FPGA Developer AMI Updates

Question

Hi

I'm wondering if the AWS team have any plans to make an FPGA development AMI based a modern Linux distro? The Amazon Linux 2 and CentOS 7 AMIs are now really out of date and I'm struggling to run common tools like NodeJS or modern .NET runtimes. I'm also sure there will be negative security implications to the base OSes no longer being supported, CentOS 7 is passed end of life and AL2 is end of life next year. I found this previous [re:post thread](https://repost.aws/questions/QUKnN58UrqRJu7jrNMVhGbHA/future-of-fpga-ami) enquiring about updates from 2021 but there doesn't seem to have been any updates released.

I know I can build my own AMI based on any distro I like but then I need to pay for a license from Xilinx which seems silly when AWS clearly has an agreement in place and I'm sure its incorporated in F1 instance costs. If this license could be made available for users running Xilinx tools within their own AMI it would be extremely helpful, allowing me to make progress without AWS committing dev resources.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Cheers, James.

re:Post Agent · Answer

While there are no specific announcements about plans for an FPGA development AMI based on a more modern Linux distribution, I can provide some context based on the available information.

Amazon EC2 F1 instances do come with an FPGA Developer AMI that includes supporting hardware-level development tools. This AMI allows users to develop, simulate, debug, and compile their hardware acceleration code in the cloud. The FPGA Developer AMI is provided at no additional software charge, and users can program the FPGAs on their F1 instances as many times as they like without incurring extra fees.

However, it's important to note that the base operating systems for these AMIs, as you mentioned, are becoming outdated. Amazon Linux AMI (also known as Amazon Linux 1) reached its end of life on December 31, 2023, and is no longer receiving security updates or bug fixes. Amazon Linux 2 is also approaching its end of life.

For other AWS services, there has been a shift towards using more modern operating systems. For example, Amazon ECS now recommends using the Amazon ECS-optimized Amazon Linux 2023 AMI for EC2 instances, unless specific requirements dictate otherwise. This shows that AWS is aware of the need to update to more current operating systems.

Regarding your concern about building your own AMI and the associated Xilinx license costs, unfortunately, there's no information available about AWS making the Xilinx license separately available for users creating their own AMIs.

While there's no direct answer to your question about plans for a modern FPGA development AMI, the trend in other AWS services suggests that updates to more current operating systems are likely in the future. However, without an official announcement, it's not possible to provide a definitive answer or timeline for such an update.

In the meantime, you may need to continue using the provided FPGA Developer AMI or explore options for creating your own AMI while managing the associated license costs. It might also be worthwhile to reach out to AWS support directly to express your concerns and inquire about any potential plans or workarounds for your specific use case.  
**Sources**  
[Amazon EC2 F1 Instances](https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/instance-types/f1/)  
[Amazon Linux deprecation - AWS Batch](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/batch/latest/userguide/al1-ami-deprecation.html)  
[Amazon ECS-optimized Linux AMIs - Amazon Elastic Container Service](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/ecs-optimized_AMI.html)

FPGA Developer AMI Updates

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