0 7 ▁as ▁a ▁research ▁project ▁at ▁Stan ford ▁University ▁called ▁the ▁Net FP GA - 1 G . ▁The ▁ 1 G ▁was ▁originally ▁designed ▁as ▁a ▁tool ▁to ▁teach ▁students ▁about ▁networking ▁hardware ▁architecture ▁and ▁design . ▁The ▁ 1 G ▁platform ▁consisted ▁of ▁a ▁P CI ▁board ▁with ▁a ▁X il inx ▁Vir tex - II ▁pro ▁F P GA ▁and ▁ 4 ▁x ▁ 1 G ig E ▁interfaces ▁feed ing ▁into ▁it , ▁along ▁with ▁a ▁download able ▁code ▁repository ▁containing ▁an ▁IP ▁library ▁and ▁a ▁few ▁example ▁designs . ▁The ▁project ▁grew ▁and ▁by ▁the ▁end ▁of ▁ 2 0 1 0 ▁more ▁than ▁ 1 , 8 0 0 ▁ 1 G ▁bo ards ▁sold ▁to ▁over ▁ 1 5 0 ▁educational ▁institutions ▁sp anning ▁ 1 5 ▁countries . ▁During ▁that ▁growth ▁the ▁ 1 G ▁not ▁only ▁gained ▁popular ity ▁as ▁a ▁tool ▁for ▁education , ▁but ▁increasing ly ▁as ▁a ▁tool ▁for ▁research . ▁By ▁ 2 0 1 1 ▁over ▁ 4 6 ▁academic ▁papers ▁had ▁been ▁published ▁regarding ▁research ▁that ▁used ▁the ▁Net FP GA - 1 G ▁platform . ▁Additionally , ▁over ▁ 4 0 ▁projects ▁were ▁contributed ▁to ▁ ▁the ▁ 1 G ▁code ▁repository ▁by ▁the ▁end ▁of ▁ 2 0 1 0 . ▁ ▁In ▁ 2 0 0 9 ▁work ▁began ▁in ▁secre cy ▁on ▁the ▁Net FP GA - 1 0 G ▁with ▁ 4 ▁x ▁ 1 0 ▁G ig E ▁interfaces . ▁The