Controlling priority of internet connections

AlwaysSomething

I often perform several internet operations simultaneously. For example, I might be streaming a video, downloading several files, and browsing all at the same time. In Windows 7, is there any way to control the priority of bandwidth allocation to the various streams. For example, I would like to give the streaming video priority so that it doesn't drop out (it runs fine if that's all I'm doing). I don't mind how long the downloads take.
Does my router play in to this? It's quite old.
Thanks

fwor

In theory, yes. Since Windows 2000 the network interfaces include a component called the QoS Packet Scheduler, which ~can~ be configured to prioritise some types of traffic above others. There are tutorials out there for this, but be prepared for it not to be easy...

Similarly, your router may have the ability to prioritise some types of traffic over others, depending on make and model.

I take a simpler approach - it's generally downloads that conflict, so I just use a download manager (based on bittorrent, which I accept may not be suitable for all downloads) that allows you to pause, or throttle or defer downloads (by time of day) when the bandwidth is needed for other things.