Previously I have experimented with Linux single-board computers using pre-built Debian images and my own “static” images I built using buildroot. While this was fun, I aimed to run more feature-rich distros like Gentoo on my Olinuxino boards.

For this, I cross-compiled a kernel and base system and copied the Gentoo ARM rootfs over to the SD card I’m using as a boot medium. From there, I could bootstrap the system by using the Gentoo package manager to install more packages and finalize the installation.

I worked with an OLinuXino-MAXI board which uses a Freescale iMX233 application processor and bigger A20-OLinuXino with an Allwinner A20 dual-core CPU.