Roon and its networking primer around server, client, bridge uses

[philr]

Where do you get your understanding in b) from?

See this.

Does Roon download entire track into RAM? [Memory Playback Discussion]

Memory play feature are, in principle, about separating playback and loading activity to prevent the loading activity from influencing local audio playback hardware via analog domain interference. The way to accomplish a truly comprehensive memory play feature is to pre-load the entire playlist before the listening session starts, and then lock it against modifications for the duration of the listening session. This would guarantee that loading/playback never happen at the same time. The reali…