Dual in-line memory module (DIMM) programmable accelerator card

A method of operating a computer card, comprising:

• with the computer card, receiving a request from a host central processing unit (CPU), wherein the computer card has a dual in-line memory module (DIMM) form factor;
• using hardware acceleration resources in the computer card to process at least some of the received requests and to generate corresponding processed data;
• storing the processed data into memory in the computer card;
• and
• with the computer card, communicating with a programmable soft logic circuit by bypassing the host CPU, wherein the programmable soft logic circuit is separate from the computer card and the host CPU.

A system, comprising:

• a host processor that includes a master memory controller;
• an acceleration dual in-line memory module (DIMM) card connected to the host processor via a main memory interface, wherein the acceleration DIMM card includes a slave memory controller for communicating with the master memory controller of the host processor, wherein the host processor is operable to offload a task onto the acceleration DIMM card to free up compute power on the host processor, and wherein the acceleration DIMM card includes memory for storing data associated with the offloaded task;
• and
• a programmable coprocessor having soft logic, wherein the programmable coprocessor is separate from the acceleration DIMM card and is connected to the host processor via an additional interface having a first latency, wherein the main memory interface exhibits a second latency that is at least ten times less than the first latency, and wherein the programmable coprocessor comprises acceleration resources for the host processor.