How to Design SmartNICs Using FPGAs to Increase Server Compute Capacity

A successful SmartNIC design must be able to implement complex data-plane functions including multiple match-action processing, tunnel termination and origination, traffic metering, and traffic shaping. A SmartNIC should also provide the host processor with per-flow statistics to inform network-tuning algorithms. In addition, the SmartNIC's high-speed data plane should be programmable through either downloadable updates or network programming to enable a flexible architecture that can easily adapt to changing data plane requirements. A successful SmartNIC design must work seamlessly with existing data-center ecosystems. Otherwise, the SmartNIC design is unlikely to succeed.