Will 'Velobahn' Deliver?

kaizen asks: "How much processor time is lost to the lower levels of the protocol stack and not running your code? According to Akamba, by offloading the Transport and Network layers to their PCI cards, your server can get a x4 boost to throughput and x20 in response time. Check out the press release about Velobahn on ZDnet. How well does a starting price of $3,000USD compare with other options?"