We have a two server set-up - all the files (including attachments, avatars, etc) are on one server and the database is on another server. You could take this one step further and introduce a third server and mount the attachment, etc directories on the first server, to locations on the third server. A complex alternative though...
If your forum is really big enough to warrant multiple servers, then either looking at a single very highly spec'd server (e.g. twin quad-core, lots of memory), or load balanced solution which appears to you as a single server but has the benefits of actually being multiple servers.
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