@Viper_Rus said
...As they already wrote to you, using bridges to connect different segments of the same VLAN is not very good, because The processor's performance is wasted, but if there is no other option (buying a smart switch), I don't see anything very bad about it.
Thank you, that is what i needed to know.
@johnpoz sometimes money is not the only factor for deciding whether you should buy another piece of gear or not.
Adding a switch is simple and inexpensive but it involves finding a spot for it, finding a receptacle for it, finding/making patch cables, labeling, documenting, etc...
In this case, i wanted to explore if i could make use of the unpopulated ports in my firewall to connect my VLAN compatible AP without having to make physical changes to the network infrastructure.
Based on your response, and the opinion of some others i have talked to, this might be possible but is not recommended in the long run if you want a stable network.
So, we have determined that a managed switch is the recommended way to go forward.
This has created a snowball effect in me since a single 16-port managed switch could replace my other 2 dumb switches (making my network infrastructure simpler).
...and, if its provided with POE it could power AP and IP-Phones?
...and, if i buy a switch form the same manufacturer as the AP i might as well use their central managing controller software.
So, in order to setup VLANS on my single AP I ended up buying a software managed, 16-port, POE switch. I should get it by the end of this week.
This is very far from the original idea of just changing some settings in PFsense. But, all in all I'm happy that you guys guided me on how to do it properly as this network is extremely important for my business operations.