Logical memory addressing by smart NIC across multiple devices

1. A method for sending data messages, the method comprising:

at a network interface controller (NIC) of a computer:

from a network stack executing on the computer, receiving (i) a header for a data message to send and (ii) a logical memory address of a payload for the data message;

identifying a particular one of a plurality of devices connected to the NIC by decoding a first set of N bits of the logical memory address, wherein the first set of N bits is associated with a device-specific translation table stored in the NIC;

translating the logical memory address into a memory address for accessing the particular one of a plurality of devices connected to the computer;

reading payload data from the memory address of the particular device; and

sending the data message with the header received from the network stack and the payload data read from the particular device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of devices comprises at least a virtual memory of the computer and a physical memory of the NIC.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of devices further comprises at least one non-volatile memory express (NVMe) device of the computer.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of devices further comprises a memory associated with a graphics processing unit (GPU) of the computer.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data message is a first data message and the header is a first header, the method further comprising, prior to receiving the header and logical memory address from the network stack:

receiving a second data message from a network to which the NIC connects, the second data message comprising a second header and the same payload as the first data message;

storing the payload in a physical memory location of the NIC, the physical memory location having the logical memory address; and

providing the second header and the logical memory address at which the payload is stored to the network stack of the computer.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the computer performs a set of operations on the second header to derive the first header, the set of operations not requiring the payload of the second data message.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the set of operations comprises at least one of a set of firewall operations, a set of load balancing operations, and a set of network address translation operations.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data message is a first data message, wherein the method further comprises, prior to receiving the header and logical memory address from the network stack:

receiving a second data message requesting a set of data stored at the computer, the requested set of data comprising the payload data; and

providing the second data message to the network stack of the computer.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the logical memory address is a first logical memory address and the memory address for accessing the particular device is a first memory address, the method further comprising:

from the network stack, receiving (i) a header for a third data message to send and (ii) a second logical memory address of a payload for the third data message;

translating the second logical memory address into a second memory address for accessing the particular device;

reading payload data for the third data message from the second memory address of the particular device; and

sending the second data message with the header received from the network stack and the payload data read from the particular device.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the headers for the first and third data messages are the same.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first and second memory addresses refer to portions of a same file requested by the second data message.

12. A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing a program for execution by at least one processing unit of a network interface controller (NIC) of a computer, the program for sending data messages, the program comprising sets of instructions for:

from a network stack executing on the computer, receiving (i) a header for a data message to send and (ii) a logical memory address of a payload for the data message;

identifying a particular one of a plurality of devices connected to the NIC by decoding a first set of N bits of the logical memory address, wherein the first set of N bits is associated with a device-specific translation table stored in the NIC;

translating the logical memory address into a memory address for accessing the particular one of a plurality of devices connected to the computer;

reading payload data from the memory address of the particular device; and

sending the data message with the header received from the network stack and the payload data read from the particular device.

13. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of devices comprises at least a virtual memory of the computer and a physical memory of the NIC.

14. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of devices further comprises at least one non-volatile memory express (NVMe) device of the computer.

15. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the data message is a first data message and the header is a first header, the program further comprising sets of instructions for, prior to receiving the header and logical memory address from the network stack:

receiving a second data message from a network to which the NIC connects, the second data message comprising a second header and the same payload as the first data message;

storing the payload in a physical memory location of the NIC, the physical memory location having the logical memory address; and

providing the second header and the logical memory address at which the payload is stored to the network stack of the computer.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the computer performs a set of operations on the second header to derive the first header, the set of operations not requiring the payload of the second data message.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the data message is a first data message, wherein the program further comprises sets of instructions for, prior to receiving the header and logical memory address from the network stack:

receiving a second data message requesting a set of data stored at the computer, the requested set of data comprising the payload data; and

providing the second data message to the network stack of the computer.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the logical memory address is a first logical memory address and the memory address for accessing the particular device is a first memory address, the program further comprising sets of instructions for:

from the network stack, receiving (i) a header for a third data message to send and (ii) a second logical memory address of a payload for the third data message;

translating the second logical memory address into a second memory address for accessing the particular device;

reading payload data for the third data message from the second memory address of the particular device; and

sending the second data message with the header received from the network stack and the payload data read from the particular device.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein the headers for the first and third data messages are the same.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein the first and second memory addresses refer to portions of a same file requested by the second data message.