A method includes pre-configuring a hardware-implemented front-end of a storage device with multiple contexts of respective connections conducted between one or more hosts and the storage device. Storage commands, which are received in the storage device and are associated with the connections having the pre-configured contexts, are executed in a memory of the storage device using the hardware-implemented front-end. Upon identifying a storage command associated with a context that is not pre-configured in the hardware-implemented front-end, software of the storage device is triggered to configure the context in the hardware-implemented front-end, and the storage command is then executed using the hardware-implemented front-end in accordance with the context configured by the software.