Patent attributes
Techniques are disclosed for a smart network interface card (smartNIC) performing a unified logging process. In one example, an accelerator of the smartNIC receives a packet that is a candidate for rejection, whereby the accelerator is configured to log traffic for authorized flows that are forwarded by the accelerator to another device. The accelerator transmits the packet to a programming data plane of the smartNIC for further processing. The programming data plane determines that the packet should not be forwarded by the smartNIC, and modifies the packet to include an instruction that instructs the accelerator to log the packet. The programming data plane then transmits the modified packet to the accelerator. Upon receiving the modified packet, the accelerator logs the packet to the unified log based on the instruction.