Why Configure a Custom Kernel?
FreeBSD comes with a GENERIC kernel installed by default. This kernel is tuned to support as wide a user base as possible, so that FreeBSD will work “out-of-the-box” on as many different machines as there are users in the world. Given the nature of x86-based hardware, this means there must be a truly astounding number of drivers built in. An operating system built for a tightly controlled set of hardware (such as SGI's IRIX or Apple's Mac OS X) can afford to get away with much less of this generic support, but FreeBSD is stuck with it. The GENERIC kernel also has various options for memory allocation and optimization set to low-common-denominator levels, and other optional elements are left out in order to keep ...
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