[NCLUG] Network configuration

[dobbster]

Hi,

I would be very grateful for feedback on the following - I am a lone
administrator and I have really no contacts in the Linux world...

At the Installfest I spoke with a number of folks about an ideal setup
for a home-based network through a DSL line.  I recently obtained about
15 low-end pentium systems at an auction and I'd like to turn them into
multiple web servers with different DNS domains in my basement.  I also
have a couple of higher-end systems for development, etc.

My ISP (FRII) gave me a 64 address subnet to use.  I was planning to run
the DSL router (Cisco 675) into a dual-homed P-75 with 96 MB RAM.  This
system would be my firewall and possibly my DNS server.  The other
interface would connect to a 10baseT hub for the basement (my "server
closet") which in turn would connect into a hub for the upstairs, where
I keep my "workstations".

My questions are: 

1. Does this seem like a sensible arrangement?

2. I think my DSL line is something like 768K/256K download/upload. 
Will having a P-75 as my firewall system slow down my network?  Can
these older systems handle other services such as DNS and NIS without
bogging things down?

3. Regrettably, I've never configured a firewall before...  I was
planning to use the guidelines from O'Reilly's "Linux Network Admin
Guide" and the HOWTOs...  Will this suffice?

4. I was hoping to set up DNS, sendmail, NIS, NFS, and automount.  I
know how to do this with HP-UX but I have limited experience in Linux (I
have done a bit with all of these services though).  Does this seem
sensible?

5. I am definitely not a newbie, but I am also not an expert at this
stuff.  Will I survive???

Thank you in advance for any help or advice...

Mark (dobbster at frii.com)