Stock/clean install of PiHole. Everything is working as expected from the PiHole side.
On the DHCP server I set a few DNS servers.
192.168.1.5 (pihole)
1.1.1.1
8.8.8.8
On my windows 10 client, I check that the correct DNS servers came in:
ipconfig /all
...
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.5
1.1.1.1
8.8.8.8
...
When I tweak my DNS server to ONLY the PiHole, ads are blocked, as expected. Yay!
But having a single DNS creates a single point of failure in my environment. Whenever I mess with PiHole/VM/HV or anything else interrupting my PiHole(s) network access, DNS dies for my site.
How do I properly setup multiple DNS entries, but prefer to only use the PiHole?
You most likely cannot. If you have a router that has embedded dnsmasq, then you can use the strict-order option. This is not common in consumer routers.
You likely have a single router and single modem, which are also failure points. And, they may be all running on the same power (i.e. the wall); another single failure point.
Pi's are quite reliable and I don't think you have much risk running Pi-hole as intended - the only DNS server on your network. If you want to improve your odds, you can install a second Pi-hole and run it in parallel, put the Pi on a UPS or other battery backup, etc.
In my case PiHole is running as a VM. But hardware reliability is not my concern. My home lab server stack has plenty of fail-over built in.
I am worried about the human aspect. Like when I do something stupid or run updates and reboot.
Having read through many such posts, I think the best option is the secound PiHole. In my case I parked a second PiHole in the cloud, thus avoiding any reliance on my home lab. I wish there was a cleaner solution. But I think we are limited by the DNS protocol.
you could just make snapshots before doing any of such actions. Many virtual managers support doing even live-snapshots. The system may be frozen for a few seconds, but that shouldn't hurt.
