Share this
What is a SmartNIC?
by Christopher Trick on Apr 13, 2022 4:37:44 PM
As the amount of information available on a daily basis increases rapidly, data center operators are looking for ways to extract as many tasks from their servers as possible.
In this blog, you'll learn more about how SmartNICs help enhance storage, security, and networking capabilities to deliver actionable insights and ensure optimal performance.
What is a SmartNIC?
A SmartNIC is a type of NIC card and programmable accelerator that makes data center networking, security, and storage efficient and flexible.
SmartNICs offload a growing array of tasks from server CPUs needed to manage modern distributed applications.
They consist of a variety of connected, often configurable units. These silicon blocks act like a committee that decides how to process and route packets of data as they flow through the data center.
How does a SmartNIC work?
Most of these blocks are highly specialized hardware units called accelerators that run communications jobs more efficiently than CPUs.
Some are flexible units that users can program to handle their changing needs and keep up with network protocols as they evolve.
This combination of accelerators and programmable cores help SmartNICs deliver both performance and flexibility with outstanding price performance. They can be easily integrated into data center servers via PCIe slot.
Why are SmartNICs important?
Today's computers are both smaller and larger than those that used regular NICs. With the increased use of smartphones and cloud service providers, data centers have become the new unit of computing.
Fueled by virtualization and microservices, however, the growing number of tasks data center CPUs are expected to handle have become unmanageable.
Each year, around 10 million servers that are shipped are consumed with running the data center's software-defined networking stack. Workloads are increasing much faster than data center CPUs can handle, highlighting the need for offloading and accelerating tasks.
What are some differences between a regular NIC card and a SmartNIC?
SmartNICs are different from regular NIC cards in two primary ways: capabilities and components.
At a high-level, SmartNICs deliver accelerated, hardware-based networking, storage, and security capabilities for cloud, AI, and traditional enterprise workloads.
SmartNICs empower high-performance computing solutions to securely and rapidly analyze massive amounts of data in-real time while taking on some of the tasks of a CPU, maximizing efficiency and reducing total cost of ownership.
Unlike regular NICs, SmartNICs have the ability to handle new tasks as they emerge. Network protocols are constantly changing, and new concepts for moving data, called network overlays, are always emerging.
Users can configure SmartNICs to use the latest software libraries that implement these changes.
To highlight these differences, let's first take a look at the capabilities.
Capabilities
Regular NICs are merely a middleman between computers and networks, facilitating basic communication, whereas SmartNICs can be programmed to perform other functions like storage and security.
The primary difference is that SmartNICs can offload computationally intensive tasks from a server's CPU on the SmartNIC's multi-core processor, so operators can extract as much performance from existing hardware as possible. This offers data center operators more performance without having to change all of the existing hardware.
Let's look at some other examples:
- Networking: A SmartNIC is capable of running functions like routing, fireballing, telemetry, load balancing, and overlay networks. All of this is processed by the SmartNICs CPU, reducing the load on the host server's CPU. This leaves room for other applications to run without overload.
- Storage: SmartNICs also function as storage controllers, managing the hard-disk drives or solid-state drives. They are usually connected to the same bus as the storage that is in servers and, as a result, are able to talk directly to storage devices. This eliminates the need for data to flow to the server's CPU, as data only needs to flow from the storage device to the SmartNIC.
- Cybersecurity:
- SmartNICs can protect data center servers from DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks. These types of attacks occur when a person or organization floods the target network or server with an overwhelming amount of traffic, denying service to normal traffic to the target site or network.
- By offloading the detection and prevention of DDoS attacks from the host server to the SmartNIC, the main system CPU is protected from being overwhelmed by DDoS attacks and improves DDoS mitigation capability. SmartNICs also filter all inbound and outbound packets, providing a strong system for filtering network traffic.
- SmartNICs can accelerate data center servers by offloading data encryption from the servers' CPU to the DPU (data processing unit). DPUs have a built-in hardware-based encryption and key infrastructure engines, including a true random number generator, built-in PKI (public key infrastructure) engine, and a secure key storage that keeps session keys encrypted in memory.
- SmartNICs provide an extra layer of security by creating an air gap between the host system's operating system and the SmartNICs operating system, preventing attacks on the SmartNICs OS.
- SmartNICs can protect data center servers from DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks. These types of attacks occur when a person or organization floods the target network or server with an overwhelming amount of traffic, denying service to normal traffic to the target site or network.
Now, let's take a look at components.
Components
A regular NIC Card is made from ethernet ports, a small amount of memory to store data that is being communicated, and a low-powered processor for converting the data message, so that it can be communicated.
SmartNICs, however, are made using powerful multi-core processors, a high-permeance NIC Card equipped with 10/25/50/100/200/400 GbE ports, and a set of flexible, programmable acceleration engines to improve the performance of specific applications. Some SmartNICs are also equipped with a GPU to accelerate AI workloads.
Regular NICS, however, can still be used on servers that are equipped with SmartNICs.
Let's take a look at a SmartNIC that we are currently working with, the NVIDIA ConnectX-7.
NVIDIA ConnectX-7 SmartNIC
The NVIDIA ConnectX-7 SmartNIC is equipped five main capabilities:
- It accelerates software-defined networking with NVIDIA ASAP technology, delivering line-rate performance without penalizing the CPU.
- It provides security from edge to core with hardware engines that offload and accelerate security using in-line encryption/decryption of TLS (transport layer security) protocol, IPsec, and MACsec.
- It enhances high-storage performance and data access with RoCE (remote direct memory access over converged ethernet) and GPUDirect Storage and accelerates NVMe-oF (non-volatile memory express over fabrics) over both RoCE and TCP (Transmission Control Protocol).
- It enables precision timing and synchronization for data-center applications and timing-sensitive infrastructures.
- It supports virtualized data centers with Single-Root I/O Virtualization and virtual switching and routing.
In addition, the host interface is PCIe Gen5.0, and its maximum total bandwidth is 400GbE.
Conclusion
As data centers become saturated with information, the need to offload tasks from a host server's CPU is more important now than ever.
Though NIC cards play a pivotal role in improving connectivity and communication between a computer and a network, SmartNICs add to their capabilities by performing additional functions such as storage and security.
These advanced network controllers help accelerate intense workloads to avoid overload and increase data and signal processing, enhancing the networking and processing power of high-performance computers.
Source:Share this
- High-performance computers (42)
- Military computers (38)
- Rugged computers (32)
- Cybersecurity (25)
- Industrial computers (25)
- Military servers (24)
- MIL-SPEC (20)
- Rugged servers (19)
- Press Release (17)
- Industrial servers (16)
- MIL-STD-810 (16)
- 5G Technology (14)
- Intel (13)
- Rack mount servers (12)
- processing (12)
- Computer hardware (11)
- Edge computing (11)
- Rugged workstations (11)
- Made in USA (10)
- Partnerships (9)
- Rugged computing (9)
- Sales, Marketing, and Business Development (9)
- Trenton Systems (9)
- networking (9)
- Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) (7)
- Encryption (6)
- Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) (6)
- GPUs (6)
- IPU (6)
- Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) (6)
- Server motherboards (6)
- artificial intelligence (6)
- Computer stress tests (5)
- Cross domain solutions (5)
- Mission-critical servers (5)
- Rugged mini PCs (5)
- AI (4)
- BIOS (4)
- CPU (4)
- Defense (4)
- Military primes (4)
- Mission-critical systems (4)
- Platform Firmware Resilience (PFR) (4)
- Rugged blade servers (4)
- containerization (4)
- data protection (4)
- virtualization (4)
- Counterfeit electronic parts (3)
- DO-160 (3)
- Edge servers (3)
- Firmware (3)
- HPC (3)
- Just a Bunch of Disks (JBOD) (3)
- Leadership (3)
- Navy (3)
- O-RAN (3)
- RAID (3)
- RAM (3)
- Revision control (3)
- Ruggedization (3)
- SATCOM (3)
- Storage servers (3)
- Supply chain (3)
- Tactical Advanced Computer (TAC) (3)
- Wide-temp computers (3)
- computers made in the USA (3)
- data transfer (3)
- deep learning (3)
- embedded computers (3)
- embedded systems (3)
- firmware security (3)
- machine learning (3)
- Automatic test equipment (ATE) (2)
- C6ISR (2)
- COTS (2)
- COVID-19 (2)
- Compliance (2)
- Compute Express Link (CXL) (2)
- Computer networking (2)
- Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) (2)
- DDR (2)
- DDR4 (2)
- DPU (2)
- Dual CPU motherboards (2)
- EW (2)
- I/O (2)
- Military standards (2)
- NVIDIA (2)
- NVMe SSDs (2)
- PCIe (2)
- PCIe 4.0 (2)
- PCIe 5.0 (2)
- RAN (2)
- SIGINT (2)
- SWaP-C (2)
- Software Guard Extensions (SGX) (2)
- Submarines (2)
- Supply chain security (2)
- TAA compliance (2)
- airborne (2)
- as9100d (2)
- chassis (2)
- data diode (2)
- end-to-end solution (2)
- hardware security (2)
- hardware virtualization (2)
- integrated combat system (2)
- manufacturing reps (2)
- memory (2)
- mission computers (2)
- private 5G (2)
- protection (2)
- secure by design (2)
- small form factor (2)
- software security (2)
- vRAN (2)
- zero trust (2)
- zero trust architecture (2)
- 3U BAM Server (1)
- 4G (1)
- 4U (1)
- 5G Frequencies (1)
- 5G Frequency Bands (1)
- AI/ML/DL (1)
- Access CDS (1)
- Aegis Combat System (1)
- Armed Forces (1)
- Asymmetric encryption (1)
- C-RAN (1)
- COMINT (1)
- CPUs (1)
- Cloud-based CDS (1)
- Coast Guard (1)
- Compliance testing (1)
- Computer life cycle (1)
- Containers (1)
- D-RAN (1)
- DART (1)
- DDR5 (1)
- DMEA (1)
- Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) (1)
- Defense Advanced Research Projects (DARP) (1)
- ELINT (1)
- EMI (1)
- EO/IR (1)
- Electromagnetic Interference (1)
- Electronic Warfare (EW) (1)
- FIPS 140-2 (1)
- FIPS 140-3 (1)
- Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) (1)
- Ground Control Stations (GCS) (1)
- Hardware-based CDS (1)
- Hybrid CDS (1)
- IES.5G (1)
- ION Mini PC (1)
- IP Ratings (1)
- IPMI (1)
- Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) (1)
- Industry news (1)
- Integrated Base Defense (IBD) (1)
- LAN ports (1)
- LTE (1)
- Life cycle management (1)
- Lockheed Martin (1)
- MIL-S-901 (1)
- MIL-STD-167-1 (1)
- MIL-STD-461 (1)
- MIL-STD-464 (1)
- MOSA (1)
- Multi-Access Edge Computing (1)
- NASA (1)
- NIC (1)
- NIC Card (1)
- NVMe (1)
- O-RAN compliant (1)
- Oil and Gas (1)
- OpenRAN (1)
- P4 (1)
- PCIe card (1)
- PCIe lane (1)
- PCIe slot (1)
- Precision timestamping (1)
- Product life cycle (1)
- ROM (1)
- Raytheon (1)
- Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) (1)
- Rugged computing glossary (1)
- SEDs (1)
- SIM Card (1)
- Secure boot (1)
- Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) (1)
- Small form-factor pluggable (SFP) (1)
- Smart Edge (1)
- Smart NIC (1)
- SmartNIC (1)
- Software-based CDS (1)
- Symmetric encryption (1)
- System hardening (1)
- System hardening best practices (1)
- TME (1)
- Tech Partners (1)
- Total Memory Encryption (TME) (1)
- Transfer CDS (1)
- USB ports (1)
- VMEbus International Trade Association (VITA) (1)
- Vertical Lift Consortium (VLC) (1)
- Virtual machines (1)
- What are embedded systems? (1)
- Wired access backhaul (1)
- Wireless access backhaul (1)
- accredidation (1)
- aerospace (1)
- air gaps (1)
- airborne computers (1)
- asteroid (1)
- authentication (1)
- autonomous (1)
- certification (1)
- cognitive software-defined radios (CDRS) (1)
- command and control (C2) (1)
- communications (1)
- cores (1)
- custom (1)
- customer service (1)
- customer support (1)
- data linking (1)
- data recording (1)
- ethernet (1)
- full disk encryption (1)
- hardware monitoring (1)
- heat sink (1)
- hypervisor (1)
- in-house technical support (1)
- input (1)
- integrated edge solution (1)
- international business (1)
- licensed spectrum (1)
- liquid cooling (1)
- mCOTS (1)
- microelectronics (1)
- missile defense (1)
- mixed criticality (1)
- moving (1)
- multi-factor authentication (1)
- network slicing (1)
- neural networks (1)
- new headquarters (1)
- next generation interceptor (1)
- non-volatile memory (1)
- operating system (1)
- output (1)
- outsourced technical support (1)
- post-boot (1)
- pre-boot (1)
- private networks (1)
- public networks (1)
- radio access network (RAN) (1)
- reconnaissance (1)
- secure flash (1)
- security (1)
- self-encrypting drives (SEDs) (1)
- sff (1)
- software (1)
- software-defined radios (SDRs) (1)
- speeds and feeds (1)
- standalone (1)
- storage (1)
- systems (1)
- tactical wide area networks (1)
- technical support (1)
- technology (1)
- third-party motherboards (1)
- troposcatter communication (1)
- unlicensed spectrum (1)
- volatile memory (1)
- vpx (1)
- zero trust network (1)
- August 2024 (1)
- July 2024 (1)
- May 2024 (1)
- April 2024 (3)
- February 2024 (1)
- November 2023 (1)
- October 2023 (1)
- July 2023 (1)
- June 2023 (3)
- May 2023 (7)
- April 2023 (5)
- March 2023 (7)
- December 2022 (2)
- November 2022 (6)
- October 2022 (7)
- September 2022 (8)
- August 2022 (3)
- July 2022 (4)
- June 2022 (13)
- May 2022 (10)
- April 2022 (4)
- March 2022 (11)
- February 2022 (4)
- January 2022 (4)
- December 2021 (1)
- November 2021 (4)
- September 2021 (2)
- August 2021 (1)
- July 2021 (2)
- June 2021 (3)
- May 2021 (4)
- April 2021 (3)
- March 2021 (3)
- February 2021 (9)
- January 2021 (4)
- December 2020 (5)
- November 2020 (5)
- October 2020 (4)
- September 2020 (4)
- August 2020 (6)
- July 2020 (9)
- June 2020 (11)
- May 2020 (13)
- April 2020 (8)
- February 2020 (1)
- January 2020 (1)
- October 2019 (1)
- August 2019 (2)
- July 2019 (2)
- March 2019 (1)
- January 2019 (2)
- December 2018 (1)
- November 2018 (2)
- October 2018 (5)
- September 2018 (3)
- July 2018 (1)
- April 2018 (2)
- March 2018 (1)
- February 2018 (9)
- January 2018 (27)
- December 2017 (1)
- November 2017 (2)
- October 2017 (3)
No Comments Yet
Let us know what you think