Support for pihole on an old laptop network management tool.
Support for pihole on an old laptop network management tool.
I'm a bit of a tech enthusiast, having built and repaired my own computers multiple times. I've worked as an "it handyman," setting up printers, computers, and fixing issues. The only area I haven't explored is advanced networking—it feels a bit intimidating. I have some free time at work to dive into this. My home setup includes an Asus Wi-Fi 6 router with another router in AiMesh for the backyard (I can switch it off or use a repeater if needed). There are two desktops connected via Ethernet, while everything else uses Wi-Fi: a few laptops, smart TVs, tablets, and phones. I own an older HP laptop (Windows 7, Core i7, 16GB RAM) that has no battery, which I plan to use for running VMs, pihole, or Docker. So far, I've reset it cleanly but still have Windows 7 installed. My questions are: 1. What's the best way to run pihole? Should I consider using a Raspberry Pi or is it fine to run it on my old laptop? 2. Which operating system would be suitable for VirtualBox or Docker? I'm only planning to use it for pihole at the moment. 3. Are there any precautions I should take when running pihole? For example, can I spin up a separate Wi-Fi network for it if it might affect my main network? TL;DR: Give me some tips to remove ads on smart TVs and kids' tablets.
The Raspberry Pi enjoys significant attention due to its compact size, past affordability, and energy efficiency. However, amid the chip shortage and the surge of retro gaming enthusiasts, finding it at reasonable prices can be challenging. From a software perspective, tasks you can accomplish on a Pi are comparable to those possible on older laptops or compact PCs such as Intel NUCs. You’ll also bypass the need for SD cards and USB drives for large data storage. If your focus is virtualization, consider using Proxmox hypervisor.