Virtual machine packet processing offload

One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing one or more computer instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform:

• defining an application programing interface (“API”) for capturing, in a packet processor offload, a network function packet processing for a data flow by specifying how to perform the network function packet processing on data packets that belong to the data flow;
• selecting, based on capabilities of the packet processor offload and available resources, a packet processing offload destination from a plurality of destinations;
• generating, based at least on the API, the packet processor offload for the packet processing offload destination;
• and
• downloading the packet processor offload to the packet processing offload destination to configure the packet processing offload destination to provide the network function packet processing on the data packets that belong to the data flow.

A host computer comprising:

• one or more processors;
• one or more memory units;
• and
• a hypervisor configured with one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing one or more computer instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform:
• defining an application programing interface (“API”) for capturing, in a packet processor offload, a network function packet processing for a data flow by specifying how to perform the network function packet processing on data packets that belong to the data flow;
• selecting, based on capabilities of the packet processor offload and available resources, a packet processing offload destination from a plurality of destinations;
• generating, based at least on the API, the packet processor offload for the packet processing offload destination;
• and
• downloading the packet processor offload to the packet processing offload destination to configure the packet processing offload destination to provide the network function packet processing on the data packets that belong to the data flow.