Original idea for an Ethernet switch!
Original idea for an Ethernet switch!
It varies. Often it's more affordable to purchase ready-made items and then adjust them to fit your requirements. This approach can also save significant time and effort.
You emphasized the precise reason for proceeding since you already possess the necessary equipment. The assertions about 1-2ms latency through software bridging seem questionable—especially under normal conditions. I’m not sure if such performance is achievable outside peak loads, where I currently experience pings between 0.2 and 0.3ms when bridging my desktop via NAS to the LAN. For everyday use, it appears nearly identical to using a physical switch. If the NAS becomes strained, that could alter things, but most of my heavy traffic still passes through it, making it more efficient than switching methods.
Alex Atkin UK appreciates the details about latency. I expect to conduct additional tests myself.