Okay, here we go:
1. If you want to setup a server, the server will have a network connection (NIC Card), rather than a modem. The NIC card will connect to the switch/hub/router with an RJ-45 cable, also called CAT-5, or CAT-5e. The cable looks like a phone cord on steroids, with 8 copper wires in stead of a phone cord's 4.
2. The difference between a hub and switch is they're both on the same LAN. A hub will forward all packets through all ports all the time, so if you have 5 computers on a hub, all packets between two of those machines will be heard by the other 3. A switch, on the other hand, has intelligence enough to know which machines are plugged into it where, so, if the same 5 machines were plugged into a switch, and 2 were talking, the other 3 wouldn't hear anything, since the switch is smart enough to send the packets only betwen the two machines.
A router, on the other hand, will connect your LAN to antoher network. For example, a cable router will connect your home network to the cable company's.
3. You need a web server to host a web site. If your looking to host a site publicly, you'll also need a domain name (tfproject.org is a domain name), and a public IP address. Apache (
www.apache.org) is free, good, but can be difficul for the novice. Microsoft has server software for the Professional/Server lines, called IIS, which is easier to manage for the newer user.
BTW, if your looking to host a simple web site, nothing too big or fancy, and your not too sure how to do it, you might want to look into hosting services. There are a number of comapnies that will (for a fee) setup the domain name, the server, and give you an ID and password, so all you do is log onto the server, put in your files, and your rocking.