Optimizing Windows Media Services

This article provides a technical overview of the performance and scalability of Microsoft Windows Media Services 9 Series (including the Windows Media Services update released with Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1.) It describes common Windows Media Services performance issues, limitations, and performance monitoring techniques. It also presents the results from a set of performance tests conducted in a controlled lab environment.

It is recommended that you use the information presented in this document as a guideline. The performance results are based on specific hardware configurations that represent simplified versions of real-world scenarios. The actual capacity of your streaming media system depends on several factors, including network topology, user utilization patterns, hardware configuration, and software configuration. Based on the guidelines and performance information in this article, you should be able to design, fine-tune, and maximize the capacity of your servers to achieve the best results for your individual situation.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/howto/articles/optimize_web.aspx