Home Networking: Wireless and a Spare Box

[hbar98]

Hey all--

Just got broadband internet. Couldn't get it before since nobody had broadband in my areas (live in a small town in Southern Illinois).

I have a home network, but I don't know if my setup is optimal.

Here is how it it set up now:

Big Bad Internet
->Linksys WRT56GS (v4)
-->Main system (homebrew: XP Pro, static IP)
--> Spare system (HP Pavillion: Ubuntu, static IP)
--> (wireless) Laptop (Dell Insp 2650: XP Home, dynamic IP)

All settings, save for what the ISP put in so my router would work with the service, are at default (well, not the password, of course). I have a wireless connection to the internet, and it plugs into the uplink port of the router.

I'm also wondering what to do with my spare system...It is an old HP Pavillion 6545C, 500mhz/256mb ram/200GB hd. Not much, but I figure I could use it for a file server, but don't know what would do well with such old hardware (seriously..some of the "spare comps" around here are better than my main system..). Yeah, it already has Ubuntu on it, but I haven't really done much with it, so it won't be much of anything to redo the system.

I also use TightVNC to remote control the other comps.

Any help would be welcomed! Thank you for your time!

--hbar98

 

[hbar98]

I forgot to mention that I have two additional wireless devices. I have both a Wii and a DS. Both are set for dynamic IPs.