Project:Documentation/Overview
From Gentoo Wiki
Welcome to the Gentoo Documentation Resources. This page will give you a quick overview on various guides and documents in this wiki that we carefully follow up on and edit where needed. The documents are structured through the category within the wiki. Of course, far from all pages in the wiki are linked here, so do try out the search functionality on this site, or browse through the categories themselves.
If you find bugs in our documentation or have proposals, please use the page' Discussion tab.
Important
Documents listed here are not necessarily created by the documentation team - community documents or project documents that are well written and managed will be included in the list as well.
Documents listed here are not necessarily created by the documentation team - community documents or project documents that are well written and managed will be included in the list as well.
Contents
Documentation overview
Core system
A full overview of all documents in this category can be found at Core system.
| Page | Abstract |
|---|---|
| ACCEPT KEYWORDS | The ACCEPT_KEYWORDS variable informs the package manager which ebuilds' KEYWORDS values it is allowed to accept. |
| AMD64/FAQ | This is the Gentoo Linux/AMD64 Frequently Asked Questions |
| Alpha/FAQ | This FAQ is intended to answer some of the most frequently asked questions relating to Gentoo/Alpha and Linux/Alpha in general. |
| Binary package guide | Portage supports building and installing binary packages. This guide explains how to create binary package hosts and use binary packages. |
| Complete AMD64 Handbook/Logical Volume Management | LVM allows administrators to create meta devices that provide an abstraction layer between a file system and the physical storage that is used underneath. |
| Dm-crypt | DM-Crypt is a disk encryption system using the Linux kernel crypto API framework and device mapper subsystem. |
| GRUB2 Migration | The goal of this guide is to provide you with a smooth migration from GRUB Legacy to GRUB2. |
| Genkernel | genkernel is used to automate the build process of the kernel and initramfs. |
| IPv6 router guide | This guide explains how to use an IPv6 setup and routing on a Gentoo Linux system. |
| Initramfs/HOWTO | More and more systems require an initramfs to boot up properly. In this guide, the concepts of the initramfs as well as how to properly create and manage initramfs instances will be covered. |
| Installation alternatives | This HOWTO is meant to be a repository of alternative Gentoo installation methods, for those with special installation needs such as lack of a cdrom or a computer that can't boot CDs. |
| Kernel/Configuration | This article describes the manual configuration and setup of the Linux kernel. For an authomatic method, see the genkernel article. |
| Kernel/Overview | This document provides an overview on all kernel sources that Gentoo provides through Portage. |
| Kernel/Removal | This article describes the removal of old kernels. |
| Kernel/Upgrade | This article describes the steps to upgrade to a new kernel. |
| LILO | LILO is a simple boot loader to load Linux and other operating systems. |
| LVM | LVM allows administrators to create meta devices that provide an abstraction layer between a file system and the physical storage that is used underneath. |
| Localization/HOWTO | This guide should help users localize their Gentoo Linux distribution to any European locale. It uses Germany as a case-study, since it is translated from the German doc. Includes configuration for use of the euro currency symbol. |
| MIPS/FAQ | This FAQ is intended to answer some of the most frequently asked questions relating to Gentoo/MIPS and Linux/MIPS in general. |
| NVidia/nvidia-drivers | nvidia-drivers is the proprietary graphics driver for nVidia graphic cards. An open source alternative is nouveau. |
| OpenAFS | This guide shows you how to install an OpenAFS server and client on Gentoo Linux. |
| PPC/FAQ | The Gentoo/PPC FAQ is a collection of questions and answers collected from the Gentoo/PPC mailing lists and from IRC. |
| Power management/HOWTO | In recent years, power management has become one of the differentiating features in the quest for finding the perfect laptop. Yet, the operating system must support the various power saving functionalities too. In this guide, we cover how to setup your Gentoo installation so it manages power-hungry resources in a flexible yet automated manner. |
| Syslinux | Syslinux is a package that contains a family of bootloaders. The package includes SYSLINUX (for FAT file systems), EXTLINUX (for Linux file systems), PXELINUX (for network PXE boot) and ISOLINUX (for CD/DVDs) |
| Udev | udev is the device manager for the Linux kernel. It manages device nodes in /dev and handles all user space actions when adding or removing devices. |
| Upgrading GCC | This document will guide the user through the process of upgrading GCC. |
Hardware
A full overview of all documents in this category can be found at Hardware.
| Page | Abstract |
|---|---|
| ATI FAQ | This FAQ should help users avoid some common installation and configuration issues related to DRI and X11 for AMD/ATI boards. |
| NVidia/nvidia-drivers | nvidia-drivers is the proprietary graphics driver for nVidia graphic cards. An open source alternative is nouveau. |
Software
A full overview of all documents in this category can be found at Software.
| Page | Abstract |
|---|---|
| BIND/Tutorial | This guide will teach you how install and configure BIND for your domain and your local network. |
| Dnsmasq | Dnsmasq is a lightweight DHCP/DNS server for small and medium sized networks. |
| Eselect/User guide | eselect is a modular framework for writing configuration utilities. This guide introduces the reader to the tool and its design principles. |
| Infrastructure/Rsync | This document explains how to set up a official rsync mirror and your own local mirror. |
| Monit | Monit is a utility for managing and monitoring processes, programs, files, directories and filesystems on a UNIX system. |
| MySQL/First Steps | This is an introduction to MySQL and its use of databases, tables and privileges. |
| MySQL/Startup Guide | This document helps a user set up and use MySQL. |
| PostgreSQL/QuickStart | This is a quick start guide to PostgreSQL. It covers emerging PostgreSQL and configuring it. This is complementary to the official documentation, but does not supplant it. |
| SSH | SSH (Secure Shell) is an encrypted terminal program that replaces the classic telnet tool on Unix-like operating systems. |
| Sudo | The sudo command provides a simple and secure way to configure privilege escalation, e.g. letting normal users to execute certain (or all) commands as root or some different user, possibly without giving a password. |
| Udev | udev is the device manager for the Linux kernel. It manages device nodes in /dev and handles all user space actions when adding or removing devices. |
| Vim | Vim is a text editor based on vi. It can be used from the command line or as a standalone application with graphical user interface. |
Desktop
A full overview of all documents in this category can be found at Desktop.
| Page | Abstract |
|---|---|
| ATI FAQ | This FAQ should help users avoid some common installation and configuration issues related to DRI and X11 for AMD/ATI boards. |
| Fluxbox | This howto will show you how to set up the Fluxbox window manager for X11. |
| GNOME/Configuration | A frequently used environment is GNOME. This HOWTO tries to describe all aspects of GNOME, including installation, configuration, usage, and more! |
| NVidia/nvidia-drivers | nvidia-drivers is the proprietary graphics driver for nVidia graphic cards. An open source alternative is nouveau. |
| Openbox/HOWTO | The aim of this guide is to show users how to install and configure the OpenBox window manager. Many potential programs to be used in conjunction with OpenBox are referenced throughout this article. |
| Xorg/Configuration | Xorg is the X Window server which allows users to have a graphical environment at their fingertips. This HOWTO explains what Xorg is, how to install it and what the various configuration options are. |
| Xorg/Hardware 3D acceleration guide | This document is a guide to getting 3D acceleration working using the DRM with Xorg in Gentoo Linux. |
Server and security
A full overview of all documents in this category can be found at Server & Security.
| Page | Abstract |
|---|---|
| AIDE | AIDE stands for Advanced Intrusion Detection Environment and is an application that scans files and other resources and stores information about these files in a database. Rescanning the system can then identify (possibly unwanted) modifications and report those. |
| Apache | The Apache HTTP Server is an efficient and extensible web server. It is one of the most popular web servers used on the Internet. |
| BIND/Tutorial | This guide will teach you how install and configure BIND for your domain and your local network. |
| Centralized authentication using OpenLDAP | This guide introduces the basics of LDAP and shows you how to setup OpenLDAP for authentication purposes between a group of computers. |
| Gentoo installation tips and tricks | The Gentoo installation allows for very flexible approaches to the various installation methods. As it is almost impossible to insert every single tip or trick in the installation instructions this document tries to deal with all submitted tips and tricks for reference purposes. |
| GnuPG | This small guide will teach you the basics of using GnuPG, a tool for secure communication. |
| Hardened/FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions that arise on the #gentoo-hardened IRC channel and the gentoo-hardened mailing list. |
| Hardened/Introduction to Hardened Gentoo | This guide is meant for anyone unsure about the offerings of the Hardened Gentoo project, how to use them together, and what their respective roles in the project are. |
| Home Router | This document details how to turn an old Gentoo machine into a router for connecting a home network to the internet. |
| Kernel/Gentoo Kernel Configuration Guide | This document aims to introduce the concepts of manual kernel configuration and details some of the most common configuration pitfalls. |
| Keychain | This document describes how to use SSH shared keys along with the keychain program. It assumes basic knowledge of public key cryptography. |
| Mailfiltering Gateway | This guide is step-by-step guide for installing spam fighting technologies for Postfix. Among them Amavisd-new using Spamassassin and ClamAV, greylisting and SPF. |
| Mutt | This guide shows you how to begin using the powerful command line e-mail client mutt. |
| MySQL/First Steps | This is an introduction to MySQL and its use of databases, tables and privileges. |
| Nginx | nginx is a robust, small and high performance web server and reverse proxy server. |
| OpenRC/Baselayout 1 to 2 migration | This guide shows you how to migrate from baselayout-1 to baselayout-2 and OpenRC. |
| Puppet | Puppet is a configuration management system written in Ruby. It can be used for automating machine deployments. |
| SSH | SSH (Secure Shell) is an encrypted terminal program that replaces the classic telnet tool on Unix-like operating systems. |
| Sparc/FAQ | This FAQ is designed to help answer the most commonly asked questions about Gentoo/SPARC and Linux on SPARC architecture. Feel free to send revisions and corrections to the Gentoo/SPARC team or the doc team. |
| Sparc/Netboot | Guide for setting up a netboot server for use with the Gentoo/SPARC netboot installation images. |
| Sparc/OBP Reference | The OpenBoot PROM (OBP) Reference provides a list of useful OBP commands that can help when booting, configuring and performing diagnostics upon Sun SPARC hardware and clones. |
| Sshguard | sshguard is an intrusion prevention system which parses server logs, determines malicious activity and then uses the system firewall to block those ip addresses. |
| Upgrading Gentoo | This document explains how new Gentoo releases affect existing installs. |
Project and community
A full overview of all documents in this category can be found at Project & Community.
| Page | Abstract |
|---|---|
| Eselect/User guide | eselect is a modular framework for writing configuration utilities. This guide introduces the reader to the tool and its design principles. |
| GNOME/Configuration | A frequently used environment is GNOME. This HOWTO tries to describe all aspects of GNOME, including installation, configuration, usage, and more! |
| Kernel/Gentoo Kernel Configuration Guide | This document aims to introduce the concepts of manual kernel configuration and details some of the most common configuration pitfalls. |
| Porting | A howto for porting Gentoo to new/alternative platforms |
Gentoo.org guides
The previous documentation list, in so far the documents have not been moved to the wiki yet, can still be found on the gentoo.org site.