Field upgrade (reconfigurability)
Beginner
Changing what a chip’s hardware does after it is already in people’s hands, by sending it a new setup file.
Novice
Updating the hardware function of a deployed product by loading a new FPGA configuration, often over a network. It can fix bugs, add features or follow a changed standard without replacing the board.
Expert
Requires secure, authenticated bitstream delivery, a fallback image if an update fails, and, in regulated products, the same approval as any design change. Partial reconfiguration narrows the update to one region while the rest keeps running.
Explained in Where FPGAs win (Architectures).
See also: Bitstream, Partial reconfiguration.