In one embodiment of the present invention, a network adapter is provided that may be used in a network data storage system to permit data exchange among data exchanging devices and a data storage system input/output (I/O) controller. The network adapter may include a control interface and a control logic section. The control interface may be coupled to the controller. The control logic section may receive from the controller, via the control interface, a command, and may transmit to the controller, via the control interface, information concerning the operation of the network adapter. The control logic section may access, based upon the command from the controller, memory that may contain the information and an executable command to be supplied to other logic in the network adapter. The control interface may be identical to control interfaces in other (i.e., different) types of adapters that may be controlled by the controller.