Will a Windows 10 PC connect happily to two different network routers?

googler

Current single connection is Ethernet, to a standalone router which runs music replay devices. No phoneline or internet connection to this router.

If I enable WiFi, and connect to the household WiFi router, which is internet-connected, will Windows 10 be happy with this double-network connection arrangment?

Peter999_2

Should be fine, just make sure you use different subnets on each router.     i.e. use 192.168.1.*** on one router and 192.168.0.*** on the other to make sure you have no conflicts.     

googler

How do I check which subnets are in use?

grumpycrab

The following should tell you ...1. type cmd in search and open a command prompt  2. type exactly
ipconfig |find "Gateway"  should give you different 2 replies.

Mickey666

There may be some confusion here about what constitutes a 'router'.
In a physical sense, most people would refer to the box handed out by the internet provider, which is fine.  But in a network sense, a 'router' has a very specific meaning and it is unusual to have two 'network routers' on a network, especially a domestic home network.  There might be good reasons for implementing separate subnets in a home networks but it's likely to just be an unnecessary complication.  In this case, it sounds like the ethernet 'music router' is actually functioning as a simple ethernet 'switch'.
It's perfectly possible (I'd say fairly normal) to have wired ethernet and wifi connections on a single home network.  It's also perfectly possible to use a physical 'router' as a wifi 'access point' on the same network, though it won't be functioning as a 'network router' as such.
In general, network configuration can be simple enough for standard 'out of the box' set-ups but can become more complicated if a non-standard set-up is required.  Complicated as in requiring more specialised knowledge of exactly what is happening within the network operating software.

googler

The 'new' WiFi 'router' is a standard Sky broadband device, internet-connected. 

The old ethernet 'router' is a BT Homehub of some vintage or other, merely there to provide a bridge between the PC, running Logitech Music Server, and a Squeezebox Touch which replays the music from the HD on the PC, via LMS. Not connected to a landline, only the SBT and the PC. Thus far, the Win 10 PC has only been there to function as a music server, but it might be useful to have it access the internut occasionally. Another PC is currently the internut PC.

littleboo

Why don't you just connect it all via the Sky router?

Mickey666

OK, so you only have one 'network router', ie the sky device, which is fine.  Without knowing the physical layout of these devices and any physical wiring constraints it's difficult to make specific suggestions but it seems to me that you just need to make a connection between the Sky device and the BT Homehub.  The BT device would really just operate as an ethernet 'switch' ie provide additional ethernet ports and its 'network router' functionality would not be used.
I'm not familiar with the sky device - how many ethernet ports does it have?  If it has one spare then it might be as simple as just using a single ethernet cable to connect the sky and BT devices.  The 'network router' within the Sky device will then handle all the internet access and other 'router'' functions while the BT Homehub would be a passive device simply used for additional connections.  Wifi devices would still be able to connect via the sky device and the wired PCs connected to the BT home hub would be able to access the internet via the sky device as well.   Basically everything would be connected to a single network with internet access.
The BT home Hub could also be used as an additional wifi  'access point' to provide better wifi coverage, though the usefulness of this would depend where it is physically located - ie no point if it's sat right next to the Sky device

CoastingHatbox

You will in theory be able to do what you want, providing both of your networks are using different subnets (IP ranges).

Your computer will end up with two default routes, one for each network connection. Both routes will have a metric, and the computer will effectively use the route with the lowest metric. If the route for your WiFi connection gets the lowest metric, than it will work. If it does not, then you are going to have to adjust the routing table to give the WiFi connection the lower metric.

I don't know whether Windows 10 now has some magic baked into its network stack check Internet connectivity and its routing table automatigically based on the results. Sadly I'm not in a position to easily check/test at the moment, but given sometime I could be.

A default route is where the computer directs network packets that it doesn't know what to do with because their destination IP address is not in a network range it knows about. The default route typically results in these packets getting forward to your Internet router, which will then forward them to its gateway for forwarding via one or more Internet routers to their final destination.

If you don't understand the above, I reccomend you run your home all on one network, unless your intention here is to learn about networking? In which case, if you are trying to maintain two seperate networks which you both want to share in Internet connection, then you will need a more capable router or firewall or level 3 capable managed network switch.

debitcardmayhem

CoastingHatbox said:

You will in theory be able to do what you want, providing both of your networks are using different subnets (IP ranges).

Your computer will end up with two default routes, one for each network connection. Both routes will have a metric, and the computer will effectively use the route with the lowest metric. If the route for your WiFi connection gets the lowest metric, than it will work. If it does not, then you are going to have to adjust the routing table to give the WiFi connection the lower metric.

I don't know whether Windows 10 now has some magic baked into its network stack check Internet connectivity and its routing table automatigically based on the results. Sadly I'm not in a position to easily check/test at the moment, but given sometime I could be.

A default route is where the computer directs network packets that it doesn't know what to do with because their destination IP address is not in a network range it knows about. The default route typically results in these packets getting forward to your Internet router, which will then forward them to its gateway for forwarding via one or more Internet routers to their final destination.

If you don't understand the above, I reccomend you run your home all on one network, unless your intention here is to learn about networking? In which case, if you are trying to maintain two seperate networks which you both want to share in Internet connection, then you will need a more capable router or firewall or level 3 capable managed network switch.

No , the pc will have Wifi to the net , and the squeezebox will be on the ethernet connection. The ethernet will have a network address of whatever the OP has set already, as long the wifi is on a different subnet or network  there will be no conflict I don't the OP wants the squeezebox on the net. If it was me I would change the sqeeze to use 10. and the pc with whatever the router gives via dhcp or even a static address on the router network.

CoastingHatbox

debitcardmayhem said:

CoastingHatbox said:

You will in theory be able to do what you want, providing both of your networks are using different subnets (IP ranges).

Your computer will end up with two default routes, one for each network connection. Both routes will have a metric, and the computer will effectively use the route with the lowest metric. If the route for your WiFi connection gets the lowest metric, than it will work. If it does not, then you are going to have to adjust the routing table to give the WiFi connection the lower metric.

I don't know whether Windows 10 now has some magic baked into its network stack check Internet connectivity and its routing table automatigically based on the results. Sadly I'm not in a position to easily check/test at the moment, but given sometime I could be.

A default route is where the computer directs network packets that it doesn't know what to do with because their destination IP address is not in a network range it knows about. The default route typically results in these packets getting forward to your Internet router, which will then forward them to its gateway for forwarding via one or more Internet routers to their final destination.

If you don't understand the above, I reccomend you run your home all on one network, unless your intention here is to learn about networking? In which case, if you are trying to maintain two seperate networks which you both want to share in Internet connection, then you will need a more capable router or firewall or level 3 capable managed network switch.

No , the pc will have Wifi to the net , and the squeezebox will be on the ethernet connection. The ethernet will have a network address of whatever the OP has set already, as long the wifi is on a different subnet or network  there will be no conflict I don't the OP wants the squeezebox on the net. If it was me I would change the sqeeze to use 10. and the pc with whatever the router gives via dhcp or even a static address on the router network.

No.
The PC will have two network connections. Both networks will have a router (default gateway). One connected to the Internet. One not.

There is a 50% (or greater) chance that the gateway on the Ethernet connection will be selected as the default route with the lowest metric, unless the computer has something up its sleeve to test each gateway it has access to for Internet connectivity and amend the routing table accordingly.

I am not sure whether Windows 10 has that feature. Android certainly does. I have offered to test it to give the OP an assured answer, but I need to dig out a spare network adapter and some cables so I will hang on and see what the OP has to say.