Patent ID: 7689987

Claim:
A method, comprising: executing a virtual machine, the virtual machine including a bimodal device, the bimodal device including a high-performance mode of operation and an emulation mode of operation, the emulation mode of operation configured to emulate a network card, the virtual machine executing a guest operating system, the guest operating system including a guest operating system network protocol stack for the bimodal device, the guest operating system network protocol stack including at least an application program interface and a device driver for the bimodal device; receiving, by the guest operating system network protocol stack, a guest application program interface construct indicative of a request to send information via the bimodal device; intercepting, while in the high-performance mode, the guest application program interface construct at the application program interface of the guest operating system network protocol stack; translating the intercepted guest application program interface construct into a corresponding host application program interface construct for a host operating system network protocol stack, the network protocol stack configured to generate commands for a physical network card; generating, by the host operating system network protocol stack, a request to send the information via the physical network card from the host application program interface construct; and sending, by the physical network card, the information.