Teaming of smart nics

A system comprising:

• a virtual function implemented on a host computer, the virtual function configured to receive data messages from a virtual machine, each data message comprising a destination address;
• a packet processing circuit configured to execute virtualization operations, the virtualization operations comprising determining whether the data messages are destined for the host computer or an external network and applying load balancing across one or more network ports;
• a memory configured to store configuration data associated with the virtualization operations, including results of load balancing;
• a communication interface configured to transmit data messages to another network interface card via a private communication channel;
• and
• a network port configured to transmit data messages to an external network and to receive data messages from the external network.

A system comprising:

• a virtual function implemented on a host computer, the virtual function configured to receive data messages from a virtual machine, the data messages comprising a first data message;
• a packet processing circuit configured to determine a context associated with the first data message and transmit the first data message to a second network interface card based on the context;
• a memory configured to store the context and configuration data for the packet processing circuit;
• a communication interface configured to exchange data messages and state synchronization information with another network device and synchronize state information;
• and
• a network port configured to transmit data messages to an external network.