junior to Intermediate admins can learn Windows Server easily, the user interfaces make administration tasks very easy as well as the documentation available through a vast amount of resources. There are other Operating Systems available with no GUI which has a smaller attack surface, faster update installation and reboot time. Windows Server does have the ability to remove the desktop experience, however it is not something I have had experience with and I believe most administrators choose not to remove it.
Manage - Arista Extensible Operating System (EOS) is comprehensive enough that all of the commands are present to manage the device and take advantage of all of the unique features.
Scale - A single command set across multiple pieces of hardware allow us to script changes and deploy hardware easily.
Update - Arista Extensible Operating System (EOS) updates happen seamlessly and often don't require rebooting the underlying hardware thanks to it's module-by-module approach.
There are "assumptions" for lack of a better word that are baked into the Arista Extensible Operating System (EOS). While many would be considered best practice, there are others that require a great deal of workarounds for specific environments.
Some details about hardware state are hard to get inside the command structure. There aren't summarized views for many of the more routine queries.
Logging - It is difficult to output logging to a SIEM collector and also let logs remain on the device.
Microsoft needs to minimize the update frequency by making the product more secure. It can become very exhausting trying to keep updated if you don't have a dedicated support team. It can become challenging where the business is unable to allow downtime for reboots as part of the update process.
Prone to security and audit vulnerabilities.
The operating system needs more CPU and memory resources compared to other options such as Linux.
Understanding the licensing model can be abit confusing.
Comes with a standard firewall, but not the most secured one available. Would suggest using a more secured firewall as part of your antivirus software.
Due to the number of vulnerabilities and the operating system being a target for hackers, anti-virus software is a must.
I've carefully reviewed the servers and services currently running on Windows Server 2012, and given the opportunity would renew them as is going forward. There are two systems I currently have in place, one is a very large Linux implementation for a large ecommerce site, and one is a very large backup solution front ended by FTP servers running Linux. Neither are well suited for Windows, but the overall network infrastructure is and will be Windows Server for the foreseeable future.
Many of the commands mimic or are identical to vendor commands. This makes the software incredibly easy to learn and use. My one complaint is that sometimes the details and summaries don't include a lot of details so it takes multiple commands to get all the information. Detailed output doesn't always include data included in the summary. This is relatively minor and may just be a personal preference
Anyone new to IT could easily use the familiar Desktop Experience (GUI) version because we all know how to use Windows, whether a client or server version. Once an IT user is more comfortable with the operating system, they can move on to the Core version, which is the way to go in almost all situations.
Microsoft's support is hugely wide-ranging from articles online to having to contact them directly for the more serious issues. In recent years when I have contacted them directly, I have found the support o be excellent as I have found myself connected to very knowledgeable people in the field in which I needed the support. The online support available is vast and I tend to find most of the time that there is always someone out there who has had the same issue as me in the past and knows something about how to resolve it! This is the advantage of using industry standard and long-established systems such as Windows Server.
Make sure that you have detailed processes in place for every server instance you plan to install/upgrade, if possible get the base OS loaded and Windows Updates applied ahead of time, and if using a VM take a snapshot prior to installing each role, as well as along the way.
Cisco IOS is probably a universal standard and one that people usually use in basic network classes. Arista Extensible Operating System (EOS) is so similar to Cisco IOS that the commands to do basic configuration are nearly identical. Arista Extensible Operating System (EOS) includes a lot more detail on reporting but you do have to dig for it. Arista Extensible Operating System (EOS) also allows for much more granular configuration.
They are different experiences, and while the other solutions offer enterprise-grade stability and, in some cases, address Windows server shortcomings (such as patching), they all do the trick, but the other solutions require a deeper technical background/configuration of items at the command line, which some people are not fully comfortable with.
No Training Budget Needed - Command set is similar to other vendors and it required no specialized training.
Reduced Downtime - Many Arista Extensible Operating System (EOS) updates can happen without rebooting the underlying hardware meaning that downtime is reduced. This makes EVERYONE happy.
Few Bugs - There are very few bugs in the Arista Extensible Operating System (EOS) production code thanks to great Q/A work by Arista.
