I have two Mandrake 9.1 boxes connected directly to the network at my University. They aren't sharing a connection; each taps directly into the network through 10baseT cables.

I want these boxes to be networked together so i can read/write my papers and play mp3s no matter which box I'm using.

Question--do I need to set up a LAN to do this?

I've been reading up on NFS, but it seems that it is 'dangerous' to share over the internet. I am unsure whether this applies to me; my computers aren't wired to each other, but they are wired into the university network. These computers have priveleged access to all sorts of resources, so am I essentially already part of one big LAN? Or are my computers as much of strangers to each other as any other two boxes on the net?

I'm assuming I'll just export/import directories using Webmin and NFS. Is this wrong?

I think you mean that both of these machines have static IP addresses. If this is so, use iptables to allow all connections from the two machines, and block all others.

Here's the nitty-gritty: http://www.linuxguruz.com/iptables/h...les-HOWTO.html

but something like

iptables -s ! [friendly ipaddress] -d 0/0 -j DENY

then edit /etc/exports to allow only your buddy machine:
/var/mp3 [friendly ip address](rw,rootsquash)