I'm running a small home server that stores my documents. The disks in this server are in a RAID 1 configuration (using Linux md) and it's also periodically being backup up to an external hard drive to make sure I don't lose them. However, I'm always accessing the files from other computers on the home network using an SMB share, and this results in a considerable speed penalty (especially when connected over WLAN). This is quite annoying when editing large files, such as digital camera RAWs, for example.

I've been looking for a solution to this problem. It would have to offer some kind of local caching to speed up the file access. The client would preferably not keep a copy of all data on the server, as it consists of a very large collection of photographs, most of which I will not access frequently. Instead, it should only cache the accessed files and sync the changes back in the background. Ideally, it would also do some smart read-ahead (cache the files that are in the same directory as the currently opened file, for examples), but I suppose that's asking a bit much. Synchronization should be automatic (on file change). Conflicting file changes (at the same time on different clients) are unlikely to happen in my use case, but I would prefer if they are handled properly (notification to the user).

I've come across the following options, so far:

• something similar to Dropbox. iFolder seems to be the only thing that comes close, but its reputation (stability) and requirements put me off.

• A distributed file system such as OpenAFS. I'm not sure this will speed up file access. It is probably overkill for what I need.

• Maybe NFS or even Samba offer these possibilities. I read a bit about Windows' Offline Files, but its operation seems limited (at least on Windows XP).

As this is just for personal use, I'm not willing to spend a lot of money. A free solution would be preferred. Also, the server needs to run on Linux, and I need a client for at least Windows.