NPUs

NPUs, or network processing units, are specialized processors designed to handle the data plane tasks of networking devices at line rate. They are optimized for high-throughput, low-latency packet processing and are commonly used to offload work from general-purpose CPUs. NPUs may be standalone devices or integrated into network interface cards as SmartNICs or DPUs, enabling programmable networking within the data path.

Typical workloads include fast-path packet forwarding, load balancing, traffic classification, firewall and intrusion detection, deep packet inspection, encryption and decryption (TLS/SSL offload), NAT, VPN, quality of service, and traffic monitoring or telemetry. NPUs aim to maintain predictable performance while managing complex per-packet processing.

Architecturally, NPUs employ multiple processing cores, specialized memory systems, and streaming pipelines to process packets in parallel. They often include accelerator blocks for cryptography, pattern matching, and other common network tasks, and may support programmable data planes through languages such as P4 or vendor-specific APIs. Some NPUs expose programmable interfaces to customize packet processing pipelines, while others emphasize fixed-function capabilities with optional programmability.

Relation to other hardware varies by design. Compared with general-purpose CPUs, NPUs prioritize deterministic throughput and low per-packet latency. Relative to GPUs, NPUs are optimized for streaming, stateful processing and real-time decisions rather than bulk vector computation. Many modern SmartNICs or DPUs combine an NPU core with NIC functionality and network virtualization features, sometimes augmented by FPGA logic for additional flexibility.

Applications and market activity include data centers, cloud networks, carrier and enterprise infrastructures, 5G and edge deployments, and security gateways. The field evolves toward richer programmability, enhanced security offloads, and tighter integration with software-defined networking and telemetry workflows.