pihole doesn't respond to DNS queries without container restart

[eiddor]

After a full restart of my RPi3 (shutdown and power off/on), pihole doesn't respond to DNS queries until I restart the pihole container again. Logs/testing output below:

Logs from power-on:

20.02.21 12:50:19 (-0600) Supervisor starting
20.02.21 12:49:55 (-0600)  pihole  [s6-init] making user provided files available at /var/run/s6/etc...exited 0.
20.02.21 12:49:56 (-0600)  pihole  [s6-init] ensuring user provided files have correct perms...exited 0.
20.02.21 12:49:56 (-0600)  pihole  [fix-attrs.d] applying ownership & permissions fixes...
20.02.21 12:49:56 (-0600)  pihole  [fix-attrs.d] 01-resolver-resolv: applying... 
20.02.21 12:49:56 (-0600)  pihole  [fix-attrs.d] 01-resolver-resolv: exited 0.
20.02.21 12:49:56 (-0600)  pihole  [fix-attrs.d] done.
20.02.21 12:49:56 (-0600)  pihole  [cont-init.d] executing container initialization scripts...
20.02.21 12:49:56 (-0600)  pihole  [cont-init.d] 20-start.sh: executing... 
20.02.21 12:49:57 (-0600)  pihole   ::: Starting docker specific checks & setup for docker pihole/pihole
20.02.21 12:49:57 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 12:49:57 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Installing configs from /etc/.pihole...
20.02.21 12:49:58 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Existing dnsmasq.conf found... it is not a Pi-hole file, leaving alone!
20.02.21 12:49:58 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Copying 01-pi  [â] Copying 01-pihole.conf to /etc/dnsmasq.d/01-pihole.conf
20.02.21 12:49:59 (-0600)  pihole  Converting DNS1 to PIHOLE_DNS_
20.02.21 12:49:59 (-0600)  pihole  Converting DNS2 to PIHOLE_DNS_
20.02.21 12:49:59 (-0600)  pihole  Setting DNS servers based on PIHOLE_DNS_ variable
20.02.21 12:49:59 (-0600)  pihole  ::: Pre existing WEBPASSWORD found
20.02.21 12:49:59 (-0600)  pihole  DNSMasq binding to default interface: eth0
20.02.21 12:50:00 (-0600)  pihole  Added ENV to php:
20.02.21 12:50:00 (-0600)  pihole                    "PHP_ERROR_LOG" => "/var/log/lighttpd/error.log",
20.02.21 12:50:00 (-0600)  pihole                    "ServerIP" => "0.0.0.0",
20.02.21 12:50:00 (-0600)  pihole                    "VIRTUAL_HOST" => "0.0.0.0",
20.02.21 12:50:00 (-0600)  pihole  Using IPv4 and IPv6
20.02.21 12:50:00 (-0600)  pihole  ::: Preexisting ad list /etc/pihole/adlists.list detected ((exiting setup_blocklists early))
20.02.21 12:50:00 (-0600)  pihole  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StevenBlack/hosts/master/hosts
20.02.21 12:50:00 (-0600)  pihole  ::: Testing pihole-FTL DNS: sudo: unable to resolve host 7ed1bcc: Temporary failure in name resolution
20.02.21 12:50:06 (-0600)  pihole  FTL started!
20.02.21 12:50:07 (-0600)  pihole  ::: Testing lighttpd config: Syntax OK
20.02.21 12:50:07 (-0600)  pihole  ::: All config checks passed, cleared for startup ...
20.02.21 12:50:07 (-0600)  pihole  ::: Enabling Query Logging
20.02.21 12:50:07 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Enabling logging...
20.02.21 12:50:07 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Restarting DN  [â] Restarting DNS server
  [â] Logging has been enabled!
20.02.21 12:50:07 (-0600)  pihole   ::: Docker start setup complete
20.02.21 12:50:08 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Neutrino emissions detected...
  [â] Pulling blocklist source list into range
20.02.21 12:50:08 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 12:50:08 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Preparing new  [â] Preparing new gravity database
20.02.21 12:50:08 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Using libz compression
20.02.21 12:50:08 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 12:50:08 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Target: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StevenBlack/hosts/master/hosts
20.02.21 12:50:08 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Status: Pendi  [â] Status: Connection Refused
20.02.21 12:50:08 (-0600)  pihole    [â] List download failed: using previously cached list
20.02.21 12:50:10 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Received 62904 domains
20.02.21 12:50:10 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 12:50:10 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Target: https://mirror1.malwaredomains.com/files/justdomains
20.02.21 12:50:10 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Status: Pendi  [â] Status: Connection Refused
20.02.21 12:50:10 (-0600)  pihole    [â] List download failed: no cached list available
20.02.21 12:50:10 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 12:50:10 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Target: http://sysctl.org/cameleon/hosts
20.02.21 12:50:10 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Status: Pendi  [â] Status: Connection Refused
20.02.21 12:50:10 (-0600)  pihole    [â] List download failed: using previously cached list
20.02.21 12:50:11 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Received 20566 domains
20.02.21 12:50:11 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 12:50:11 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Target: https://zeustracker.abuse.ch/blocklist.php?download=domainblocklist
20.02.21 12:50:11 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Status: Pendi  [â] Status: Connection Refused
20.02.21 12:50:11 (-0600)  pihole    [â] List download failed: using previously cached list
20.02.21 12:50:11 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Received 0 domains
20.02.21 12:50:11 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 12:50:11 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Target: https://s3.amazonaws.com/lists.disconnect.me/simple_tracking.txt
20.02.21 12:50:12 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Status: Pendi  [â] Status: Connection Refused
20.02.21 12:50:12 (-0600)  pihole    [â] List download failed: using previously cached list
20.02.21 12:50:12 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Received 34 domains
20.02.21 12:50:12 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 12:50:12 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Target: https://s3.amazonaws.com/lists.disconnect.me/simple_ad.txt
20.02.21 12:50:12 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Status: Pendi  [â] Status: Connection Refused
20.02.21 12:50:12 (-0600)  pihole    [â] List download failed: using previously cached list
20.02.21 12:50:12 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Received 2701 domains
20.02.21 12:50:12 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 12:50:12 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Target: https://hosts-file.net/ad_servers.txt
20.02.21 12:50:13 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Status: Pendi  [â] Status: Connection Refused
20.02.21 12:50:13 (-0600)  pihole    [â] List download failed: no cached list available
20.02.21 12:50:13 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 12:50:14 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Storing downl  [â] Storing downloaded domains in new gravity database
20.02.21 12:50:15 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Building tree  [â] Building tree
20.02.21 12:50:15 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Swapping data  [â] Swapping databases
20.02.21 12:50:17 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Number of gravity domains: 86205 (74489 unique domains)
20.02.21 12:50:17 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Number of exact blacklisted domains: 1
20.02.21 12:50:17 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Number of regex blacklist filters: 0
20.02.21 12:50:17 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Number of exact whitelisted domains: 108
20.02.21 12:50:17 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Number of regex whitelist filters: 0
20.02.21 12:50:17 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Flushing DNS   [â] Flushing DNS cache
20.02.21 12:50:17 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Cleaning up s  [â] Cleaning up stray matter
20.02.21 12:50:17 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 12:50:18 (-0600)  pihole    [â] DNS service is listening
20.02.21 12:50:18 (-0600)  pihole       [â] UDP (IPv4)
20.02.21 12:50:18 (-0600)  pihole       [â] TCP (IPv4)
20.02.21 12:50:18 (-0600)  pihole       [â] UDP (IPv6)
20.02.21 12:50:18 (-0600)  pihole       [â] TCP (IPv6)
20.02.21 12:50:18 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 12:50:18 (-0600)  pihole    [â] Pi-hole blocking is enabled
20.02.21 12:50:18 (-0600)  pihole    Pi-hole version is v5.2.4 (Latest: v5.2.4)
20.02.21 12:50:18 (-0600)  pihole    AdminLTE version is v5.4 (Latest: v5.4)
20.02.21 12:50:18 (-0600)  pihole    FTL version is v5.7 (Latest: v5.7)
20.02.21 12:50:18 (-0600)  pihole  [cont-init.d] 20-start.sh: exited 0.
20.02.21 12:50:18 (-0600)  pihole  [cont-init.d] done.
20.02.21 12:50:18 (-0600)  pihole  [services.d] starting services
20.02.21 12:50:18 (-0600)  pihole  Starting crond
20.02.21 12:50:18 (-0600)  pihole  Starting lighttpd
20.02.21 12:50:18 (-0600)  pihole  Starting PADD
20.02.21 12:50:18 (-0600)  pihole  Starting pihole-FTL (no-daemon) as root
20.02.21 12:50:18 (-0600)  pihole  [services.d] done.
20.02.21 12:49:59 (-0600)  unbound  [1613846999] unbound[1:0] notice: init module 0: validator
20.02.21 12:49:59 (-0600)  unbound  [1613846999] unbound[1:0] notice: init module 1: iterator
20.02.21 12:49:59 (-0600)  unbound  [1613846999] unbound[1:0] info: start of service (unbound 1.13.0).
20.02.21 12:50:21 (-0600) Starting service 'dbus sha256:ca6de21b82870c1b7278e017977d90be0fcf1c1bdb61ac7e059a6b194881cea5'
20.02.21 12:58:54 (-0600) Started service 'dbus sha256:ca6de21b82870c1b7278e017977d90be0fcf1c1bdb61ac7e059a6b194881cea5'
20.02.21 12:58:54 (-0600)  dbus  method return time=1613847534.437242 sender=:1.0 -> destination=:1.89 serial=585 reply_serial=2
20.02.21 12:58:54 (-0600)  dbus     object path "/org/freedesktop/systemd1/job/707"
20.02.21 12:58:54 (-0600)  dbus  method return time=1613847534.437242 sender=:1.0 -> destination=:1.89 serial=585 reply_serial=2
20.02.21 12:58:54 (-0600)  dbus     object path "/org/freedesktop/systemd1/job/707"
20.02.21 12:58:56 (-0600) Service exited 'dbus sha256:ca6de21b82870c1b7278e017977d90be0fcf1c1bdb61ac7e059a6b194881cea5'

DNS query:

bash-3.2$ nslookup
> server 10.10.10.10
Default server: 10.10.10.10
Address: 10.10.10.10#53
> google.com
;; connection timed out; no servers could be reached
>

Logs following pihole container restart:

20.02.21 13:02:07 (-0600) Killing service 'pihole sha256:4f00e2485051978fffdfb56d069f40da2b1e83ad1ef399926cc5ac157cc48264'
20.02.21 13:02:07 (-0600)  pihole  Stopping PADD
20.02.21 13:02:07 (-0600)  pihole  Stopping lighttpd
20.02.21 13:02:07 (-0600)  pihole  Stopping pihole-FTL
20.02.21 13:02:07 (-0600)  pihole  padd.sh: no process found
20.02.21 13:02:07 (-0600)  pihole  Stopping cron
20.02.21 13:02:07 (-0600)  pihole  [cont-finish.d] executing container finish scripts...
20.02.21 13:02:07 (-0600)  pihole  [cont-finish.d] done.
20.02.21 13:02:07 (-0600)  pihole  [s6-finish] waiting for services.
20.02.21 13:02:08 (-0600)  pihole  [s6-finish] sending all processes the TERM signal.
20.02.21 13:02:11 (-0600)  pihole  [s6-finish] sending all processes the KILL signal and exiting.
20.02.21 13:02:12 (-0600) Service exited 'pihole sha256:4f00e2485051978fffdfb56d069f40da2b1e83ad1ef399926cc5ac157cc48264'
20.02.21 13:02:12 (-0600) Killed service 'pihole sha256:4f00e2485051978fffdfb56d069f40da2b1e83ad1ef399926cc5ac157cc48264'
20.02.21 13:02:13 (-0600) Installing service 'pihole sha256:4f00e2485051978fffdfb56d069f40da2b1e83ad1ef399926cc5ac157cc48264'
20.02.21 13:02:13 (-0600) Installed service 'pihole sha256:4f00e2485051978fffdfb56d069f40da2b1e83ad1ef399926cc5ac157cc48264'
20.02.21 13:02:13 (-0600) Starting service 'pihole sha256:4f00e2485051978fffdfb56d069f40da2b1e83ad1ef399926cc5ac157cc48264'
20.02.21 13:02:15 (-0600) Started service 'pihole sha256:4f00e2485051978fffdfb56d069f40da2b1e83ad1ef399926cc5ac157cc48264'
20.02.21 13:02:15 (-0600)  pihole  [s6-init] making user provided files available at /var/run/s6/etc...exited 0.
20.02.21 13:02:15 (-0600)  pihole  [s6-init] ensuring user provided files have correct perms...exited 0.
20.02.21 13:02:15 (-0600)  pihole  [s6-init] making user provided files available at /var/run/s6/etc...exited 0.
20.02.21 13:02:15 (-0600)  pihole  [s6-init] ensuring user provided files have correct perms...exited 0.
20.02.21 13:02:15 (-0600)  pihole  [fix-attrs.d] applying ownership & permissions fixes...
20.02.21 13:02:15 (-0600)  pihole  [fix-attrs.d] 01-resolver-resolv: applying... 
20.02.21 13:02:15 (-0600)  pihole  [fix-attrs.d] 01-resolver-resolv: exited 0.
20.02.21 13:02:15 (-0600)  pihole  [fix-attrs.d] done.
20.02.21 13:02:15 (-0600)  pihole  [cont-init.d] executing container initialization scripts...
20.02.21 13:02:15 (-0600)  pihole  [cont-init.d] 20-start.sh: executing... 
20.02.21 13:02:15 (-0600)  pihole  [fix-attrs.d] applying ownership & permissions fixes...
20.02.21 13:02:15 (-0600)  pihole  [fix-attrs.d] 01-resolver-resolv: applying... 
20.02.21 13:02:15 (-0600)  pihole  [fix-attrs.d] 01-resolver-resolv: exited 0.
20.02.21 13:02:15 (-0600)  pihole  [fix-attrs.d] done.
20.02.21 13:02:15 (-0600)  pihole  [cont-init.d] executing container initialization scripts...
20.02.21 13:02:15 (-0600)  pihole  [cont-init.d] 20-start.sh: executing... 
20.02.21 13:02:15 (-0600)  pihole   ::: Starting docker specific checks & setup for docker pihole/pihole
20.02.21 13:02:16 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 13:02:16 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Installing configs from /etc/.pihole...
20.02.21 13:02:16 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Existing dnsmasq.conf found... it is not a Pi-hole file, leaving alone!
20.02.21 13:02:16 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Copying 01-pihole.  [â] Copying 01-pihole.conf to /etc/dnsmasq.d/01-pihole.conf
20.02.21 13:02:17 (-0600)  pihole  Converting DNS1 to PIHOLE_DNS_
20.02.21 13:02:17 (-0600)  pihole  Converting DNS2 to PIHOLE_DNS_
20.02.21 13:02:17 (-0600)  pihole  Setting DNS servers based on PIHOLE_DNS_ variable
20.02.21 13:02:17 (-0600)  pihole  ::: Pre existing WEBPASSWORD found
20.02.21 13:02:17 (-0600)  pihole  DNSMasq binding to default interface: eth0
20.02.21 13:02:17 (-0600)  pihole  Added ENV to php:
20.02.21 13:02:17 (-0600)  pihole                       "PHP_ERROR_LOG" => "/var/log/lighttpd/error.log",
20.02.21 13:02:17 (-0600)  pihole                       "ServerIP" => "0.0.0.0",
20.02.21 13:02:17 (-0600)  pihole                       "VIRTUAL_HOST" => "0.0.0.0",
20.02.21 13:02:18 (-0600)  pihole  Using IPv4 and IPv6
20.02.21 13:02:18 (-0600)  pihole  ::: Preexisting ad list /etc/pihole/adlists.list detected ((exiting setup_blocklists early))
20.02.21 13:02:18 (-0600)  pihole  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StevenBlack/hosts/master/hosts
20.02.21 13:02:18 (-0600)  pihole  ::: Testing pihole-FTL DNS: sudo: unable to resolve host 7ed1bcc: Name or service not known
20.02.21 13:02:19 (-0600)  pihole  FTL started!
20.02.21 13:02:19 (-0600)  pihole  ::: Testing lighttpd config: Syntax OK
20.02.21 13:02:19 (-0600)  pihole  ::: All config checks passed, cleared for startup ...
20.02.21 13:02:19 (-0600)  pihole  ::: Enabling Query Logging
20.02.21 13:02:19 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Enabling logging...
20.02.21 13:02:19 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Restarting DNS se  [â] Restarting DNS server
  [â] Logging has been enabled!
20.02.21 13:02:19 (-0600)  pihole   ::: Docker start setup complete
20.02.21 13:02:20 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Neutrino emissions detected...
  [â] Pulling blocklist source list into range
20.02.21 13:02:20 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 13:02:20 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Preparing new gra  [â] Preparing new gravity database
20.02.21 13:02:20 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Using libz compression
20.02.21 13:02:20 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 13:02:20 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Target: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StevenBlack/hosts/master/hosts
20.02.21 13:02:20 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Status: Pending..  [â] Status: Retrieval successful
20.02.21 13:02:21 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Received 62904 domains
20.02.21 13:02:21 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 13:02:21 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Target: https://mirror1.malwaredomains.com/files/justdomains
20.02.21 13:02:21 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Status: Pending..  [â] Status: Not found
20.02.21 13:02:21 (-0600)  pihole    [â] List download failed: no cached list available
20.02.21 13:02:21 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 13:02:21 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Target: http://sysctl.org/cameleon/hosts
20.02.21 13:02:22 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Status: Pending..  [â] Status: No changes detected
20.02.21 13:02:22 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Received 20566 domains
20.02.21 13:02:22 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 13:02:22 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Target: https://zeustracker.abuse.ch/blocklist.php?download=domainblocklist
20.02.21 13:02:23 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Status: Pending..  [â] Status: Retrieval successful
20.02.21 13:02:23 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Received 0 domains
20.02.21 13:02:23 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 13:02:23 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Target: https://s3.amazonaws.com/lists.disconnect.me/simple_tracking.txt
20.02.21 13:02:23 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Status: Pending..  [â] Status: No changes detected
20.02.21 13:02:23 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Received 34 domains
20.02.21 13:02:23 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 13:02:23 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Target: https://s3.amazonaws.com/lists.disconnect.me/simple_ad.txt
20.02.21 13:02:24 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Status: Pending..  [â] Status: No changes detected
20.02.21 13:02:24 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Received 2701 domains
20.02.21 13:02:24 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 13:02:24 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Target: https://hosts-file.net/ad_servers.txt
20.02.21 13:02:24 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Status: Pending..  [â] Status: Not found
20.02.21 13:02:24 (-0600)  pihole    [â] List download failed: no cached list available
20.02.21 13:02:24 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 13:02:25 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Storing downloade  [â] Storing downloaded domains in new gravity database
  [â] Building tree
20.02.21 13:02:26 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Swapping database  [â] Swapping databases
20.02.21 13:02:27 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Number of gravity domains: 86205 (74489 unique domains)
20.02.21 13:02:27 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Number of exact blacklisted domains: 1
20.02.21 13:02:27 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Number of regex blacklist filters: 0
20.02.21 13:02:27 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Number of exact whitelisted domains: 108
20.02.21 13:02:27 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Number of regex whitelist filters: 0
20.02.21 13:02:27 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Flushing DNS cach  [â] Flushing DNS cache
20.02.21 13:02:27 (-0600)  pihole    [i] Cleaning up stray  [â] Cleaning up stray matter
20.02.21 13:02:27 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 13:02:28 (-0600)  pihole    [â] DNS service is listening
20.02.21 13:02:28 (-0600)  pihole       [â] UDP (IPv4)
20.02.21 13:02:28 (-0600)  pihole       [â] TCP (IPv4)
20.02.21 13:02:28 (-0600)  pihole       [â] UDP (IPv6)
20.02.21 13:02:28 (-0600)  pihole       [â] TCP (IPv6)
20.02.21 13:02:28 (-0600)  pihole  
20.02.21 13:02:28 (-0600)  pihole    [â] Pi-hole blocking is enabled
20.02.21 13:02:28 (-0600)  pihole    Pi-hole version is v5.2.4 (Latest: v5.2.4)
20.02.21 13:02:28 (-0600)  pihole    AdminLTE version is v5.4 (Latest: v5.4)
20.02.21 13:02:29 (-0600)  pihole    FTL version is v5.7 (Latest: v5.7)
20.02.21 13:02:29 (-0600)  pihole  [cont-init.d] 20-start.sh: exited 0.
20.02.21 13:02:29 (-0600)  pihole  [cont-init.d] done.
20.02.21 13:02:29 (-0600)  pihole  [services.d] starting services
20.02.21 13:02:29 (-0600)  pihole  Starting lighttpd
20.02.21 13:02:29 (-0600)  pihole  Starting pihole-FTL (no-daemon) as root
20.02.21 13:02:29 (-0600)  pihole  Starting PADD
20.02.21 13:02:29 (-0600)  pihole  Starting crond
20.02.21 13:02:29 (-0600)  pihole  [services.d] done.

DNS query following pihole container restart:

bash-3.2$ nslookup
> server 10.10.10.10
Default server: 10.10.10.10
Address: 10.10.10.10#53
> google.com
Server:		10.10.10.10
Address:	10.10.10.10#53

Non-authoritative answer:
Name:	google.com
Address: 172.217.9.142
>

[klutchell]

Thanks for the logs, that's super helpful! I see that on first boot it is unable to update any of the blocklists (Status: Connection Refused) but on restart the updates work (Status: No changes detected).

On it's own this wouldn't be a problem but it indicates that on first start the pihole container is having connection issues. Have you modified the docker-compose file at all? Can you share some of your env vars?

• DNSMASQ_LISTENING
• INTERFACE
• DNS1
• DNS2
• others? (not webpassword)

Also could you try setting the ServerIP variable to the LAN IP of your device and see if the behavior changes?

[eiddor]

Wow, good catch - I'm not sure how I missed that difference. I saw some "Connection Refused" messages but didn't notice that it was for every blocklist and kind of got used to seeing them.

No modification to docker-compose, especially while testing these branches for you. Once I get a stable version, I do change some stuff in pihole/Dockerfile to pull in a hosts file and change the font size, but again I've been careful not to do that while testing.

Environment variables:

DNS1 208.67.222.222
DNS2 208.67.220.220
DNSMASQ_LISTENING eth0
INTERFACE eth0
TZ America/Chicago

Just added ServerIP and I'm testing now. Is that a recent addition?

[eiddor]

No luck after adding ServerIP - I was really hoping for it to be that simple :-)

[eiddor]

Just to add - there's nothing special about my network:

The RPi3b is wired directly into a Cisco 9200 switch with no auth configured, so the port comes up instantly.

[klutchell]

ServerIP has been required since v4.2.2. I'll remove the optional label from the README. I also see a bunch of other env vars that are being deprecated so I'll have to clean that up soon.

https://github.com/pi-hole/docker-pi-hole#deprecated-environment-variables

Starting with the v4.1.1 release your Pi-hole container may encounter issues starting the DNS service unless ran with the following setting: --dns=127.0.0.1 --dns=1.1.1.1
The second server can be any DNS IP of your choosing, but the first dns must be 127.0.0.1

https://github.com/pi-hole/docker-pi-hole#docker-pi-hole-v411

You're not blocking 1.1.1.1 on your network in any way?

[eiddor]

Oh, man - Their Docker hub docs are a bit out of sync with the GutHub docs - https://hub.docker.com/r/pihole/pihole.
I need to revisit my "new" pihole device now (even though it's working fine).

Also, I'm reading this as ServerIP not being required unless we're running host mode. Does Balena run host mode by default? (Should it?)

Docker Pi-Hole v4.2.2
ServerIP no longer a required environment variable unless you run network 'host' mode! Feel free to remove it unless you need it to customize lighttpd

As for the DNS requirement - This is where my knowledge (or lack of) of Balena breaks down. Looking at docker-compose.yml it seems that we're covered:

dns:
      - "127.0.0.1"
      - "1.1.1.1"
    environment:
      DNSMASQ_LISTENING: eth0
      INTERFACE: eth0
      DNS1: 127.0.0.1#5053
      DNS2: 127.0.0.1#5053

Now, I'm guessing that the environment variables in the GUI override these settings (where does that magic happen?).

The thing is, I want to run OpenDNS as my upstream DNS (I work for Cisco). How do we reconcile that with the 127.0.0.1 requirement?

With the new method, I guess it would be like this:

PIHOLE_DNS_: 127.0.0.1#5053;208.67.222.222;208.67.220.220

Now, do I have to wait until Balena Pihole gets an update before I can use that?

(1.1.1.1 is fully accessible in my network, I use it all the time to test web redirect portals)

[eiddor]

I decided to try to set DNS1 to 127.0.0.1 and am still having the problem, so it wasn't that.

---

FYI - on my dedicated RPi running pihole, this syntax worked for me and pihole was even "smart" enough to recognize OpenDNS as the upstream

PIHOLE_DNS_ = 127.0.0.1;208.67.222.222;208.67.220.220

[klutchell]

Also, I'm reading this as ServerIP not being required unless we're running host mode. Does Balena run host mode by default? (Should it?)

Balena does not run in host mode by default, but this Pi-Hole stack does in order to avoid port conflicts.

balena-pihole/docker-compose.yml

Line 23 in 2c028ec

network_mode: host

^^ So as you can see from the line above, ServerIP should be provided for this stack.

balena-pihole/docker-compose.yml

Lines 15 to 17 in 2c028ec

	dns:
	- "127.0.0.1"
	- "1.1.1.1"

^^ These lines specify the container DNS, and aren't directly related to Pi-Hole, but according to their docs we want values similar to this to make sure Pi-Hole can start correctly (needs to resolve before it can resolve!).

In fact, since these are only used at container startup and not to perform actual runtime queries, you could replace the 1.1.1.1 with 208.67.222.222 to use OpenDNS there as well. As long as 127.0.0.1 is first.

balena-pihole/docker-compose.yml

Lines 21 to 22 in 2c028ec

	DNS1: 127.0.0.1#5053
	DNS2: 127.0.0.1#5053

^^ These DNS lines are overwritten if you provide alternate values in the dashboard. So by providing 208.67.222.222 and 1208.67.220.220 you are effectively using OpenDNS for your upstream (not related to dns: above).

Now, I'm guessing that the environment variables in the GUI override these settings (where does that magic happen?).

The balena supervisor will apply dashboard environment variables to the services and override existing ones.

You can go ahead and start using PIHOLE_DNS_=208.67.222.222;208.67.220.220 and remove the two DNS lines from your compose file and dashboard now if you want. I already have for my setup.

[eiddor]

Thanks for the thorough explanation, @klutchell !

You can go ahead and start using PIHOLE_DNS_=208.67.222.222;208.67.220.220 and remove the two DNS lines from your compose file and dashboard now if you want. I already have for my setup.

Done.

So it looks like after all of this we've:

a) taught Roddie a lot about how Balena works

b) figured out that we need to update some environment variables and docs in the project

Not a waste for me at all, but it seems like I'm still at square one and you ended up working this weekend anyway.

[klutchell]

Nah dude, I still got lots of gaming and dog walks in this weekend. We're all good.

balena-pihole/docker-compose.yml

Lines 15 to 17 in 2c028ec

	dns:
	- "127.0.0.1"
	- "1.1.1.1"

What if you changed the second entry here to be something else, like google or opendns? Any difference?

Once I get a stable version, I do change some stuff in pihole/Dockerfile to pull in a hosts file and change the font size

Can you clarify these steps a bit? Anything that would impact the host OS that you would know of? I wonder if this would happen with a fresh image, or another device, to isolate the issue to the environment/network or the device.

Pro Tip: if you want to learn a ton more about how balena works, these masterclasses are killer and actually pretty fun.
https://www.balena.io/docs/learn/more/masterclasses/overview/

[eiddor]

Nah dude, I still got lots of gaming and dog walks in this weekend. We're all good.

Ha! As long as the wife isn't blaming me for gaming, we're ok.

What if you changed the second entry here to be something else, like google or opendns? Any difference?

No difference.

Can you clarify these steps a bit? Anything that would impact the host OS that you would know of? I wonder if this would happen with a fresh image, or another device, to isolate the issue to the environment/network or the device.

Harmless, I believe:

RUN echo "addn-hosts=/etc/pihole/lan.list" | sudo tee /etc/dnsmasq.d/02-lan.conf
RUN curl -sSL https://x.x.x.x/roddie/hosts -o /etc/pihole/lan.list

ENV FONTFACE Terminus
ENV FONTSIZE 10x20

Before I even opened the initial display issue I started a new application with a new device to make sure it wasn't something left-over from the last year or three. Happy to try again and only start with the dtoverlay branch. It'll take me a half hour or so.

Pro Tip: if you want to learn a ton more about how balena works, these masterclasses are killer and actually pretty fun.
https://www.balena.io/docs/learn/more/masterclasses/overview/

Excellent! Can't wait to go through them!

[eiddor]

@klutchell Fresh application and device, using the dtoverlay branch with no modifications. Same problem.

[klutchell]

Okay, thanks for testing. You're correct that your production modifications are harmless as well. Though if you wanted you could also set FONTFACE=Terminus and FONTSIZE=10x20 in the balena dashboard and skip changing the Dockerfile for those. The supervisor will use the dashboard values above all else.

For your lan hosts those can be added manually via the Pi-Hole dashboard under Local DNS -> DNS Records but your way is faster since you already have the list hosted somewhere.

Let me think about your container startup issue some more, nothing obvious is coming to me right now.

But remember that we aren't at square one cause we fixed your PADD display (and mine) and we noticed that some Pi-Hole env vars are being deprecated so we are tracking that. Also a learning experience isn't a waste in this line of work.

[eiddor]

Though if you wanted you could also set FONTFACE=Terminus and FONTSIZE=10x20 in the balena dashboard and skip changing the Dockerfile for those. The supervisor will use the dashboard values above all else.

Good to know! Is that documented somewhere? I only noticed those settings in pihole/Dockerfile a couple of months ago. It's nice to finally use all of my screen real estate :-)

For the LAN hosts there was a whole discussion about it in the comments section of the original balena-pihole blogpost from a few years ago and a few different options were thrown around. It's my entire network, which is about 90 hosts and this is just a hosts file that I have always maintained on my "main" server so that I can quickly find something if needed. It keeps things semi-automated, at least.

Related: I learned what Docker was due to that blog post and the related comment thread, and ended up writing a whole blog series about it.

Let me think about your container startup issue some more, nothing obvious is coming to me right now.

I appreciate it - Let me know if you want me to test anything. Two things are nagging at me:

1. I don't like host mode - I'm sure it's not causing this problem, but I really don't like host mode.

2. Something in the back of my mind keeps telling me that I see this connectivity issue whenever we have display-related changes. I'll play with some of them to see if I can get it to "unbreak."

But remember that we aren't at square one cause we fixed your PADD display (and mine) and we noticed that some Pi-Hole env vars are being deprecated so we are tracking that. Also a learning experience isn't a waste in this line of work.

True true - And I got my 3rd or 4th balena project PR submitted.

[klutchell]

If you'd like to try it without host mode you can replace the following line...

balena-pihole/docker-compose.yml

Line 22 in c2dd4c6

network_mode: host

... with the below lines using your device's LAN IP.

    ports:
      - "LAN_IP:53:53/tcp"
      - "LAN_IP:53:53/upd"

This is to prevent the balena engine from binding to 53 on ALL interfaces, because 53 is already in use on the balena VPN interface.

Then you should also remove the following lines from the pihole Dockerfile:

balena-pihole/pihole/Dockerfile

Lines 17 to 20 in c2dd4c6

	# https://serverfault.com/a/817791
	# force dnsmasq to bind only the interfaces it is listening on
	# otherwise dnsmasq will fail to start since balena is using 53 on some interfaces
	RUN echo "bind-interfaces" >> /etc/dnsmasq.conf

After that you'll no longer be running in host mode and we can see if the behaviour changes.

You can also try resolving this error ...

::: Testing pihole-FTL DNS: sudo: unable to resolve host 7ed1bcc: Temporary failure in name resolution

... by adding 127.0.0.1 7ed1bcc to your hosts file or in the Pi-hole dashboard. Normally that error doesn't seem to have any impact but that's how I cleared it on my devices.