How to Use Versal Segmented Configuration

Goal: Build a Versal design that emits both a base (static) PDI for BOOT.BIN and a runtime-loadable (dynamic) PDI from a single RTL source, using Vivado’s Segmented Configuration feature without requiring a Reconfigurable Partition wrapper or a DFX license.

Note

Unlike Dynamic Function eXchange (DFX), Segmented Configuration does not require a Vivado DFX license. It does require Vivado 2025.1 or later. See How to Use Dynamic Function eXchange (Partial Reconfiguration) if you need an explicit Reconfigurable Partition wrapper instead.

Prerequisites

  • A Versal target part (the option is ignored on non-Versal architectures)

  • Vivado 2025.1 or later (Segmented Configuration is unsupported on earlier versions)

  • No DFX license required, and no Reconfigurable Partition / pblock floorplanning needed

  • No RTL changes required: Vivado splits the design into boot and PL partitions automatically based on hard-block boundaries (PMC, PS, NoC, DDR controller into the boot PDI; everything else into the PL PDI)

When to Use

Use Segmented Configuration when you want runtime PL reload on a Versal target through the Linux fpga_manager driver (fpgautil -b /boot/pl.pdi), but without restructuring your RTL into Reconfigurable Partitions.

The Versal Platform Management Controller (PMC) requires the runtime-loaded PDI to be distinct from the base PDI baked into BOOT.BIN. Segmented Configuration provides that distinct runtime PDI as a build-time output of the same RTL. See the AMD Solution Versal PL Programming wiki for the underlying base-vs-runtime PDI model.

Opt-in

Set a single environment variable in your target Makefile before including system_vivado.mk:

export USE_SEGMENTED_CONFIG = 1

include $(TOP_DIR)/submodules/ruckus/system_vivado.mk

When USE_SEGMENTED_CONFIG = 1, ruckus calls EnableSegmentedConfig during properties.tcl (which sets SEGMENTED_CONFIGURATION 1 on the project) and ExportSegmentedPdi during build.tcl (which renames the two Vivado-emitted PDIs to the SLAC suffix convention below). The default value is 0 (standard single-PDI Versal build, no behavior change).

Outputs

After a successful Segmented build, two PDI files appear in images/:

<Target>-<PRJ_VERSION>-<timestamp>-<user>-<sha>_static.pdi
<Target>-<PRJ_VERSION>-<timestamp>-<user>-<sha>_dynamic.pdi

The _static.pdi becomes base-design.pdi inside BOOT.BIN; the _dynamic.pdi is the artifact loaded at runtime by fpgautil (typically shipped to the Linux rootfs as /boot/pl.pdi).

Both names inherit the full SLAC <Target>-<PRJ_VERSION>-<timestamp>-<user>-<sha> convention from $IMAGENAME; only the suffix differs.

Key Variables

Variable

Default

Description

USE_SEGMENTED_CONFIG

0

Enables Vivado 2025.1+ Segmented Configuration mode on Versal targets. When set to 1, the build emits two PDIs (${IMAGENAME}_static.pdi and ${IMAGENAME}_dynamic.pdi) instead of the single ${IMAGENAME}.pdi. Ignored on non-Versal targets.

See the Makefile Reference for the complete variable reference.

Limitations and Non-Goals

  • No no-reboot runtime reload helper. Segmented Configuration produces the artifact; how Linux loads it (boot-time via startup-app-init vs. runtime via a userspace helper) is the consumer’s concern.

  • No multi-variant PL support. This hook handles the single-design two-PDI flow only. Designs that need multiple distinct PL PDIs sharing one boot PDI require read_noc_solution / write_noc_solution and pr_verify invocations not currently exposed by the hook.

  • No DFX migration. If you need explicit Reconfigurable Partitions, decouplers, or floorplanning, see How to Use Dynamic Function eXchange (Partial Reconfiguration). Segmented Configuration is the alternative to that flow, not a stepping stone toward it.

Troubleshooting

“Versal Segmented Configuration requires Vivado 2025.1 or later”

Source a Vivado 2025.1+ settings64.sh before running make. Older Vivado releases do not implement the SEGMENTED_CONFIGURATION project property and the build will abort. SLAC S3DF users: source /sdf/group/faders/tools/xilinx/2025.2/Vivado/2025.2/settings64.sh.

No _static/_dynamic PDIs on a non-Versal target

The opt-in variable was set but the target’s PRJ_PART is a non-Versal architecture. properties.tcl only calls EnableSegmentedConfig for Versal parts, so the option is silently ignored: the build completes, but the two-PDI output does not appear. Either remove USE_SEGMENTED_CONFIG from the target Makefile or change the target part.

“Expected exactly one *_boot.pdi in IMPL_DIR” (or *_pld.pdi)

Vivado did not emit the segmented PDIs even though the property was set. Check runme.log in the impl_1 run directory for SEGMENTED_CONFIGURATION confirmation; if absent, Vivado may have rejected the property silently for the part. If there are two or more matches, clean the build directory (make clean) and rebuild.