Fast File Server

[fissidens]

I'm looking to add a really fast file server to our 2003 network. We have 5 users using 3D CAD (SolidWorks) who are typically opening several hundred files at a time (up to 2GB total). What I would like is for it to be as quick opening those files if they are across the network to being on their own hard drives. Of course, two or more users could be trying to do this at the same time and the process can take as long as 20 minutes at the moment compared with the same project only taking 8 minutes from a local drive.

I have no preconceptions as to how this might be achieved - it could be a 2003 server or perhaps NAS could perform better?

Does anyone have any useful advice as to how I can get the best performance?

 

[NetIntruder]

SolidWorks files can get quite large - you may be looking at a network bottleneck, not a server resource issue....

How large are the files in question? 8 minutes to open a file locally seems a little extensive which is why i'm wondering...

~Intruder~
CEH, MCSA/MCSE 2000/2003

"The Less You Do, The Less Can Go Wrong"