[TriLUG] need someone for a simple project

[Eddie Gilchrist]

I own a small insurance brokerage here in the triangle (Durham), and am
looking for someone to set up a samba server for me.   8 xp machines in
the office, all looking to be served by a  sendmail server.  

Here are the particulars.  

Machine already has redhat 7.3 installed on an amd 950 machine with a 30
gig drive and more memory than is reasonable. Not interested in bsd,
mandrake, or whatever your distro of choice is.  Stick with redhat.

Server box will be behind a standard linksys router, so there will be a
(second) nat overlay.  I want the software firewall in place, as well. 
None of the machines (except one) need to have ANY incoming traffic for
ssh, ftp, Just want them to get mail and be able to browse the web for
those all important porn sites! Seriously, we have web interface for
most of our carriers and the agents do most of their policy servicing
over the web. ( We DO need a log of addresses, since I fired a secretary
for inappropriate use of web 2 months ago)

I have dhcp, so dyndys is probably in the picture, as getting a static
ip would necessitate walking away from my dsl provider, whom I really
like!

8 xp machines who need a share only for backup on the server.

I own the domain (rtpinsurance.com) and earthlink hosts the website.  I
am not interested in moving the website hosting, just the mail. 
Earthlink is ok with this. I can make the calls and get the permissions,
you have to figure out actually how to split the hosting.

VPN, so that I can tunnel in thru internet from home.  I would actually
like to have/keep a marriage and family, and work is constant, it
seems.  Thus, work from home.

I am looking for someone who will 

1) outline this on paper for me
2) work WITH me in setting it up. I realize this will increase my cost,
and may be the most frustrating and time consuming part of your job.  I
am an idiot and know nothing re linux, and am *#&%^ tired of asking for
help and having to wade thru the tirade of insults and helpful comments
like "check the man pages."  I want YOU to make it work, and explain to
me what you did and how it works.--For the record, I have always been a
relatively quick study with a respectable academic background
(chemistry) and am "self taught" in at least three disciplines which
have required some technical expertise.  You are not looking at loads of
time, but probably a couple of hours answering questions. I am just
staggering under the time demands of a growing business and at age 47,
no longer have the fortitude or inclination to stay up all night reading
and researching this stuff for trial and error.
3)set a price for FUTURE consultation on a time per hour basis if I run
into problems.  Note that this is for FUTURE consultation.  I am looking
for present responses on a PACKAGE CONTRACT basis, not a dollar per hour
basis.

I have gotten enough of a feel for this to realize the scope of the
project, so if there is anyone out there who wants to tackle a little
one like this, please email me at eddie at rtpinsurance.com.  Also, if you
don't care to mess with it yourself, but know an engineering student at
NCSU or someone who thinks making a few hundred bucks on a project like
this is worth his/her time, please let me know.

I plan to let this bid by December 10.

Thank you for your time.

Eddie Gilchrist