Need Guidance on Server

[sitheris]

I apologize in advance, this will probably be a pretty long post, but I hope someone can guide me in the right direction...

I have had a file/media server running for about 2 years now, and I am looking into some options for updating/upgrading it. I'm basically looking for hardware/software advice at this point because I realize that I could be doing certain things better, and I am unhappy with some aspects of my current setup.

The server in question is listed in my signature. Originally I was running WHS v1 on the server but have since switched over to Ubuntu 10.10.

My home network is Mac-based for the most part and has the following devices that connect to the server:

- Mac Pro
- MacBook Pro
- Xbox 360
- Playstation 3

I'm running the following software/services under Ubuntu 10.10 64-Bit Server edition (no GUI):

- webmin (web-based administration)
- openssh
- netatalk (afp sharing)
- avahi-daemon (advertises services like Bonjour)
- ushare (media streaming to Xbox/PS3)

Additionally, I have 2x 1.5TB drives in the server, one of which stores the OS, and all Media. The other drive is used as an Rsync target for backing up my Media/Files. I don't like this approach and would like to upgrade to a simple 3-drive RAID5 solution. This is one of the things I'm looking for advice on.

Another problem I have with my current setup is with uShare - the main gripe being that when I add new files to my uShare folders, I must completely restart the service for them to appear in my PS3/Xbox for viewing. When I ran WHS, content appeared automatically on the PS3/Xbox upon adding it to the streaming folder. I have toyed with PS3MediaServer and it seems to behave the same way. Also tried Twonky Media Server, and it works the way I want it to, but it's not free, and just wondering if there are any free options out there.

One other thing I'm not too happy with is that it often takes about 10-15 seconds to connect to the server from OSX, and load all the shares. I'm not sure if it's something to do with netatalk or not, but in my opinion I should be able to connect a little faster.

So, I'm basically looking to address all of the above issues, and would like to get suggestions on OS to use as well. I like Ubuntu, but it seems to be very finicky and not quite as polished as it could be. I would entertain the option of using Windows 7 as the server OS, as long as I could get it working well in a Mac environment.

Also, as far as RAID5 goes, would it be best to get a dedicated RAID card will I be just fine using the built in support from my motherboard?

Thanks for reading if you made it this far!