Boot and Configuration - Boot and Configuration - 2026.1 English - UG1273

Versal Adaptive SoC Design Guide (UG1273)

Document ID
UG1273
Release Date
2026-06-24
Version
2026.1 English

If you are migrating from AMD UltraScale+™ device families, consider the following:

UltraScale+ device designs (without PS)
These devices contain integrated configuration logic that supports a set of configuration modes on power-up. With Versal adaptive SoC, there are changes to the boot and configuration flows, which require the use of the CIPS/PS Wizard IP.
Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC and Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC designs (with PS)
These devices have a PMU and CSU to manage and carry out the boot-up process. With the Versal adaptive SoC, the boot flow methodology has changed. It relies on the RCU and PPU in the PMC to manage and carry out the boot-up process. CIPS/PS Wizard IP configures the boot peripheral.

For more information on the Versal adaptive SoC boot modes, boot sequence, and boot image, refer to the following resources:

  • This link in the Versal Adaptive SoC Technical Reference Manual (AM011)
  • Versal AI Edge Series Gen 2 and Prime Series Gen 2 Technical Reference Manual (AM026)
  • This link in the Versal Adaptive SoC System Software Developers Guide (UG1304)
  • Bootgen User Guide (UG1283)

The following table compares the primary boot and configuration modes of UltraScale+ devices with Versal adaptive SoC.

Table 1. Boot Mode Comparison
Mode Virtex UltraScale+ or Kintex UltraScale+ FPGA Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC or Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC Versal AI Edge Series, Versal AI Core Series, Versal Prime Series, Versal Premium Series, and Versal HBM Series Versal AI Edge Series Gen 2 and Versal Prime Series Gen 2
JTAG Yes Yes Yes Yes
OSPI Yes Yes
QSPI32 Yes Yes Yes Yes
QSPI24 Yes Yes Yes Yes
SelectMAP Yes Yes 1 Yes
UFS 3.1 Yes
eMMC1 (5.1) Yes
eMMC1 (4.51) Yes Yes
SD1 (3.0) Yes Yes Yes
SD1 (2.0) Yes Yes Yes
SD0 (3.0) Yes Yes
SD0 (2.0) Yes
PJTAG_0
PJTAG_1 Yes
Serial Yes
BPI Yes Note 2 Note 2
NAND Yes Note 2 Note 2
USB (2.0) Yes
  1. Versal SelectMAP mode supports PDI loading only and requires hardware flow control using a BUSY signal.
  2. Octal SPI and eMMC1 modes supersede the BPI and NAND modes used in previous architectures. Octal SPI and eMMC1 modes provide similar performance while reducing pin count.