'Pimp' my network!

[Boov]

I am looking to 'pimp' my current network setup, but my knowledge of network services and configurations is limited, so i am asking for some suggestions on how to improve my network experience.

I am a self-employed web designer, my current office setup consists of my work station and my web server that i use for development only at the moment. I recently purchased a new computer, which is a massive improvement over my last PC, and i used some of the old parts to upgrade my web server. However with this new PC i cant help but feel its not performing as well as it could do, due to zone alarm security suite using valuable resources, i am also convinced zone alarm is responsible for corrupting my mirrored raid array randomly. So id like a new solution to protect myself from viruses and hackers, so i am thinking maybe a hardware firewall and setup my web server as a proxy, but my knowledge on proxy configurations is limited, is this possible?

before i start rambling, ill summarize. i am looking to 'pimp' my network, to make my work environment a more productive and secure one, also looking to make better use of my web server, which wouldn't bother me if it turned into being more that just a web server, running more services and functions, my knowledge in this area is limited so id be reliant on suggestions. I have an extensive music and video collection, so any setup that would enhance this would also be greatly appreciated.

iv drawn a diagram outlining my current network setup throughout the house with as much detail as i can see relevant. my office is upstairs, directly above my step-dads workstation, my network cable from the router runs up the outside of the house and then through a hole in the wall.

many thanks

 

[Boov]

OT: Did you draw that yourself or use a network diagram program as it looks a lot cleaner than others I've used.

i drew it myself using photoshop, font used is myriad pro

 

[Boov]

there is nothing wrong with it, everything works perfectly, im just looking for suggestions on how to make it better, by incorporating features and services that i may have overlooked, or don't even know exist, as mentioned above, my knowledge of network functionality is limited. was hoping someone could tell me some of the tricks/features that they have implemented in their home network.

iv been looking at some monitors recently, but my bank balance is low after the new PC, so ill keep doing some research for the time being. I was going to get a 20"/22" wide screen TFT, with native res of 1680x1050 meaning gaming wouldn't be totally out of the question for the future, any higher resolution and id not get the performance id want, i suppose a dual monitor setup, even though each display would be smaller, would solve that problem.

my web server at the moment runs apache, php, mysql and ruby, i also use it to download larger file overnight (using flashget) as it is a lot quieter than my work station.

i would really love it if i could find a way to remove the need to run any anti-virus or firewall on my workstation, through using a hardware firewall and my idea was to use my server as a proxy and direct all internet traffic through it. is that even possible tho? and if so i guess it would increase latency when gaming online?

 

[Boov]

It would be cheaper to get an old pc and run linux and use it as a firewall as it would be cheaper than a hardware firewall.

could that idea be implemented on a windows system? iv not had any exp with linux, i could always learn, would come in handy, but at what cost to my mental health? also would it be feasible to instead of getting another pc, use my current web server box and thus turn it into a firewall slash web server?

Doesnt the router connected to the internet have a firewall though?

it has NAT, but both my step-dad and his colleague, who is head of network support at the local college, have both tried to set it up, with no success. the router is a D-Link DSL-504, has anyone successfully set NAT up on this router? if so, how?

i did some research today on hardware firewalls, and i see that this route is out of the question, all i found were way out of budget, with the cheapest being a firebox X10e starting at around £200. however i did find THIS which looks promising, and ranges from £90 - £110, which is more within my budget, but there is a lot of acronyms used in the tech spec which i am unfamiliar with, if anyone could check that over for suitability it would be greatly appreciated.

Also have my eyes on this.

For the time being i might just switch to NOD32, which i have heard good things about, and give the zone alarm free firewall a try, obviously it will be a lot less bloated than security suite, but hopefully wont **** up as much.

thanks for the help so far peeps, greatly appreciated

 

[Boov]

any joy finding that firewall?