Hi Mark,
I know I have a lot to learn, and this list is more for advanced users, I will do as much research as I can on my own, I just want to get up and running, as secure as possible.
As far as I know, this list is not specifically targeted at advanced users, although sometimes it may seem like that. Some can b*tch at you if you didn't specify enough details or if you didn't make sure you tried the best you could. Not nice to get a response like that, but hey, this is the real world out here. ;-)
Always remember: *everybody* starts out with zero knowledge and learns as they go, no matter what they say.
My advice to you is to do ssh first, either by installing the Cobalt package or getting the original rpms from openssh.com (my favourite method; works on all of my machines, no matter what Linux version they're addicted to). Security is not something you can't afford to have.
And yes, of course you'll want to get up and running as fast as you can *securely* (it's good you mentioned that). Let's say Cobalt says you don't need to know anything about Linux to operate a Cobalt server appliance. Without wanting to start a whole new thread (this has been dealt with before), you could make a valid point that they're right.
My personal point would be that to operate that appliance "as wisely as possible" you d*mn well need to know what you're dealing with. I'm glad you're willing to take the curve and have the nerve to ask questions about it. ;-)
Good luck searching for answers... NicoBTW - if you can spare the hardware, try and set up a RedHat 6.2 box somewhere safe. It'll be a great learning experience!