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Data processing unit

From Quire, the open reference·Programmable electronic component·1 min read
SolidRun's SolidNet OCP-8K SmartNIC
SolidRun's SolidNet OCP-8K SmartNIC Image: source and license

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#edit

References#edit

  1. ^ a b c Davie, Bruce (November 24, 2021). "SmartNICs, IPUs, DPUs de-hyped: Why and how cloud giants are offloading work from server CPUs". The Register. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  2. ^ Sharwood, Simon (May 23, 2023). "Google Cloud upgrades with next-gen accelerator that embiggens its VMs". The Register. Archived from the original on July 11, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023. …Infrastructure Processing Unit – the same kind of kit that others call SmartNICs or Data Processing Units…
  3. ^ "Definition of SmartNIC". PCMag. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on July 11, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  4. ^ Leibson, Steven (November 9, 2022). "DPUs, IPUs, And SmartNICs Save Data Center Power, But You May Only See The Savings In Next-Generation Servers". Forbes. Forbes Media LLC. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  5. ^ Tibbetts, Nathan; Ibtisum, Sifat; Puri, Satish (2026). "A survey on heterogeneous computing using SmartNICs and emerging data processing units". Future Generation Computer Systems. 176 108207. arXiv:2504.03653. doi:10.1016/j.future.2025.108207.


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