Pi-hole is a network-wide ad blocker that acts as a DNS sinkhole, blocking ads and tracking domains for all devices connected to your network.

• Docker installed
• Pi-hole container running in your Docker stack

1. Open your browser and navigate to http://<your-piholeip-address>. This was set in .env.
2. Log in with your Pi-hole credentials.

1. Follow the initial setup wizard to configure basic settings.
2. Choose your preferred language for the Pi-hole interface.

1. Navigate to the Settings tab.
2. Go to the DNS section.
3. Configure the DNS settings, including upstream DNS servers and custom DNS entries.
4. Click Save.

1. Navigate to the Group Management tab.
2. Go to the Adlists section.
3. Click Add to add new block lists.
4. Enter the URL of the block list you want to add.
5. Click Save.

1. Go to the Clients tab.
2. Click Add Client.
3. Enter the IP address or hostname of the client device.
4. Configure client-specific settings, such as group assignment and DNS rules.
5. Click Save.

1. Navigate to the Dashboard tab.
2. Monitor blocked queries, total queries, and top domains.
3. Use the various tabs to view query logs, client activity, and block lists.

⚠️ Hint: Redundancy is good practice. If your main Pi-hole goes offline, it will impact your network.

• Raspberry Pi with Raspberry Pi OS
• Docker installed

1. Download and Install Raspberry Pi OS:

   • Download and install the Raspberry Pi Imager from Raspberry Pi Imager to install Raspberry Pi OS on a microSD card.

   • Launch Raspberry Pi Imager from your start menu and select the device, operating system, and storage, then click Next. Note: Your selections may be different than mine depending on hardware

     

   • Choose Edit Settings.

   • In the General blade, select Enable SSH.

     

   • In the Services blade, select the hostname, and set the username and password.

     

   • Insert the microSD card into your Raspberry Pi and boot it up.

3. Set Static IP for the Raspberry Host machine: I set a static address so i can always reach the the Raspberry host even if dhcp is down. Raspberry actually recommends setting a DCHP reservation on you router

   • On the host desktop go to the top right and *right click icon that looks like blue up and down arrows

   • Choose Network Manager Settings, and set static ip, subnet, and dns servers. I use my pihole servers as the DNS

     

4. Update Your Raspberry Pi:

   • Putty into the Raspberry Pi and run these commands:

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt upgrade -y

1. Install Docker:

   • Install Docker:

   curl -sSL https://get.docker.com | sh
   sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
   sudo reboot

2. Install Git on Your Raspberry Pi:

   sudo apt install git -y

3. Clone Your Repository:

   • Clone:

   cd /usr/local
   sudo git clone https://<your-token>@github.com/yourusername/GillisDockerDepot.git
   cd GillisDockerDepot
   sudo chown -R {yourusername}:{yourusername} /usr/local/GillisDockerDepot     
   sudo chmod -R 775 /usr/local/GillisDockerDepot

4. (Optional) Install & Update the Samba Configuration:

   • Run the following commands:

   sudo apt install samba -y
   sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

   • Add the Share Configuration: Add the following lines at the end of the file to define your share:

   [GillisDockerDepot]
   path = /usr/local/GillisDockerDepot
   browseable = yes
   read only = no
   valid users = <your-username>
   

   • Create a Samba Password for : Add the user to Samba and set a password:

   sudo smbpasswd -a <your-username>

   • Restart Samba Services: After saving your changes to the configuration file, restart the Samba services:

   sudo systemctl restart smbd
   sudo systemctl restart nmbd

5. Access the Shared Directory:

   • Access the shared directory from your Windows machine by typing \\<RaspberryIP>\GillisDockerDepot in the File Explorer address bar.
   • I copy over any files that are not part of the git repository like .env, traefik yamls, and shared folder.

6. Update .env

   • Either create or modify the .env file to update paths and environment variables for this server.

**⚠️ Hint: to get the PUID and PGID run these and copy into your .env

id <username>

7. Update docker-compose-server{num}.yaml
8. Start Containers

   docker compose -p mediaserver -f docker-compose-server{num}.yaml up --detach

**⚠️ Hint: Ensure you have `Expert' turned on

1. Go to Settings, All settings, Miscellaneous

2. Find the misc.dnsmasq_lines section and add

   dhcp-option=6,<DNS_Server1_IP>,<DNS_Server2_IP>
   

3. Select Save & Apply

4. Repeat on Pihole 2 if you do not have a sync between the systems in place

1. Open Command Prompt: Press Win + R, type cmd, and press Enter.
2. Check IP configuration:

   ipconfig /all
   

3. Look for DNS Servers (Example below):
   • Verify that <primary Pi-hole IP> and <secondary Pi-hole IP> are listed.

   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
   DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.5
   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.5
                                       192.168.1.6
   
   

1. Open Terminal: Press Cmd + Space, type Terminal, and press Enter.
2. Check IP configuration:

   networksetup -getdnsservers <network_interface>

3. Look for DNS Servers: Verify that <primary Pi-hole IP> and <secondary Pi-hole IP> are listed.

1. Open Terminal: Open a terminal application.
2. Check resolved configuration:

   nmcli device show <network_interface> | grep IP4.DNS

3. Look for DNS Servers: Verify that <primary Pi-hole IP> and <secondary Pi-hole IP> are listed.

1. Open the Pi-hole admin interface for the primary Pi-hole (<primary Pi-hole IP>).
2. Navigate to Settings > Teleporter.
3. Click Backup to export the settings.
4. Download the backup file to your local machine.

1. Open the Pi-hole admin interface for the secondary Pi-hole (<secondary Pi-hole IP>).
2. Navigate to Settings > Teleporter.
3. Click Restore and choose the backup file you exported.
4. Click Restore to import the settings.

By following these steps, you can set up multiple Pi-hole instances with redundancy, synchronize configuration, and ensure that DHCP clients receive both DNS servers. Additionally, you can use the Teleporter feature to export and import settings between Pi-hole instances.