In the out-of-context (OOC) synthesis flow, certain levels of hierarchy are synthesized separately from the top-level. The out-of-context hierarchy are synthesized first. Then, the top-level synthesis is run, and each of the out-of-context runs are treated as a black box. AMD IP are often run in out-of-context synthesis mode. After all of the out-of-context synthesis runs and top-level synthesis runs are complete, the Vivado tools assemble the design from all of the synthesis runs when you open the top-level synthesized design. This flow offers the following advantages:
- Reduces compile time for subsequent synthesis runs. Only the runs you specify are resynthesized, leaving the other runs as is.
- Ensures stability when design changes are made. Only the runs that include changes are resynthesized.
The disadvantage of this flow is that it requires additional setup. You must be careful in selecting which modules to set as out-of-context synthesis modules. Any additional XDC constraints must be defined separately and must only be used for the out-of-context synthesis runs.
The following figure shows a design that has a top-level synthesis run (synth_1) and two lower-level out-of-context synthesis runs.
For more information on setting up out-of-context synthesis runs, see this link in the Vivado Design Suite User Guide: Synthesis (UG901).