An intelligent network interface card (INIC) or communication processing device (CPD) works with a host computer for data communication. The device provides a fast-path that avoids protocol processing for most messages, greatly accelerating data transfer and offloading time-intensive processing tasks...http://www.google.de/patents/US20050278459?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US20050278459 - Network interface device that can offload data transfer processing for a TCP connection from a host CPU
