Abstract: Particular embodiments described herein provide for a system for enabling communication between a packet processing unit and a network interface controller (NIC) using an extension object, the system can include memory, one or more processors, and a processing unit extension object engine. The processing unit extension object engine can be configured to cause a packet to be received at the packet processing unit, where the packet processing unit is on a system on chip (SoC), add an extension object portion to the packet to create a modified packet, and cause the modified packet to be communicated to the NIC located on the same SoC. In an example, the extension object portion includes type data and partition data. The packet can be an Ethernet packet and the extension object portion can be added before a payload portion of the packet.

Abstract: Technologies for hairpinning network traffic include a compute device with a network interface controller (NIC) configured to receive, by a virtual Ethernet port aggregator (VEPA) agent of a media access control (MAC) of the NIC, a network packet from a virtual machine (VM). The VEPA agent is configured to transmit the received network packet to an agent deployed on an accelerator device of the NIC and the agent is configured to forward the received network packet to a virtual Ethernet bridge (VEB) hairpin agent of the accelerator device. The VEB hairpin agent is configured to determine whether a target destination of the network packet corresponds to another VM, return the received network packet to the agent deployed the accelerator device. The agent is further configured to forward the received network packet to the VEPA agent, which is further configured to transmit the received network packet to the other VM.

Abstract: Particular embodiments described herein provide for a system for enabling communication between a packet processing unit and a network interface controller (NIC) using an extension object, the system can include memory, one or more processors, and a processing unit extension object engine. The processing unit extension object engine can be configured to cause a packet to be received at the packet processing unit, where the packet processing unit is on a system on chip (SoC), add an extension object portion to the packet to create a modified packet, and cause the modified packet to be communicated to the NIC located on the same SoC. In an example, the extension object portion includes type data and partition data. The packet can be an Ethernet packet and the extension object portion can be added before a payload portion of the packet.

Abstract: Technologies for hairpinning network traffic include a compute device with a network interface controller (NIC) configured to receive, by a virtual Ethernet port aggregator (VEPA) agent of a media access control (MAC) of the NIC, a network packet from a virtual machine (VM). The VEPA agent is configured to transmit the received network packet to an agent deployed on an accelerator device of the NIC and the agent is configured to forward the received network packet to a virtual Ethernet bridge (VEB) hairpin agent of the accelerator device. The VEB hairpin agent is configured to determine whether a target destination of the network packet corresponds to another VM, return the received network packet to the agent deployed the accelerator device. The agent is further configured to forward the received network packet to the VEPA agent, which is further configured to transmit the received network packet to the other VM.