Question about NAS and file-sharing across network

Something I've been pondering about, if I have a NAS server and say 2+ computers are accessing it, what hardware on the NAS would best serve to optimize/streaming performance? For example, say 4 PCs and the NAS are on a GB network, all raccessing media content (i.e. music, tv shows), some accessing the same file. How would I optimize the performance so none of the media content is lagging/skipping/etc.. Would the NAS be able to handle all the PCs accessing content (read only) on it w/o problems?

What OS are you using and are you just using samba to share the files?

Also have you tried it already to see if you have any lag currently? It kinda sounds like you haven't even given it a shot yet. I say try it and see if you have any lag and if you don't then no problem. If you do then work for optimization but if you don't need it that just means one less thing you have to worry about.

I am running a 100mbit network and I am able to play dvd quality media over it (full quality rip) on 3 computers w/o any issues at all.

Generally, wired LANS are pretty fast and you shouldn't have any problem with 2 computers. A 100mbit connection can easily handle 2. If they are HDTV, it might require more bandwidth, but if you are using gigabit ethernet, you'll be fine. I doubt the HD speed will be an issue, but if it does become one, you might have to RAID stripe them.

Thanks for the advice guys. I haven't tried it yet..well becuase technically I have time to wait for the Atom to come out so I can start building then. I just wanted to make sure I have the right hardware that can handle these tasks. I was worried HD speeds/cpu speeds/etc might affect the way it delivers the media to other PCs