1. A method, in a data processing system, for performing a remote direct memory access operation, the method comprising: storing a virtual address to physical address translation of a pinned memory buffer and an access protection key in a translation protection table in a network interface controller; responsive to receiving in the network interface controller a hash value of data to be copied from a source address in a source node to a destination address in a destination node in the remote direct memory access operation, performing, by the network interface controller, a lookup operation in the translation protection table in the network interface controller to match the hash value to a hash value for data existing in memory of the destination node; and responsive to the network interface controller finding a match in the translation protection table at the virtual address of the pinned memory buffer, completing the remote direct memory access operation without transferring the data between the source node and the destination node, updating, by the network interface controller, the translation protection table to write the access protection key, the hash value, and a valid/invalid bit in association with the destination address.