patch -Np1 -i ../dhcpcd-&dhcpcd-version;.patch : Dhcpcd unpatched puts all configuration and temporary files in /etc/dhcpc. This becomes very annoying when dhcpcd tells you it's running and it's not. You look in /var/run for the pid file, but it's not there, the pid file that needs deleting is in /etc/dhcpc. This patch brings this program into FHS compliance, but more importantly, puts files where you expect them to be. --prefix="" : There may be a good reason for abandoning the normal BLFS convention of using --prefix=/usr here. If you are installing DHCP, it is likely that it is required during the boot process and /usr may be network mounted in which case, dhcpcd wouldn't be available due to being on the network! Therefore, depending on your situation, you may want it to be installed in /sbin or /usr/sbin . This command installs to /sbin. --sysconfdir=/var/lib : This command install configuration files in the /var/lib directory. --mandir=/usr/share/man : This command install the man pages to the /usr/share/man directory.