RiceNIC: Prototyping Network Interfaces

RiceNIC is a reconfigurable and programmable Gigabit Ethernet Network Interface Card (NIC). It was created as an open platform for public use and is freely available for research and education. It can be used to prototype new network server architectures, and has proved invaluable in recent research efforts. Using a commercial development board saved significant time and expense compared with custom fabrication. In addition, using a modern FPGA optimized for system-on-a-chip applications allowed the NIC to meet its performance goals with minimal effort.