Understanding Intel® I/O Acceleration Technology i...

In brief, Intel® I/O Acceleration Technology is:

1. CPU/packet affinity to reduce context switches & memory copy
2. Optimize DMA hardware to put data directly into CPU cache
3. Optimize TCP/IP stacks for Intel SMP CPUs instead of TCP offloading

All are software-related optimizations, and they say you need a brand new Xeon server with onboard 82563/82564 or Pro/1000 PCI-Express NICs to have that.

Marketing really earns a lot. :D

Ref:
Intel® I/O Acceleration Technology Brief, Intel Document No.306484
Intel® I/O AT White Paper, Intel Document No.306517