Pi-Hole on google cloud is a DNS based adblocker. Without installing any client-side software, it protects our devices from unwanted content.

As part of our Google Cloud Platform Support Service, Bobcares responds to all inquiries, no matter how big or small they are.

Let’s look at Pi-Hole on Google Cloud in more detail.

Pi-Hole on Google Cloud

Account Creation and Login to Google Cloud

1. Firstly, navigate to https://cloud.google.com.
2. Then, click Console at the top right if we have previously used Google’s Cloud Services.
3. If this is the first time, click Try Free.

Account Creation

1. Firstly, Accept the terms and proceed.
2. Then, continue by creating a payment profile.

Creating a project and a compute engine

1. Firstly, select Hamburger Menu at the top left.
2. Then select Compute Engine.
3. Then, choose one or more virtual machine instances.
4. If we don’t already have one Project, make one.
5. If we haven’t done so already, enable billing for this Project.
6. Finally, The Compute Engine will start up.

Compute Engine Virtual Machine Setup

1. Firstly, create a Compute Engine Virtual Machine instance.
2. Then, customize the instance.
3. Then, change Name to pihole.
4. For the Free Tier, choose the closest region.
5. Select Operating System Debian and Version Debian GNU/Linux 9 (stretch) with a Size (GB) 30 Standard persistent disc under Boot Disk.
6. Then, click the Network tab after expanding Management, Security, Disks, Networking, and Sole Tenancy. Under Network Interfaces, select the Pencil icon.
7. It’s not a good idea to use an ephemeral external IP address. To reserve a new static IP address, select Create IP Address.
8. Then, click Create.
9. By clicking the SSH button in a browser, we can log into the Virtual Machine via SSH. Make a mental note of the External IP address.
10. Finally, click the Hamburger Menu in the upper left corner, then VPC Network, then Firewall Rules.

    At the top of the page, in the centre, click Create Firewall Rule. Allow-openvpn should be the rule’s name, and the Targets dropdown should be set to All instances in the network. 0.0.0.0/0 should be the source IP ranges. Select the udp checkbox, and the port number next to it should be changed from all to 1194. After that, press the Create button. Because our server does not run any service on Port 3389, we can disable the default-allow-rdp rule that Google set up with a default action of Allow. It is perfectly safe to ignore this rule. If you disable the default-allow-ssh firewall rule, the browser-based SSH in the Google Cloud Console will be disabled.

Updating & Upgrading Debian

1. Firstly, we want to update and upgrade the Virtual Machine once we log in via SSH.
2. Then, by running this command in the bash shell, we can ensure that we have elevated root privileges.

   sudo su
3. Finally, run the following command in the bash shell to update and upgrade:

   apt-get update && apt-get upgrade -y

Pi-Hole Installation

1. Firstly, run the following command in the bash shell to ensure we have elevated root privileges:

   sudo su
2. Then, in the bash shell, run the following command to install Pi-Hole:

   curl -sSL https://install.pi-hole.net | bash

   We’ll proceed to a blue screen with a series of prompts.

   *Select OK or affirmatively for all prompts until we’re asked to select an upstream DNS provider. *Then, when asked if we want to enter a custom domain or a custom search domain, say “No.” *Then, when the question “Select Protocols” appears, IPv6 must be turned off. *Finally, for all other prompts, select OK or answer affirmatively.
3. Set a strong password for the Web Interface that we will remember.

   pihole -a -p
4. Then, set the Interface Listening Behavior of the Pi-Hole to local using the following command:

   pihole -a -i local
5. Finally, at the bottom of the page, click the Save Button.

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Conclusion

To sum up, our Support team went over the Pi-Hole on Google Cloud in more detail.