= Piin a Raspverry PI vs cheap VPS =

I recently discovered Piand would like to install for my home network! I am fed up with ADs and all the tracking

Whole family uses WIFI so there are many devices at home, I want to completely get rid of ads, as much as possible!
Can it be installed on a remote VPS Linux server? I have found a very cheap VPS for 2 USD/month. This means I do not need to buy a raspberry PI?
Which is the best option?
-Raspberry PI
-Really cheap VPS
-Docker Image (but where?)
Thanks for clarifying it, just a bit new to this.

I would go for a wired RPi. I've been running Pi-Hole on a RPi 1B for about 6-7 years and its rock solid

Only 2 years here, but same. Especially since the VPS is an ongoing(Pi is one time), and Pi can respond to DNS queries sub-5ms running via cloud/external automatically adds like a 10-100ms penalty depending on how good your ISP is

You don't need either of these options. If you have an always-on device, you can run it locally

Synology NAS - run Pi-hole in Docker

Always On computer - install a VM and run Linux on that, and install Pi-hole there

I ran Pion a Zero W for years fine. I now run it in Docker on a Pi4 with a backup on a Zero W somewhere (genuinely don't remember which of my Zeros it's on)

I would avoid running it remotely and I would run 2 PiHoles

If PiHole stops working, then you lose DNS and cannot resolve names. The internet effectively goes away

Any Pi will work, my Pi3 handles 100k requests per day, it can handle 300 per second should the need arise. I also have Pi running as a VM as others have stated

This is the way. I too run one PiHole on a pi3 and one on Docker on my Synology NAS

If you choose to host PiHole on a VPS, please, PLEASE, do NOT make it public. Use a VPN to connect to it. No open Port 53 on that VPS!
Same here, one 3B+ and one 1A+ as a secondary. When there are new updates, I usually update the primary one, let it run for a while and make sure it’s all good, then take my time to update the secondary one

Personally, I wouldn't want a public-facing Pi-hole. Too many potential issues. See How I Hacked Your Pi

I run Pi-hole in a Linux container (LXC), but it can run in Docker as well if you have a 24/7 host like a NAS as u/jfb-pihole suggests


Given that Raspberry Pi and other ARM-based SBCs seem overpriced currently, another option may be repurposing a used thin client. These have small footprints, low power consumption, and can be found at relatively low cost. Something like this Dell N10D Wyse 3040 Atom X5 1.44GHz 8GB SSD 2GB RAM OEM Power Adapter 12VDC for $54.99 USD should run Pi-hole well

Hey - I've been considering a 2nd PI-Hole for awhile now (run one on a Raspberry PI 4 atm) and the whole cost/availability of RPs atm was partially what has kept me from it. I know wasn't asked for or anything, but wanted to give you a shout out for the idea - hadn't even considered going this route until your post

I run a vpn on my router to allow me to access my pihole outside of the house

Pi-hole will run on pretty much anything you can get Linux to work on. Someone even put Arbian Linux on an old Chinese tv box and ran pi-hole from there. It doesn't even have to be wired if your wifi is dependable

You should get a raspberry pi, well worth the price for getting rid of the excessive ads. And you could use it for other projects

Depending on the number of devices that connect to the internet, a Pico RP (approx. 15€) is sufficient. I have one with about 17 devices and its performance is about 15%

Can it be installed on a remote VPS Linux server?
Then it won't work "automagically" for 2 reasons :
To work as a DHCP server, the pihole must be in the same network
So you would need to set the DNS in the router (or every device), but- objection your honor

Because DNS is [EDIT]UNsecure[/EDIT], your remote server can't accept request from the entire Internet. The recommended way is to use a VPN connexion (advantage : also works outside the home!)
So instead of having all your devices using Pihole automatically, you'll need to setup a VPN connexion. Unless the router can do that alone, you'll need to setup a VPN to all devices I think?
Umm, I don't use the pihole DHCP server and still use 2x piholes. Mine are local but my router handles DHCP. I personally think it is better to run them locally, at least 1 of a minimum 2. There's actually an advantage of putting it remotely in that you can use it for your phone. The security part is probably a bit complex for someone that is asking this question here though

All of these guys are right: for performance and security, it's better to run it directly in your local network. Personally I run an Intel NUC with docker installed on a linux and I run PiHole in a docker container

**But a remote VPS can be a good start it will cost less money (at the beginning), you probably won't notice the perf difference, if you set it up right you can avoid security issues (allowing only your IPs to connect on this Piand you will learn new tech thing..

you're better off with it running locally. It's a fun mini project. I run it on a RPi

Mine is running on a Pi Zero W2. I installed the command line only Rasbian OS. Works great after a little headache of initial setup. I got a POE case for it so its POE powered and ethernet connected

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