Abstract: An improved virtual memory computer system comprising a main processing unit for executing application and operating system software without virtual memory code and independently of virtual memory operation. A dedicated second processing unit is provided for maintaining a memory map, which translates addresses in the main processing unit address space into physical memory addressess of a primary memory. A network interface allows pages or segments of data from a secondary memory connected to a communications network to be transferred into the primary memory in a manner transparent to the operation of the main processing unit. A direct memory access (DMA) circuit transfer the header portion of a network-transferred page of data into a separate auxiliary addressable memory for storage of network overhead information, while the useful data portions of the page are stored directly in locations in the primary addressable memory.