A Survey on Heterogeneous Computing Using SmartNICs and Emerging Data Processing Units

Abstract

The emergence of new, off-path smart network cards (SmartNICs), known generally as Data Processing Units (DPU), has opened a wide range of research opportunities. Of particular interest is the use of these and related devices in tandem with their host's CPU, creating a heterogeneous computing system with new properties and strengths to be explored, capable of accelerating a wide variety of workloads. This survey begins by providing the motivation and relevant background information for this new field, including its origins, a few current hardware offerings, major programming languages and frameworks for using them, and associated challenges. We then review and categorize a number of recent works in the field, covering a wide variety of studies, benchmarks, and application areas, such as data center infrastructure, commercial uses, and AI and ML acceleration. We conclude with a few observations.