[brk]

There are some good cheap managed switches out there. I have a Linksys SFE2000-something 24 port PoE switch for my PoE devices (security cams, IP phone, other stuff) and a TP-Link [something] 16 port switch. Both support basic VLANs, SNMP, etc.

I have 1 2port VLAN that connects my cable modem to my router on the TP-Link. From that switch I have 1 port cables to a machine with wireshark, and I can configure that port to monitor various VLANs for whatever reason.

I run MRTG for several things, including basic traffic graphing. I display the graphs from the router uplink port and a couple of other key ports in a window on the VMS that also has security cameras on it. From that monitor I can keep on eye on key things (cameras, Internet I/O, some home automation stuff).

Anyway, I haven't found an affordable "perfect" switch for home stuff, but there are a lot of cheap, decent managed switches that give you a lot more flexibility beyond "everything on 1 network".

My home net is essentially segmented into Primary LAN, Security Devices, Guest LAN (mostly just a wifi bridge) and LAB LAN.

[korethr]

Have you found an OpenWRT firmware equivalent for these devices? A lack of an open-source firmware for such a switch has been one of my hangups. I'm leery of the firmware that would come with such a device, especially given the history of the firmware of home routers being implemented poorly (bufferbloat, obsolete versions of software with known vulnerabilities, a lack of upgrades available from the vendor because they've EOL-ed support on the device to make room for the new shiny version -- which is also shipping with vulnerabilities).

I think what would be ideal is something in the vein of the Linksys SFE2000, with an open-source firmware akin to OpenWRT. AFAIK, that, or something approaching that isn't available. However, I would love to be wrong in that regard.