A system and method of providing direct data access between a non-volatile cache and a NIC in a computing system. A system is disclosed that includes a processing core embedded in a controller that controls a non-volatile cache; and a direct access manager for directing the processing core, wherein the direct access manager includes: a switch configuration system that includes logic to control a switch for either a remote direct access mode or a host access mode, wherein the switch couples each of the NIC, a local bus, and the non-volatile cache; a command processing system that includes logic to process data transfer commands; and a data transfer system that includes logic to manage the flow of data directly between the non-volatile cache and the NIC.