my only concern then is getting a wifi signal
Here is my set up:
(basement)
Wan to Core (eth0) with PPPOE. The core acts as my "gateway" to the net and provides DHCP to my internal network (LAN)
Core to LAN (my internal netwrok)
eth1 connects to a switch port1 on my linksys router/switch. NOTE that the routing function is disabled in the linksys admin interface and the WAN port is not used.
Switched port2 on the linksys then connects to a 3COM switch which acts as my main network switch.
Also attached to the 3COM is a linksys wireless router/switch on the second floor. This also has routing disabled and acts only as a switch (WAN port not used) providing wireless access for the house.
NOTES: You could easily remove the linksys switch between the 3COM and the Core (wan to core eth0 to eth1 to 3COM). I however have a specific need for the linkys unrelated to LMCE.
Alternative method::
you could also set up something like -
WAN to Linksys wan port to linksys switch port1-4 to core eth0 to internal network switch.
This would place the core on your internal net. But you should still disable DHCP on the linksys and allow the Core to manage that. You also only need one NIC in the core to operate this way.
The down side is that it is a bit more difficult to set up the internal client nodes to get the correct gateway and DNS settings they need. You would likely need to manually set this info for each client node.
I have run both set-ups and both will work. It just depends on what your comfortable with and what LMCE features you plan to use.
If you plan to use any direct Core-to-internet features (i.e. VoIP services), then you will need to use the core as the gateway to get the most reliable service.