[SLUG] Linux as server in Mac environment

[Tom Massey <tmas5640@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi,

My Dad is running a network of three Mac LC II's on Mac OS 7.5/7.6, one
machine acting mainly as file server, two as work stations. He's happy
enough with this setup, but would like to have dialup access to this
network to do work from home. I'm thinking that a nice solution, and a
general cleanup of his network, would be to stick in a Linux box as a
file/print/dial up to net/general purpose server, with two Macs acting as 
workstations, one removed from the current network and brought home for me
to play with. ;-) I've got a 486 box spare that I think should be able to
manage this. Does anybody have any thoughts on this? Basically the setup
I'm thinking of would be the 486 running Linux as a general purpose
server, with two Mac LC II's talking to it, the 486 connected to a modem,
using diald whenever they wanted to access the net, but also allowing a
dial in connection from a Mac LC II at home, if possible as if it
was acessing the network locally. Also the need to access a HP
printer, which I'm not sure about, but is apparently currently running as
a Mac laser printer.  Anyone have any thoughts on the
possibility/impossibility of this? Or where I could get more info about
how best to set this up? I've looked around Apples site, but they don't
seem to support anything below OS 8, and all the Linux sites I've found
seem to say it should work, but don't tell me how to do it. Thanks for any
clues.

Tom