hardware for file server

[Dieter Baron <dillo%danbala.tuwien.ac.at@localhost>]

hi,

I'm in the process of building a file server.  It will be accessed
from 2-3 single-user hosts (NetBSD and Windows) via gigabit ethernet,
serving videos, audio, and be used for document and archvie storage.
Also, it will serve one or two ISCSI targets.

  I intend to use 4 750gb hard disks with a raid 5 volume on them.

  Since this is my first file server, I would appreciate advice on
what kind of hardware I need:

- what kind of CPU, at what speed
- how much RAM
- hardware raid or raidframe
- anything else I should look out for

  Also, should I use dedicated partitions as backing store for the
ISCSI targets, or are files just as good?

  Which file system type (and what parameters) would you recommend?

thanks in advance,
        dillo