Patent ID: 8031612

Claim:
A method, comprising: at a network interface controller receiving packets from a network connection for a set of multiple coupled processors: distributing received packets to each of a first set of the multiple coupled processors; determining a first increase in network traffic; based at least in part on the determining the first increase in network traffic, increasing the power consumption mode of at least one processor not in the first set of multiple processors, the at least one processor not receiving the distributed packets until a determined second increase in network traffic; determining the second increase in network traffic; and based at least in part on the determining the second increase in network traffic and after the determining the first increase, altering operation of the network interface controller to distribute packets to a second set of the multiple coupled processors, the first set of the multiple coupled processors having a different number of processors than the second set of the multiple coupled processors, the second set of multiple coupled processors comprising the at least one processor set to an increased consumption mode, the at least one processor set to the increased consumption mode to, thereafter, receive packets distributed to the second set of multiple coupled processors; wherein altering operation of the network interface controller comprises at least one of the following: (a) adjusting a mask applied to a hash value derived from packet contents; (b) changing values of an indirection table associating a number with a masked hash value derived from packet contents; or (c) altering a base processor number added to output of an indirection table associating a number with a masked hash value derived from packet contents.