Enhancing Edge Performance with a Raspberry Pi-powered DNS Sinkhole
Building a Smarter Network
What is Pi-Hole?
Pi-hole is a free and open-source project that anyone can run on a Raspberry Pi SBC. It is extremely lightweight and has many powerful features. I opted for this solution because I wanted to improve network performance by blocking unwanted content with the bonus of simplifying network management.
What is Pi-hole and How Does It Work?
Pi-hole is a DNS sinkhole that intercepts and blocks unwanted internet traffic. It also has the ability to categorize and log DNS requests.
Pi-hole’s capabilities:
Reducing unnecessary network requests.
Blocks harmful and malicious traffic.
Has the option to create logs of DNS traffic
My Setup Process
When setting up this project I used a Raspberry Pi 3, you could also use a newer model or a VM on your server.
Steps to implement Pi-hole:
Installed and configured Pi-Hole using the guide found here: https://www.raspberrypi.com/tutorials/running-pi-hole-on-a-raspberry-pi/
Next step was configuring the pi as the DNS server for the network. This can be done by configuring this setting on the router or pointing the desired devices to the pi individually.
Finally customizing the blocklists was important to fit my needs. Filtering malicious or distracting content was one of my objectives. I was able to expand my blocklists by using the site: https://firebog.net/
A Look at the Web-UI Dashboard
Benefits Observed
Improved Network Performance: Fewer ads and trackers mean reduced bandwidth usage.
Content Control: Effective blocking of unwanted or harmful domains.
Administrative Insights: Valuable logs for identifying traffic patterns and potential issues.
Reflections
The process of setting up Pi-hole on a Raspberry Pi in my small office was extremely straightforward. The guides referenced in this article are great resources. The raspberry pi 3 is somewhat dated hardware now with the release of the raspberry pi 5 but the RPI3 was more than up to the task. The low power-draw makes this an energy efficient solution. I noticed no thermal or performance issues when using the 32-bit version of Pi-hole. I encourage anyone interested in network administration, security, or tinkering to take the pi-hole for a spin.