Switching Between AVED and AMR on V80

This guide provides detailed instructions for switching between AVED (Alveo Versal Example Design) and AMR (Adaptive Management Runtime) on Alveo V80 cards.

Overview

AVED and AMR are two different platform management solutions for Alveo V80 cards:

  • AVED: Legacy platform management solution with xbtest support

  • AMR: New platform management solution replacing AVED, with enhanced features but without xbtest support in this release

You may need to switch between these solutions depending on your requirements:

  • Switch to AVED if you need xbtest functionality

  • Switch to AMR for the latest platform management features and ongoing support

Important: You cannot run AVED and AMR simultaneously on the same system. The switching process requires complete removal of one solution before installing the other.

Prerequisites

  • Root or sudo permissions

  • Physical installation of Alveo V80 card in your system

  • For firmware programming: Either Vivado Hardware Manager (2026.1) with micro-USB cable, or ami_tool if current installation is functional

  • Appropriate installation packages:

Switching from AMR to AVED/xbtest

Follow the steps below if you have an existing AMR installation and want to switch to AVED/xbtest for xbtest functionality.

Prerequisites

  • Ensure the existing AMR environment is functional

  • AMI and AMC versions are compatible (matched)

  • AMC is in READY state before proceeding

Steps

  1. Unzip the xbtest installation package that was downloaded from the AVED 2025.2 Release.

  2. Program the OSPI FPT image using one of the following methods:

Method 1: Using ami_tool cfgmem_fpt

cd amd_v80_gen5x8_25.1_xbtest_stress_20251113  # Replace with your actual release package
sudo ami_tool cfgmem_fpt -d <BDF> -i flash_setup/fpt_setup_amd_v80_gen5x8_25.1_exdes_1_yyymmdd.pdi -p 0 -t primary

Note: Replace amd_v80_gen5x8_25.1_xbtest_stress_20251113 with your actual release package name, and replace yyymmdd with the actual date in the filename.

Method 2: Using Vivado HW Manager and JTAG

Update the Flash Partition Table (FPT) image in flash using Vivado HW Manager and JTAG. Refer to Updating FPT Image in Flash for step-by-step instructions. If successful, Vivado HW Manager will report this with a pop-up message: “Flash programming completed successfully.”

Cold boot the server to boot from flash.

  1. Install the xbtest software packages

    sudo ./aved_install.sh

Perform system cold reboot to apply changes

Switching from AVED/xbtest to AMR

Follow the steps below to install AMR firmware/software with existing AVED/xbtest.

Prerequisites

  • Ensure the existing AVED/xbtest environment is functional

  • AMI and AMC versions are compatible (matched)

  • AMC is in READY state before proceeding

Steps

  1. Build the AMR sources from How-to Build an AMR Design for V80 or download prebuilt AMR images from AMR Release Information

  2. Program the AMR OSPI FPT image using the ami_tool cfgmem_fpt command:

    sudo ami_tool cfgmem_fpt -d <BDF> -i <amr_ospi_fpt.bin> -t primary

  1. Install the AMR Software Packages

    To install the package onto the host, navigate to the directory with the debian or rpm packages depending on your host OS. Install libami*, ami*, amitool* packages.

    Ubuntu - Installing Debian Packages:
       sudo dpkg -i libami_x.x.x.xxx.xxx_amd64.deb
   sudo dpkg -i ami_x.x.x.xxx.xxx_amd64.deb
   sudo dpkg -i amitool_x.x.x.xxx.xxx_amd64.deb
    RHEL - Installing RPM Packages:
       sudo rpm -ivh libami_x.x.x.xxx.xxx_amd64.rpm
   sudo rpm -ivh ami_x.x.x.xxx.xxx_amd64.rpm
   sudo rpm -ivh amitool_x.x.x.xxx.xxx_amd64.rpm

Troubleshooting

Device Not in READY State

If the device is not in READY state after switching:

  1. Perform a cold reboot (power cycle) of the system

  2. Verify the correct firmware was programmed

  3. Check that all software packages are from the same release version

  4. Verify that the previous solution’s packages were completely removed

Driver Conflicts

If you encounter driver loading issues:

# List all loaded drivers
lsmod | grep -E 'ami|aved'

# Remove any conflicting drivers
sudo rmmod ami
sudo rmmod aved

# Reload the correct driver
sudo modprobe ami   # For AMR
# or
sudo modprobe aved  # For AVED

Firmware Programming Fails

If OSPI programming fails:

  1. Verify Vivado version matches the requirements (2026.1 for AMR, 2025.2 for AVED)

  2. Check that the JTAG connection is stable

  3. If flash is corrupted, use JTAG Boot Recovery: AMR JTAG Boot Recovery

  4. Ensure you selected the correct configuration memory part (cfgmem-2048-ospi-x8-single for V80)

Package Installation Fails

If package installation fails:

Ubuntu:

# Fix broken dependencies
sudo apt-get install -f

# Check for conflicts
dpkg -l | grep -E 'ami|aved'

RHEL:

# Clean package database
sudo yum clean all

# Check for conflicts
rpm -qa | grep -E 'ami|aved'

For more detailed debugging information, see AMR Debug Techniques.

Verification Checklist

After switching, verify the following:

  • [ ] Previous solution’s packages are completely removed

  • [ ] New firmware is programmed successfully

  • [ ] System has been cold rebooted

  • [ ] New software packages are installed

  • [ ] Driver is loaded (lsmod | grep ami or lsmod | grep aved)

  • [ ] Device is detected and in READY state (via tool overview command)

  • [ ] Software and firmware versions match

  • [ ] Basic functionality works (e.g., sensor reading, manufacturing info)

Next Steps

After Switching to AMR:

After Switching to AVED: