I've been working with computers since the Intel 8008 came out. I've played with KIM-1's and even have a wire-wrapped 6800 with hex thumbwheel switches and 1K by 8 of 21L02's sitting in my closet.
I'm the system administrator here (in addition to all my other hats), and that covers a lot of territory.
Here are an organized bunch of hardware- and software-related resources on the net. I also maintain a list of publicly available software that I can not live without.
Before you do anything, you should have a cursory knowledge of what is in EFF's (Extended) Guide to the Internet.
Digital data comes in from an MCI T1 and into an ADC/Kentrox DataSMART T1 MAX Quad-Port Add/Drop CSU/DSU. Four channels (256Kbps) are split off and feed into our Cisco 2501 router (IOS 10.2, (its bugs, and all documentation) on our internal network. These four channels are our connection to our ISP (also MCI). The rest of the data passes straight into our Mitel SX-200 Light Business Telephone System.
On our internal network, we have a mishmash of things, and their associated peripherals. They include:
Other products we have looked at include:
For information on ISPs, check out THE LIST (or just Area Code 802) and Matt's Miscelaneous ISP Info Page.
First we've got the major communications vendors, the Big Three:
Then we've got other, local, ISP's:
Some miscellaneous vendors of services: