Programmable user-defined peripheral-bus device implementation using data-plane accelerator (DPA)

A method in a network adapter, the method comprising:

• communicating with a network;
• communicating with an external device over a peripheral bus;
• using a hardware-implemented data-path that includes a plurality of packet-processing engines, processing data units exchanged between the network and the external device;
• and
• using a programmable Data-Plane Accelerator (DPA), exposing on the peripheral bus a User-Defined Peripheral-bus Device (UDPD), running user-programmable logic that implements the UDPD, and processing transactions issued from the external device to the UDPD by reusing at least a given packet-processing engine among the packet-processing engines of the data-path,
• wherein (i) in processing the data units, the given packet-processing engine in the data-path is to be triggered by a preceding packet-processing engine in the data-path, and (ii) in processing the transactions issued to the UDPD, the given packet-processing engine is to be invoked by the DPA.

A network adapter, comprising:

• a network interface, to communicate with a network;
• a bus interface, to communicate with an external device over a peripheral bus;
• a hardware-implemented data-path, comprising a plurality of packet-processing engines, to process data units exchanged between the network and the external device;
• and
• a programmable Data-Plane Accelerator (DPA), to run user-programmable logic that implements a User-Defined Peripheral-bus Device (UDPD), including reusing, in implementing the UDPD, at least a given packet-processing engine among the packet-processing engines of the data-path,
• wherein (i) in processing the data units, the given packet-processing engine in the data-path is to be triggered by a preceding packet-processing engine in the data-path, and (ii) in processing transactions issued to the UDPD, the given packet-processing engine is to be invoked by the DPA.