NIC-Based Memory Writes With Data Coalescing and Attestation

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Solution Overview

Problem

In highly virtualized environments, significant server resources are expended processing infrastructure tasks such as hypervisors, container engines, network and storage functions, and security, leading to inefficiencies and increased overhead.

Innovation Solution

Utilizing advanced network interface devices with hardened accelerators and programmable cores to offload infrastructure processing tasks, thereby reducing the burden on servers and improving resource utilization.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If server devices process infrastructure tasks locally (hypervisors, container engines, network and storage functions, security), then task processing can be performed, but server resources are significantly expended and overhead increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinfrastructure task processing capabilityVSAvoidserver resource consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts infrastructure processing tasks from the server device and relocates them to a separate network interface device. The network interface device receives infrastructure tasks from the server device via a communication interface and processes them independently, thereby reducing the server's resource consumption while maintaining infrastructure processing capability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Productivity

If server devices process infrastructure tasks locally, then task processing can be performed, but overhead associated with running infrastructure tasks increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinfrastructure task processing capabilityVSAvoidserver overhead

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the system into two independent functional units: a server device for user application processing and a network interface device for infrastructure task processing. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function, reducing overall system overhead while maintaining processing capability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Use of energy by moving object

If advanced network interface devices are used to offload infrastructure tasks, then server resource consumption decreases, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveserver resource consumptionVSAvoidnetwork interface device complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Use of energy by moving objectVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The network interface device is designed with multi-functionality, incorporating both network communication capabilities and infrastructure task processing capabilities. This universal design allows a single device to perform multiple functions (network interfacing, hypervisor execution, container management, security operations), thereby reducing server resource consumption without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP4730097A1Network interface device-based memory access to reduce write amplification factor and provide attestation

Publication Date: 2026.04.22 INTEL CORP

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AI summary

An apparatus is disclosed that includes a network interface device comprising processors to implement network interface device functionality and communication protocol engine circuitry, wherein the network interface device is to: receive a request to write data to a memory node communicably coupled to the network interface device; identify network information corresponding to the request, wherein the network information includes at least one of quality of service (QoS), physical function (PF), virtual function (VF), name space identifier (NSID), flow ID, service level objectives (SLOs), or process address space ID (PASID); identify characteristics of the memory node, wherein the characteristics include at least page size of the memory node; and cause the data to be coalesced with other data on the memory node based on the network information and the characteristics.