Deepa S

Subnets, DNS, WiFi fundamentals, and teaching networking

A person working from home at night, typing on a laptop with soft lamp lighting and a glass of wine.

DNS & Ad Blocking

When Pi-hole Blocks a Site You Need: Whitelist, Wildcards, and Regex That Actually Work

Fix Pi-hole overblocking: learn exact whitelisting, wildcard rules, and regex overrides—plus the query log step most people skip.

Deepa S 2026-09-03

Close-up image of ethernet cables plugged into a network switch, showcasing IT infrastructure.

Bridging the VLAN Gap: Set Up an mDNS Repeater for Cross-VLAN Discovery in Home Assistant

When your IoT VLAN breaks discovery, an mDNS repeater is the fix. Set one up so Home Assistant sees all your devices, no firewall rules needed.

Deepa S 2026-08-12