Genkernel
Encyclopedia
Genkernel is a tool for building a general-purpose modular Linux kernel
for Gentoo Linux
. Genkernel compiles the kernel with all available device drivers built as modules, then copies these to an init RAM disk
that is passed to the kernel at boot time
, providing automatic hardware detection. It is designed to allow users with little or no experience configuring a Linux kernel
to easily set up a working kernel. Also, non-trivial hard disk setups like LVM
over dm-crypt
for full disk encryption make usage of an initrd
inevitable; here genkernel saves tedious work, too.
The main reason for genkernel is the fact that you have to configure and build your own kernel during the installation of Gentoo, this can be a problem for new Linux
users. Experienced Linux users generally prefer to configure and build their kernel manually, because genkernel tries to configure the kernel as safely as possible which causes the kernel to grow very large. However, one can choose to use a custom kernel configuration and use genkernel to compile it, and still benefit from other features such as the initrd builder.
Linux kernel
The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by the Linux family of Unix-like operating systems. It is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software....
for Gentoo Linux
Gentoo Linux
Gentoo Linux is a computer operating system built on top of the Linux kernel and based on the Portage package management system. It is distributed as free and open source software. Unlike a conventional software distribution, the user compiles the source code locally according to their chosen...
. Genkernel compiles the kernel with all available device drivers built as modules, then copies these to an init RAM disk
Initrd
In computing, initrd is a scheme for loading a temporary file system into memory in the boot process of the Linux kernel. initrd and initramfs refer to slightly different methods of achieving this...
that is passed to the kernel at boot time
Booting
In computing, booting is a process that begins when a user turns on a computer system and prepares the computer to perform its normal operations. On modern computers, this typically involves loading and starting an operating system. The boot sequence is the initial set of operations that the...
, providing automatic hardware detection. It is designed to allow users with little or no experience configuring a Linux kernel
Linux kernel
The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by the Linux family of Unix-like operating systems. It is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software....
to easily set up a working kernel. Also, non-trivial hard disk setups like LVM
Logical Volume Manager (Linux)
LVM is a logical volume manager for the Linux kernel; it manages disk drives and similar mass-storage devices, in particular large ones. The term "volume" refers to a disk drive or partition thereof...
over dm-crypt
Dm-crypt
dm-crypt is a transparent disk encryption subsystem in Linux kernel versions 2.6 and later and in DragonFly BSD. It is part of the device mapper infrastructure, and uses cryptographic routines from the kernel's Crypto API...
for full disk encryption make usage of an initrd
Initrd
In computing, initrd is a scheme for loading a temporary file system into memory in the boot process of the Linux kernel. initrd and initramfs refer to slightly different methods of achieving this...
inevitable; here genkernel saves tedious work, too.
The main reason for genkernel is the fact that you have to configure and build your own kernel during the installation of Gentoo, this can be a problem for new Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
users. Experienced Linux users generally prefer to configure and build their kernel manually, because genkernel tries to configure the kernel as safely as possible which causes the kernel to grow very large. However, one can choose to use a custom kernel configuration and use genkernel to compile it, and still benefit from other features such as the initrd builder.
Genkernel modes
- "all" - Build kernel, all modules, and create the initrd.
- "bzImage" - Just build the kernel.
- "kernel" - Build the kernel and the modules.
- "ramdisk" / "initramfs" - Just build the initrd.
Supported platforms
Genkernel is capable of building kernels for the following platforms:- alpha
- amd64
- parisc
- parisc64
- ppc
- ppc64
- sparc
- sparc64
- x86