Linux Server / Gateway

[Spelunker]

Hi all,

Would appreciate your advice on the following.

Having just started at a small company that doesn't even have a firewall(!) I am looking to setup a new linux server (or possibly 2). The network currently consists of a windows server and 12 or so windows workstations.

The linux server solution will need provide:
-Firewall / NAT access over either the current 64K ISDN, or ADSL if we can get it.
-Mail Server. I need this to be reliable.
-Possibly a web server.

In regards to the mail server, is an ADSL link of 512K (1:20 contention)reliable enough to run a fulltime mail server? Getting a static IP is no problem. I have never administered a mail server before, is QMail a good MTA to go with? I also need a good server based virus scanner to check the email before it lands on the windows desktops.

If possible, I would like to set up a redundant system so that if one server goes down, the other takes over. Is this relatively painless to do under linux?

I know that there are some distributions geared towards this sort of setup, such as Clark Connect which I use at home as my gateway (it's based on redhat). Or am I better off starting off from scratch?

Finally, and sorry for the rambling post, I need to purchase some server hardware. Any tips?

Would love to hear from anyone who has advice or has set up something similar themselves.

Cheers

Alan

[jasonlambert]

personally i would purchase a DSL router, save yourself a lot of hassle trying to get a modem working under linux. - most, if not all DSL routers provide NAT and port forwarding.

That is the firewall side sorted.

Jason

[Spelunker]

Thanks Jag -- sounds like good advice to me. Any takers on my other queries?