diff --git a/nixos/doc/manual/configuration/configuration.xml b/nixos/doc/manual/configuration/configuration.xml
index 8d05dcd34b4..cebc4122c6c 100644
--- a/nixos/doc/manual/configuration/configuration.xml
+++ b/nixos/doc/manual/configuration/configuration.xml
@@ -22,5 +22,6 @@
  <xi:include href="networking.xml" />
  <xi:include href="linux-kernel.xml" />
  <xi:include href="../generated/modules.xml" xpointer="xpointer(//section[@id='modules']/*)" />
+ <xi:include href="profiles.xml" />
 <!-- Apache; libvirtd virtualisation -->
 </part>
diff --git a/nixos/doc/manual/configuration/profiles.xml b/nixos/doc/manual/configuration/profiles.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..bf669174d66
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nixos/doc/manual/configuration/profiles.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+<chapter xmlns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook"
+         xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"
+         xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"
+         version="5.0"
+         xml:id="ch-profiles">
+ <title>Profiles</title>
+ <para>
+  In some cases, it may be desirable to take advantage of commonly-used,
+  predefined configurations provided by nixpkgs, but different from those that
+  come as default. This is a role fulfilled by NixOS's Profiles, which come as
+  files living in <filename>&lt;nixpkgs/nixos/modules/profiles&gt;</filename>.
+  That is to say, expected usage is to add them to the imports list of your
+  <filename>/etc/configuration.nix</filename> as such:
+ </para>
+ <programlisting>
+  imports = [
+   &lt;nixpkgs/nixos/modules/profiles/profile-name.nix&gt;
+  ];
+ </programlisting>
+ <para>
+  Even if some of these profiles seem only useful in the context of
+  install media, many are actually intended to be used in real installs.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+  What follows is a brief explanation on the purpose and use-case for each
+  profile. Detailing each option configured by each one is out of scope.
+ </para>
+ <xi:include href="profiles/all-hardware.xml" />
+</chapter>
diff --git a/nixos/doc/manual/configuration/profiles/all-hardware.xml b/nixos/doc/manual/configuration/profiles/all-hardware.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..17297519947
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nixos/doc/manual/configuration/profiles/all-hardware.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+
+<section xmlns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook"
+         xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"
+         xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"
+         version="5.0"
+         xml:id="sec-profile-all-hardware">
+ <title>All Hardware</title>
+ <para>
+  Enables all hardware supported by NixOS: i.e., all firmware is
+  included, and all devices from which one may boot are enabled in the initrd.
+  Its primary use is in the NixOS installation CDs.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+  The enabled kernel modules include support for SATA and PATA, SCSI
+  (partially), USB, Firewire (untested), Virtio (QEMU, KVM, etc.), VMware, and
+  Hyper-V. Additionally, <xref linkend="opt-hardware.enableAllFirmware"/> is
+  enabled, and the firmware for the ZyDAS ZD1211 chipset is specifically
+  installed.
+ </para>
+</section>