Following are the design requirements and guidelines when using DFX:
- Floorplanning is required to define reconfigurable regions, per
element type.
- For 7 series, vertically align Pblocks with frame/clock region boundaries. This produces the best results and allows RESET_AFTER_RECONFIG to be enabled.
- For UltraScale and beyond, the floorplanning is more flexible. AMD recommends stopping the Pblock short of frame/clock region boundaries to allow for expanded routing, which can greatly improve routability and quality.
- Horizontal alignment rules also apply. See Create a Floorplan for the Reconfigurable Region for more information.
- Automatic expansion for routing resources is done for all UltraScale, UltraScale+, and Versal device targets.
- Bottom-up/OOC synthesis (to create multiple netlist/DCP files) and
management of RM netlist files is the responsibility of the user.
- For third party synthesis tools, I/O insertion must be disabled.
- For Vivado OOC synthesis, I/O insertion is automatically disabled in the out_of_context mode.
- Standard timing constraints are supported, and additional timing budgeting capabilities are available if needed.
- A unique set of design rule checks (DRCs) has been established to help ensure successful design completion.
- A DFX design must consider the initiation of partial reconfiguration as well as the delivery of partial BIT or PDI files, either within the target device or as part of the system design.
- Multiple design flow environments are available for processing DFX designs. Versal device designs must use the block design container flow within IP integrator to manage CIPS and NoC IP, but for FPGA and SoC designs, RTL-based design flows can be used.
- The Vivado Design Suite includes support for the Dynamic Function eXchange Controller IP. This customizable IP manages the core tasks for partial reconfiguring any AMD FPGA. The core receives triggers from hardware or software, manages handshaking and decoupling tasks, fetches partial bitstreams from memory locations, and delivers them to the ICAP. More information on the DFX Controller IP is available on the Xilinx.com website.
- An RP must contain a super set of all pins to be used by the varying
reconfigurable modules (RM) implemented for the partition. If an RM uses different
inputs or outputs from another RM, the resulting RM inputs or outputs might not
connect inside of the RM. The tools handle this by inserting a LUT1 buffer within
the RM for all unused inputs and outputs. The output LUT1 is tied to a constant
value and the value of the constant can be controlled by
HD.PARTPIN_TIEOFF
property on the unused output pin. For more information on this property refer to Black Boxes. - Black boxes are supported for bitstream generation. See Black Boxes for details about how to tie off ports with constant values.
- For user reset signals, determine if the logic inside the RM is level or edge sensitive. If the reset circuit is edge sensitive (as it may be in some IP such as FIFOs), the RM reset should not be applied until after reconfiguration is complete.
- DFX designs are compatible with the AMD Isolation Design Flow (IDF) for Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC devices. For more information on solution details, please consult Isolation Design Flow for UltraScale+ FPGAs and Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoCs (XAPP1335).