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Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to common questions across general usage, installation, configuration and troubleshooting.
General
›Is NexoralDNS free?
Yes — a generous free tier for home users and developers. The premium tier adds advanced features for businesses.
›How does it compare to Pi-hole?
NexoralDNS is built on a modern stack (Node.js, Redis, MongoDB) with sub-ms caching, built-in HA clustering, a React dashboard, REST API and multi-user RBAC — more scalable and API-driven.
Installation
›Can I run it on a Raspberry Pi?
Yes — it is lightweight and Docker-compatible with ARM64 images. Runs on Raspberry Pi 3, 4 and 5.
›Port 53 is already in use?
Common on Ubuntu/Debian where systemd-resolved listens on port 53. Disable it:
sudo systemctl stop systemd-resolved
sudo systemctl disable systemd-resolved
Usage
›How do I block ads?
Two ways: subscribe to a public ad-blocking list (e.g. StevenBlack) in the Blocking section, or manually add specific domains like ads.google.com to the block list.
›Can I create wildcard DNS records?
Yes — use *.local.example.com syntax in the DNS Records section of the dashboard.
›How many devices can I connect?
Unlimited devices. NexoralDNS serves as the DNS resolver for your entire network segment.
Troubleshooting
›Dashboard shows "Connection Lost"
The API server is not reachable. Check docker ps, review docker logs nexoraldns-api, and ensure port 4000 is open.
›DNS queries are slow
Check that Redis is running (docker ps). Most queries should resolve from cache in <2ms. If all queries hit upstream, Redis may be down.