US Patent 10148746 Multi-host network interface controller with host management

A network adapter includes one or more ports and circuitry. The ports are configured to connect to a switch in a communication network. The circuitry is coupled to a network node that includes multiple hosts, and is configured to exchange management packets between a control server and multiple BMC units associated respectively with the multiple hosts, and to exchange, over the communication network via the one or more ports, data packets between the hosts and one or more remote nodes.