Skip to content

Pi-hole DNS server

A self-hosted Pi-hole on an Ubuntu VM now answers every DNS query on the home network and drops ad and tracker domains before they resolve.

Date
Stack
Pi-hole, Ubuntu Server, DNS, dnsmasq

The finding

Every device on the home network resolves DNS through one Ubuntu VM running Pi-hole, and requests for known ad and tracker domains are answered with nothing.

Context

I wanted network-wide filtering that did not depend on per-device extensions, and a place to actually see what the devices on the network talk to.

What was built

  • An Ubuntu Server VM with a static address, running Pi-hole.
  • The router’s DHCP scope pointing clients at the Pi-hole as their only resolver.
  • Upstream resolution over the Pi-hole with the query log enabled.

Evidence

A quick check from a client that the resolver is in the path:

nslookup doubleclick.net
# Address: 0.0.0.0

What it means

Once every query passes through a point you control, you get two things for free: a block list, and a log of what is phoning home. The second turned out to be more interesting than the first.