Could I use this old router for pihole?

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1

Hi! I wanted to know if I could use this old router as Pihole, instead of having to buy a Pi!
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Thanks

2

No you can't - this thing has likely something like 4 or 8MB of RAM and 16 MB of flash memory.

If you are very lucky, you can install OpenWRT, and then use an Adblock-plugin. But mostly likely waste of time.

3

Buy

  • a Raspberry Pi Zero without Wifi (for 5.50 Euro !, here or here, no I am not affliated with those shops);
  • a power supply;
  • an Ethernet USB dongle; and
  • an 8 or 16GB class 10 SD card.

All together it shouldn't be more than 20 Euro, plus maybe shipping.

4

Thanks you so much! Would I be able to run NextCloud, for Home Local Cloud, also?

5

This is a little bit off-topic, and I can only speak for myself, I am sure others have different opinions.

I think, raspberry pis are not a good piece of hardware to run a nextcloud server. They run the server software just fine, but the issue is storage. Pis don't have a decent interface like PCI, SATA, M2, ... yet to connect multiple drives. If you wanted you could attach a USB HDD or two - that would work. But in that case, rather buy a Rpi4 with 8GB of RAM.

There is the Odroid-HC1 and -HC2 (ODROID-HC2 : Home Cloud Two – ODROID), which apparently have a SATA3 port and you can simply attach a 2.5'' or 3.5'' drive. Pihole could easily be installed on that device too.

6

I may go with the Pi zero and let you know! Thanks again!!

7

Pi zero is the best if you are on a tight budget. I was actually able to get the one with Wifi for similar price. Someone printed me a 3D case and found some 2GB microSD and MicroUSB charger laying around.

8

Sorry one last question!
Do I need a monitor or could I do the PiHole thing headless? And then If I wanted to connect to the PI, could I do it with another device?

9

I just need a Power Adapter, may I use my old Android one! :slight_smile:
For me, the Pi Zero only will cost 10€ With shipping

10

It should deliver 2.0A @5.0V, or even better 2.5A. Phone chargers usually don’t go above 1A.

No need for a monitor or keyboard. You can do everything using SSH. Check out the guides available on the internet.

11

Wifi is unreliable and has a high latency. I would not do that. A wired connection is always better.

12

I’m running a pi zero headless....but apparently ordered the wrong one cause mine didn’t have wireless(zero w h?) built in....luckily the adafruit kit I ordered had a micro usb to usb cable and scrounged up an old linksys WiFi dongle and got it up and running completely headless....

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13

@heis2201

Thanks for pointing that out. Did you measure the latency?
I think I was told once that the difference is not noticeable

14

I think you can assume a latency of 0.5-2 ms in ethernet, and 20-30ms in wifi. (Wifi latency can be higher, depending on a lot of factors), however, I did not measure it.

15

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