System and Method for Controlling the Input/Output of a Virtualized Network

In accordance with an embodiment a method of running a virtual machine on a server includes controlling data path resources allocated to the virtual machine using a first supervisory process running on the server, controlling data path resources comprising controlling a data path of a hardware interface device coupled to the server, and controlling control path and initialization resources of the hardware interface device using a second process running on the server, where the second process is separate from the first supervisory process.