Translations:Kernel/Gentoo Kernel Configuration Guide/16/en

There is an important difference between built-in and modular: with a few exceptions, the kernel makes no attempt whatsoever to load any external modules when the system might need them; it is left up to the user to decide when, or when to not, load a module. While certain other parts of the system may have load-on-demand facilities, and there are some automatic module loading utilities available, it is recommended to build hardware support and kernel features directly into the kernel. The kernel can then ensure the functionality and hardware support is available whenever needed. This is done by setting each kernel feature to (Y). For this setup to be coherent it is also necessary to include firmware support in the kernel. For details see the Linux firmware article.