In general, the invention relates to a method for processing packets. The method includes receiving a first packet by a network interface card (NIC) connected to a host, classifying the first packet using a classifier, sending the first packet to a receive ring based on a classification of the first packet by the classifier, and sending the first packet from the receive ring to a first virtual network interface card (VNIC) located on the host. The method further includes determining, using a first policy associated with the first VNIC, whether to process the first packet using offload hardware. When the first packet is to be processed using the offload hardware, the method includes sending the first packet to the offload hardware, receiving a first processed packet from the offload hardware by the first VNIC and sending the first processed packet from the first VNIC to a first packet destination.