DISCOVERY
The Pi-Hole website recommends using Raspberry PI OS as the operating
system when using Raspberry Pi hardware. The Raspberry Pi OS a slimmed down variant of
Debian .
INSTALLATION (2 Installations)
Raspi #1 installation was completed on a Hyper-V
virtual machine from ISO as a learning process. (Actual Rasberry Pi hardware was not available at the
time of review.) I downloaded the newest ISO file for Raspi and installed it using default settings. No
problems were encountered.
My Raspi #2 install, I located and acquired an old i3 HP desktop that
I acquired for free. This desktop had no memory or drive. Then I installed 8 gig of memory salvaged from
another dead desktop. In order to give it a boost - I added a new 512G SSD that was in my inventory.
Then, using the Belana Etcher software, I created a bootable thumb drive from the ISO. I installed Raspi
from the thumb drive onto the i3 desktop. Performance is more than sufficient for testing purposes! The
processor could be upgraded with a used one from eBay that fits the same socket if desired.
SAMBA SUPPORT
SAMBA is much more difficult to install and configure and
will prove difficult for beginners. Likewise, the network does NOT appear when browsing. You must
pull down the (not so obvious) GO menu and select NETWORK.
SOFTWARE
I installed Raspi for the sole purpose of utilizing Pi-Hole software. I have it on a headless
machine that I access remotely via SSH. I connect via SSH to run a Python script to keep everything
updated.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS OF RASPBERRY PI OS:
This OS is not really intended
to be a daily driver.
It's very stripped down and meant to run things like pi-holes, home
automation, small DIY NAS units etc... The difficulties configuring SAMBA file access is
a concern for anyone who needs it. If you wan't to use Linux for a daily driver, Mint would be a better
choice. (see below)