SAN JOSE — CEO John Chambers said the company’s decision to sue data center switch rival Arista Networks now was made after surprising statements Arista made this year.

“We’re a company that trusts,” Chambers said. “I’m a leader that trusts. They made statements that caused our team to look, that surprised us. It was a difficult decision but one you had to do.”

Those Arista statements are catalogued in a blog from Cisco General Counsel Mark Chandler two weeks ago announcing the action. Cisco filed two lawsuits against Arista alleging patent and copyright infringement.

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