Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method, a network interface card (NIC) and a computer program product for load balance. The method comprises determining, by a NIC of a network node, whether a packet obtained comprises a request to establish a network connection for a first device; in response to determining that the packet comprises a request to establish the network connection, determining whether the load balance associated with the network connection is to be applied by the NIC or a host processing device on the network node; and in response to determining that the load balance is to be applied by the NIC, applying the load balance among a set of devices using the NIC, so as to select a second device from the set of devices to establish the network connection with the first device. In this way, efficient and cost-effective load balance in the network can be achieved by means of the NIC.