Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture. A network communication request is received at an offload application, wherein the offload application interfaces with a first network stack implemented in an operating system and a second network stack implemented in a hardware device. A determination is made if the network communication request can be processed by the second network stack. If the network communication request can be processed by the second network stack, then the network communication request is offloaded for processing to the hardware device.