Explain the value of smart network cards in the internet from five aspects

What is SmartNIC and what can it do? SmartNIC based on DPU not only implements the connection function of the network card, but also implements the network traffic processing typically performed by the CPU. SmartNIC can perform encryption/decryption, firewall, TCP/IP, and HTTP processing. This article explains from five aspects why the usage of SmartNIC has been increasing in recent years.
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No.1 Network Faces Unprecedented Pressure



The rise of trends such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, network security, ultra large scale architecture, and cloud services has put unprecedented demands on networks, especially in terms of performance and uptime. These factors, combined with the surge in network usage caused by remote work, are driving an increase in network bandwidth, user count, and active network traffic, all of which increase computational complexity. The growth of network traffic and the increasing complexity of attack vectors have brought enormous pressure to the CPU of computing nodes in server infrastructure< Br/>


What drives the demand for network performance in No.2



At present, many services need low latency to support real-time applications and services deployed at the edge of the network, such as video conferencing (Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc.), 5G and autonomous vehicle< Br/>


Other factors include the need to support traditional network services and cope with the growth of services such as 5G and IoT, which places high performance requirements on the network< Br/>


No.3 Reduce CPU burden



SmartNIC can be used to offload packet processing workloads from the CPU to FPGA based SmartNIC. SmartNIC improves server performance in cloud and private data centers by offloading network processing workloads and tasks from server CPUs. Driven by the continuous growth of network traffic and computational complexity in data centers, the adoption of SmartNIC provides a processing architecture that provides computing for certain workloads through SmartNIC and offloads these workloads from universal computing cores, thereby improving the efficiency of the overall solution< Br/>


No.4SmartNIC better supports data plane workloads



In any virtualized network infrastructure, there are extensive data plane network requirements within servers. The computational cost of network workloads is particularly high. Virtual switching alone can occupy more than 90% of the available CPU resources of the server. Uninstalling network tasks returns these important resources to the application layer< Br/>


Encryption algorithm is one of the fastest changing aspects in data plane processing, as well as one of the most complex and computationally intensive aspects. SmartNIC can offload this expensive task while being programmable, and new encryption algorithms can be deployed in hardware by simply updating the SmartNIC software< Br/>


The Truth of No.5SmartNIC



Enterprises need to understand alternative solutions and standards for SmartNIC deployment. The simplest way is to add computing power to the next generation x86 processors, but the undeniable fact is that Moore's Law no longer applies. So just&quo; Throw away calculations” The idea is not feasible< Br/>


Compared to standard network cards, SmartNIC is competitive in terms of price and power consumption, which eliminates the argument that SmartNIC is too expensive and consumes power. SmartNIC is not complicated either. The deployment of smartNIC is similar to using standard NICs and software< Br/>


The use of SmartNIC greatly reduces the TCO of large-scale deployment of network services. By using SmartNIC to improve the computing power of each computing node, SmartNIC requires fewer servers than standard network cards to provide the same computing, thereby reducing upfront costs, space, power, and cooling requirements< Br/>


SmartNIC is futuristic and fully programmable, so network deployment investments will withstand the test of time. Although ASIC provides good performance, its design time is long and completely static, which is not conducive to future development. With the rapid changes in networks, protocols, encapsulation, and encryption algorithms, the ability to change hardware at the speed of software is crucial for success< Br/>


Seten is a trusted server hardware and solution provider in the global digital process Apply&quo; Spot+Agency&# quo; Model, rapid response, specialized management, and professional and efficient services to assist partners in achieving digital upgrades and winning the new data era. Saitern has three main product lines: Samsung SSD, Memory (RDIMM), SOLIDIGM SSD, and Broadcom network products. It is also an agent for NVIDIA's Melosi network products and the complete XFusion server.