Examples described herein relate to a device configured to allocate memory resources for packets received by the network interface based on received configuration settings. In some examples, the device is a network interface. Received configuration settings can include one or more of: latency, memory bandwidth, timing of when the content is expected to be accessed, or encryption parameters. In some examples, memory resources include one or more of: a cache, a volatile memory device, a storage device, or persistent memory. In some examples, based on a configuration settings not being available, the network interface is to perform one or more of: dropping a received packet, store the received packet in a buffer that does not meet the configuration settings, or indicate an error. In some examples, configuration settings are conditional where the settings are applied if one or more conditions is met.