Hi, all

I am a complete newbie for Linux. I have not even setup anything yet. Before I go and buy the hardware that is required for me to build my own server. I have a few questions. Will anyone be kind enough to help me out with it. WHAT I NEED IS A LINUX GURU FOR MYSELF!!

My primary requirement is to setup:
1. Storage/File Server (Samba): that me & my friends can access through the Internet & also locally if they are connected to local WLAN. They should be able to not only access files but also edit them right on the server without having to download them to their system locally. Also where I could make folders/drives password protected.
2. Mail Server (Apache, Dovecot etc): Currently me and my friends have taken a web/client based email from yahoo. They offer me everything except monitoring outgoing mails by the admin. I am the admin of the domain that we are using for emails. However, now I wish to give up the thing I have with Yahoo! and setup my own mail server on the same mail domain that I am using from Yahoo!.
3. Printer Server (CUPS): I have 2 printers & 1 all-in-one printer/scanner/fax. They should be able to use all of them over VPN from a remote location & locally as well. They should also be able to send Fax from the fax machine (hardware) installed at this server from anywhere through the internet from a file in Windows on their computer or a file on the same server.

Questions:
1. Is all of the above possible?
2. What is the recommended hardware for the above requirements?
2. What kind of internet connection do I need? Is 2 Mbps 1:1 with 1 static IP enough?
3. If the above internet connection is not sufficient what kind of connection is recommended?
4. Can users do all of the above if they are using various versions of Windows?
5. If yes, is Ubuntu Server Edition the right distro to use?
6. If not, which distro would you suggest/recommend?
7. If Ubuntu Server Edition will fulfill all my requirements, how do I do all of the above?

Apart from the above requirements what else can I do with it to maximize the use of the server.

Best Regards,

PARRY


EDIT: Moderator has moved the thread to "Server" and cleaned off additional posts which removed this thread from zero-reply list.