Setup star topology network with windows XP and linux OS support

How do i setup star topology network with windows XP and linux OS support?

Draw up a logical map of how you want everything situated, then draw up a physical map of how it will be wired up, then go forth and prosper!

Windows would be easier to configure, Linux is more fun if you are into geeky stuff. what i do is dualboot my server and configure it for the same services in windows and linux.

in windows it has a shared printer and a shared folder for network fileserving, in linux i use samba for print server and file server services, i can also remote-desktop into both and i can ssh and ftp the linux side from the internet (soon the windows side too). and that computer has 2 nics so soon it will be a linux-router in linux and a windows internet-connection sharing router in windows. it also has a tv card so it is my automated TV recording box too, it automatically records shows and i can stream them over my network or burn dvd's and cut out commercials.