look guys, i know i don't have a clue how networking works, although i probably know more than i thing, but i just tried installing IPcop into vmware, and it made me realize how little i know about networking, does anybody recommend a v good tutorial or something ?
Networking is a massive subject, and I don't know much about it either. I have enough knowledge to set up a network myself, but not much more. The best thing to help you would be a book, since no tutorial is going to cover enough. You might find some good ebooks. I used Sams "Teach yourself Networking in 24 Hours" to get a grip of the subject, but it doesn't cover how you would implement the networks, mainly networking theory.
It's not been long since I first started using IPCop. I installed it first in VMware to get used to it, then I implemented it for real on a dedicated machine. IPCop is not that difficult to use once you get the hang of it. I suggest you read the official documentation here. IPCop is an awesome peice of software. I can control exactly the kind of traffic I want on my network and perform diagnositics with ease. If you are looking to implement a powerful firewall on your network then IPCop is the way to go. What do you want to achieve with IPCop?