A system for processing a packet may include, for each of a network interface controller and a central processing unit, a measurement of the processing time, a determination of the amount of energy consumed to process a unit of information in the packet, and a measurement of the load. A user may provide the system with signals to perform networking processes for the packet in a manner to reduce the processing time of the system or in a manner to reduce the amount of energy consumed by the system for processing the packet. A portion of the system may receive at least one of the measurements, determinations, and signals and may cause one of the network interface controller and the central processing unit to perform networking processes for the packet. The networking processes may include establishing a connection to a network.