Data processing unit

A data processing unit (DPU) is a programmable computer processor that tightly integrates a general-purpose CPU with network interface hardware.^[1] They are also occasionally called "IPUs" (infrastructure processing unit) or "SmartNICs".^[2] They can be used in place of traditional NICs to relieve the main CPU of complex networking responsibilities and other "infrastructural" duties; although their features vary, they may be used to perform encryption/decryption, serve as a firewall, handle TCP/IP, process HTTP requests, or even function as a hypervisor or storage controller.^[1][3]

These devices can be attractive to cloud computing providers whose servers might otherwise spend a significant amount of CPU time on these tasks, cutting into the cycles they can provide to guests.^[1] They see use in other kinds of data center environments as well due to their improved power consumption efficiency for routine networking tasks compared to general-purpose CPUs.^[4]

Modern DPUs may integrate an operating-system-capable general-purpose CPU with DRAM and storage directly into a high-speed NIC datapath. Such devices can provide network throughput in the 100–400 Gbit/s range, although their CPU cores are generally less powerful than those of the host processor.^[5]

See also

• Compute Express Link (CXL)

References

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