Hitchhiker's Guide to Openbsd

rm -rf ${DESTDIR}- &
# mkdir -p ${DESTDIR} ${RELEASEDIR}
# make release
When this process is completed, you will have a set of release files in the $RELEASEDIR. 
5.6 - Why do I need a custom kernel?
http://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq5.html (14 of 26)9/4/2011 10:02:02 AM

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5 - Building the System from Source
Actually, you probably don't. 
A custom kernel is a kernel built with a configuration file other than the provided 
GENERIC
configuration file. A custom kernel can be based on 
-release, -stable or -current
 code, just as a 
GENERIC
kernel can be. While compiling your own 
GENERIC
kernel is supported by the OpenBSD 
team, compiling your own custom kernel is not. 
The standard OpenBSD kernel configuration (
GENERIC
) is designed to be suitable for most people. 
More people have broken their system by trying to tweak their kernel than have improved system 
operation. There are some people that believe that you must customize your kernel and system for 
optimum performance, but this is not true for OpenBSD. Only the most advanced and knowledgeable 
users with the most demanding applications need to worry about a customized kernel or system. 
Some reasons you might want or need to build a custom kernel: 
●
You really know what you are doing, and want to shoe-horn OpenBSD onto a computer with a 
small amount of RAM by removing device drivers you don't need. 
●
You really know what you are doing, and wish to remove default options or add options which 
may not have been enabled by default (and have good reason to do so). 
●
You really know what you are doing, and wish to enable experimental options. 
●
You really know what you are doing, and have a special need that is not met by 
GENERIC
, and 
aren't going to ask why it doesn't work if something goes wrong. 
Some reasons why you should not build a custom kernel: 
●
You do not need to, normally. 
●
You will not get a faster system. 
●
You are likely to make a less reliable machine. 
●
You will not get any support from developers. 
●
You will be expected to reproduce any problem with a 
GENERIC
kernel before developers take 
any problem report seriously. 
●
Users and developers will laugh at you when you break your system. 
●
Custom compiler options usually do a better job of exposing compiler problems than improving 
system performance. 
Removing device drivers may speed the boot process on your system, but can complicate recovery 
should you have a hardware problem, and is very often done wrong. Removing device drivers will not 
make your system run faster by any noticeable amount, though can produce a smaller kernel. Removing 
debugging and error checking can result in a measurable performance gain, but will make it impossible 
to troubleshoot a system if something goes wrong. 
http://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq5.html (15 of 26)9/4/2011 10:02:02 AM

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5 - Building the System from Source
Again, developers will usually ignore bug reports dealing with custom kernels, unless the problem can 
be reproduced in a 
GENERIC
kernel as well. You have been warned.