7.2. Why Build a Custom Kernel?

Building a custom kernel is one of the most important rites of passage nearly every UNIX user must endure. This process, while time consuming, will provide many benefits to your FreeBSD system. Unlike the GENERIC kernel, which must support a wide range of hardware, a custom kernel only contains support for your PC's hardware. This has a number of benefits, such as:

• Faster boot time. Since the kernel will only probe the hardware you have on your system, the time it takes your system to boot will decrease dramatically.

• Less memory use. A custom kernel often uses less memory than the GENERIC kernel, which is important because the kernel is one process that must always be present in memory. For this reason, a custom kernel is especially useful on a system with a small amount of RAM.

• Additional hardware support. A custom kernel allows you to add in support for devices such as sound cards, which are not present in the GENERIC kernel.