Patent ID: 7962656

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving an original message sent by a first network interface controller (NIC) of a first host computer to a second NIC of a second host computer, the second NIC having a local processor separate from all other processors of the second host computer and having a local memory separate from all other memory of the second host computer, where the original message has a command portion and a payload portion, the command portion including a command that the first NIC is instructing the second NIC to perform, the payload portion including data in relation to which the command is to be performed by the second NIC; in response to receiving the original message by the second NIC from the first NIC, where the command of the command portion of the original message is a first command for the second NIC to copy the payload portion to the local memory of the second NIC, executing the command by the local processor of the second NIC, without intervention by any of the other processors of the second host computer from which the local processor of the second NIC is separate, such that execution of the command results in the payload portion being copied to the local memory of the second NIC that is separate from all the other memory of the second host computer, wherein latency in processing the original message is reduced at least because the local processor of the second NIC processes the command instead of one or more of the other processors of the second host computer from which the local processor of the second NIC is separate processing the command.