What OS would you use for a simple fileserver and why? [closed]

Im looking to set up a simple fileserver:

• 5 - 7 clients - Mixed Windows, Linux, Mac OSX - connecting over wireless and wired
• Serving ~200GB content - Photos, MP3's, ISO's etc

What OS would you recommend for this fileserver? I understand XP limits the number of when connecting to different shares so this probably isnt the best choice.

Any recommendations are appreciated.

Thank you,

Solution 1:

Whichever OS you can support the best - seriously, for relatively basic stuff as you've described they can all do a good enough job so it comes down to how quickly you can set it up, how often it stays up and running and how quickly you can fix it when it breaks - so in my mind the best is the one that you yourself can deal with best in these situations.

Solution 2:

Do you have a spare system? If so, openfiler or FreeNAS have good reputations for being made specifically for this task.

Easy to maintain, it's made to be used as a network storage device, has features available like software RAID and the ability to maintain it from a web interface, and you can expand storage relatively easily.