wireless iTunes server? WD MyBook World Edition II?

[Canucklehead8]

I'm hoping to create a wireless media server for my iTunes library and hoping somebody can provide some advice.

Some background:

My media has long since outgrown my MacBook Pro's HD and currently resides on a 500 gb LaCie disk (FW400/FW800/USB2) that I have to plug directly into my laptop to play.

I bought an Airport Extreme several months ago, along with a 500 gb LaCie disk (Mac Mini-style) in the hopes that AirDisk would meet my needs. While it was simple enough to move my library to the AirDisk, I gave up the experiment after a short time since (1) iTunes performance lagged somewhat, (2) updating my iPod via AirDisk took FOREVER, often hanging the system, and (3) the LaCie disk was loud as heck.

A few questions:

1) Will a NAS-style HD, plugged into the ethernet port of my Airport Extreme, work well as an iTunes server?

2) If so, has anyone tried the WD MyBook World Edition II for this purpose? (CostCo Canada has the 1 TB version on sale.) What is the performance/noise like? How does performance compare to that of an AirDisk setup?

3) Are better options out there? I've read a little bit about people using Mac Minis or spare computers as servers but don't know too much about it...

Thanks kindly for reading this!

 

[CarlsonCustoms]

I used an old pc I had laying around to make a nas using FreeNas. I like it alot actually. Only parts I had to install were a gigabit ethernet card to speed up transfers. I already had the harddrives laying around. If you've got the parts its a great option.


Zack

 

[md63]

Check out reviews on this box. I had one briefly and it sounded like a jet engine when the fans turned on. Not sure if they improved that. Also, I'm not sure if it handles itunes. Are you trying to serve to a media client or back to your computer?