User:Zulu Foxtrott/GentooOnARM/EasyInstall/KernelBaseConfig
Manual configuration
Introduction
Manually configuring a kernel is often seen as the most difficult procedure a Linux user ever has to perform. Nothing is less true - after configuring a couple of kernels no-one even remembers that it was difficult ;)
However, one thing is true: it is vital to know the system when a kernel is configured manually.
Since these instructions are geared towards situations where it is usually impossible to gather information about the target system from the target system itself, it is necessary to rely on other sources. A good starting point is to search the Gentoo wiki, information provided here is naturally often superior to other sources as it is targeted specially at Gentoo installations. A second option is to have a look at the vendor's or manufacturer's documentation. Last but not least, it is of course also possible to ask the Internet in general.
Now go to the kernel source directory and execute make menuconfig. This will fire up menu-driven configuration screen.
root #make menuconfigThe Linux kernel configuration has many, many sections. Let's first list some options that must be activated (otherwise Gentoo will not function, or not function properly without additional tweaks). We also have a Gentoo kernel configuration guide on the Gentoo wiki that might help out further.
Activating required options
Kernel drivers can be compiled as modules, that is they are only loaded upon request at runtime. Thus it is possible to have a smaller kernel, which may be of interest especially on embedded devices. However, using modules may have the effect of complicating the installation procedure. To that end and to ease the documentation effort, it is advised to disable loadable module support for now. To keep the kernel size small anyway, disable features that are not essential to get the target system up and running Gentoo. Drivers vital to booting the target system must always be compiled in the kernel and not as a module, otherwise the system will not be able to boot completely. Deselect Enable loadable module support (CONFIG_MODULES):
[ ] Enable loadable module support --->
Select Maintain a devtmpfs file system to mount at /dev so that critical device files are already available early in the boot process (CONFIG_DEVTMPFS and CONFIG_DEVTMPFS_MOUNT):
Device Drivers --->
Generic Driver Options --->
[*] Maintain a devtmpfs filesystem to mount at /dev
[*] Automount devtmpfs at /dev, after the kernel mounted the rootfs
It is essential to support the storage device of choice. Depending on its interface it may be necessary to select additional hardware specific drivers, for instance in case of MMC and SD cards. Of course it's always possible to simply select all offered options in the relevant submenus and optimize the kernel once the installation is running on the target system.
To add general support for MMC and SD cards, select MMC/SD/SDIO card support and the MMC block device driver and for SD cards, additionally activate Secure Digital Host Controller Interface support (CONFIG_MMC, CONFIG_MMC_BLOCK, CONFIG_MMC_SDHCI):
Device Drivers --->
<*> MMC/SD/SDIO card support --->
<*> MMC block device driver
<*> Secure Digital Host Controller Interface support
Don't forget to include the hardware specific drivers.
If Gentoo is supposed to run from a USB stick, verify SCSI disk support and USB Mass Storage support have been activated (CONFIG_BLK_DEV_SD,CONFIG_USB_SUPPORT, CONFIG_USB_XHCI_HCD, CONFIG_USB_EHCI_HCD, CONFIG_USB_OHCI_HCD and CONFIG_USB_STORAGE):
Device Drivers --->
SCSI device support --->
<*> SCSI disk support
[*] USB support --->
<*> xHCI HCD (USB 3.0) support
<*> EHCI HCD (USB 2.0) support
<*> OHCI HCD (USB 1.1) support
<*> USB Mass Storage support
Supporting other storage devices (for example NVMe or SATA drives) will require selecting additional sets of options.
Now go to File Systems and select support for at least all the filesystems applied to the partitions on the storage device. Do not compile the file system that is used for the root filesystem as module, otherwise the Gentoo system will not be able to mount the partition. Also select Virtual memory and /proc file system. Select one or more of the following options as needed by the system (CONFIG_EXT2_FS, CONFIG_EXT3_FS, CONFIG_EXT4_FS, CONFIG_MSDOS_FS, CONFIG_VFAT_FS, CONFIG_PROC_FS, and CONFIG_TMPFS):
File systems --->
<*> Second extended fs support
<*> The Extended 3 (ext3) filesystem
<*> The Extended 4 (ext4) filesystem
<*> Reiserfs support
<*> JFS filesystem support
<*> XFS filesystem support
<*> Btrfs filesystem support
DOS/FAT/NT Filesystems --->
<*> MSDOS fs support
<*> VFAT (Windows-95) fs support
Pseudo Filesystems --->
[*] /proc file system support
[*] Tmpfs virtual memory file system support (former shm fs)
Most systems also have multiple cores at their disposal, so it is important to activate Symmetric multi-processing support (CONFIG_SMP):
Processor type and features --->
[*] Symmetric multi-processing support
In multi-core systems, each core counts as one processor.
If any USB input devices (like keyboard or mouse) or other USB devices will be used, do not forget to enable those as well (CONFIG_HID_GENERIC and CONFIG_USB_HID, CONFIG_USB_SUPPORT, CONFIG_USB_XHCI_HCD, CONFIG_USB_EHCI_HCD, CONFIG_USB_OHCI_HCD):
Device Drivers --->
HID support --->
-*- HID bus support
<*> Generic HID driver
[*] Battery level reporting for HID devices
USB HID support --->
<*> USB HID transport layer
[*] USB support --->
<*> xHCI HCD (USB 3.0) support
<*> EHCI HCD (USB 2.0) support
<*> OHCI HCD (USB 1.1) support
For graphics output, enable the hardware specific drivers. In many cases it is also necessary to select Enable legacy fbdev support for your modesetting driver (CONFIG_DRM_FBDEV_EMULATION):
Device Drivers --->
Graphics support --->
[*] Direct Rendering Manager (XFree86 4.1.0 and higher DRI support) --->
[*] Enable legacy fbdev support for your modesetting driver
Do not forget to include support in the kernel for the network (Ethernet or wireless) adapter.
Also select System V IPC, Control Group support, UTS namespace, IPC namespace, PID namespace and Network namespace, which are features required for Portage to work (CONFIG_SYSVIPC, CONFIG_CGROUPS, CONFIG_UTS_NS, CONFIG_IPC_NS, CONFIG_PID_NS, and CONFIG_NET_NS):
General setup --->
[*] System V IPC
[*] Control Group support
[*] Namespaces support --->
[*] UTS namespace
[*] IPC namespace
[*] PID namespace
[*] Network namespace
Next
If board=rockpro64 Configuring ROCKPro64 specific kernel options
If board=raspi4 Configuring Raspberry Pi4 specific kernel options