Port addressing via packet header modification

A smart network interface card (smartNIC), comprising:

• a programming data plane comprising a first set of one or more processors of a plurality of processors;
• an accelerator comprising a second set of one or more processors of the plurality of processors;
• a plurality of ports that are respectively configured to manage ingress and egress of network traffic, the accelerator receiving and/or transmitting network traffic via the plurality of ports;
• a first port of the plurality of ports that is connected to a splitter device, the splitter device splitting a first data path into a second data path and a third data path that are both associated with the first port, wherein the first port of the plurality of ports of the smart network interface card is associated with both a transmission (Tx) queue and a reception (Rx) queue;
• a queue that interfaces between the accelerator and the programming data plane, the queue being associated with both the second data path and the third data path;
• and
• a memory comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more of the plurality of processors, cause the smart network interface card to:
• receive a packet at the first port via the second data path;
• determine, by the accelerator, that the packet was received at the first port via the second data path instead of the third data path;
• modify, by the accelerator, the packet to indicate that the packet arrived at the first port via the second data path;
• insert, by the accelerator, the modified packet into the queue;
• receive, by the programming data plane, the modified packet from the queue;
• and
• process, by the programming data plane, the modified packet based at least in part on determining that the packet arrived at the first port of the plurality of ports via the second data path.

One or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising a sequence of instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a smart network interface card (smartNIC), cause the one or more processors to:

• receive, by an accelerator of the smart network interface card (smartNIC), a packet from a first port of the smart network interface card, the first port being connected to a splitter device that splits a first data path into a second data path and a third data path that are both associated with the first port, the packet arriving at the first port via the second data path;
• determine, by the accelerator, that the packet was received at the first port via the second data path instead of the third data path;
• modify, by the accelerator, the packet to indicate that the packet arrived at the first port via the second data path;
• insert, by the accelerator, the modified packet into a queue of the smart network interface card, the queue being associated with both the second data path and the third data path that are associated with the first port, and the queue interfacing between the accelerator and a programming data plane of the smart network interface card;
• receive, by the programming data plane, the modified packet from the queue;
• process, by the programming data plane, the modified packet based at least in part on determining that the packet arrived at the first port via the second data path;
• determine by the programming data plane, to transmit a second packet to a particular computing device;
• and
• transmit, by the programming data plane, an instruction to the accelerator to transmit the second packet via the second data path.