March 26 (Reuters) - Arista Networks ( ANET ) founder

and former chairman Andreas Bechtolsheim agreed to pay a civil

penalty of nearly $1 million to settle insider trading charges,

the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Tuesday.

Bechtolsheim, without admitting or denying the allegations,

also agreed to be barred from serving as an officer or director

of a public company for five years, the SEC said in a statement.