Techniques for a network interface controller (NIC) capable of performing general-purpose computing tasks without intervention from a central processing unit (CPU) are disclosed herein. The network interface controller includes a circuit board, a network interface, a computer bus interface and a processor. The network interface is operatively coupled to the circuit board for receiving network packets. The computer bus interface is operatively coupled to the circuit board for receiving a general-purpose program. The processor is operatively coupled to the circuit board and capable of executing the general-purpose program to process the network packets.