Hi guys. I have been wondering whether or not I can use my old Thomson TG782T router as a switch. If I can what would I need to do in order to make this work.
simple answer, yes, because it's already a router/switch hybrid.
the 4 ports aren't really individually assigned router ports, (e.g. you can't have multiple internet connections plugged into those. and route traffic down different lines.
the modem part converts the ADSL to whatever is used inside the box, (probably Ethernet) the router part simply provides a link between the internal network and external network routing local traffic locally and outbound traffic to the outside, and inbound traffic from the outside to the inside.
the firewall part works as normal, filtering traffic from the outside that's coming in.
notably as far as the router part is concerned there is only two connections, outside and inside.
then there is the switch, ports 1,2,3,4 of the switch are presented to you, port 5 of the switch is connected to the wireless card, port 6 of the switch is connected to the firewall...
long story short, you can use your router as a switch, because those four yellow ports are connected to a switch internally.