Storage node might be your best solution, also if you have to be on the 
Network, then i have not seen any one mention Jumbo Frames, i tested this 
and it really helped backup, we did not implement this because of the 
concerns mixing Jumbo in production enviroment driver instability at that 
time and concerns with Windows Blue screen, but since then the Drivers 
have improved, Windows 2003 is here and GB Network is cheaper.
It may not help with VERY large file system but seems to help double the 
throughput on everything else.
Thanks

To sign off this list, send email to listserv AT listserv.temple DOT edu and 
type "signoff networker" in the
body of the email. Please write to networker-request AT listserv.temple DOT edu 
if you have any problems
wit this list. You can access the archives at 
http://listserv.temple.edu/archives/networker.html or
via RSS at http://listserv.temple.edu/cgi-bin/wa?RSS&L=NETWORKER