Windows 11, Vault 2i and NAS

SYSTEM: Node Icon; Vault 2i; Powernode 2i; Pulse Mini 2i; Pulse Flex 2i

Orbi RBR850 router with two satellites; all Bluesound players on wired ethernet connections

CONTEXT:

(1) I mostly listen to obscure music not on streaming services and usually purchased as downloads

(2) I mostly listen to playlists I have made myself, rather than entire albums

PROBLEM:

Recent Windows 11 'upgrades' mean I can no longer access my Vault 2i via my PC (e.g. to upload new music). This has forced me to consider taking the Vault out of the system, but I need to retain current flexibility and functionality.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS:

Reverting to Windows 10 is not viable (and not guaranteed to work longer-term anyway).

I've tried plugging a USB drive into one Bluesound player and sharing it to the others via Server Mode. But it seems that neither the library nor the associated playlists propogate across the Bluesound network to the other players. All I can do, it seems, is chain the player hosting the USB drive to play in synch with others: but even this only shares the stream from the track(s) that are currently playing. This is not adequate for how I listen to music.

The remaining possible solution seems to be to add a NAS drive to the network. But before I spend money on this can anyone tell me, please:

1) is there likely to be an issue accessing a NAS from Windows11, similar to with the Vault2i?

2) once the music files on a NAS are indexed in a Bluesound library, do playlists using them propogate across to the other players in the Bluesound network?

3) Can I add/remove files to/from the NAS without forcing a rebuild of the entire library and so destroying my playlists?

4) Do I need to keep the Vault2i as part of my Bluesound system in order to achieve current functionality?