Well, I understand what you are saying about port forwarding.  I know that your LinkSys 
can do this.  I'm saying that technically speaking, there are protocols in place 
that do not work properly, in my experience, sitting behind a linksys router. 

Yes, you can do port forwarding with RAS through server 2003.  It is much more capable 
than what your Linksys router is.  I don't feel comfortable about having a PC hooked 
directly to the internet either.  But, this is a server operating system, and RAS 
is designed to be hooked up that way.  There is a firewall built in, and if all is 
configured properly it is, in my opinion, secure.  I have multiple servers set up 
like this, where I use the server as a proxy server, firewall, etc...  I haven't 
had any problems.  Always keep your software patched ofcourse, but, in my opinion, 
the windows firewall is a very simple piece of software and when configured properly 
there is little chance of finding any vulnerabilities in it.

When it comes to VPN, I really think this is how it is supposed to be designed, and 
I could not get it to work any other way behind a linksys router like you are trying 
to do it.  It has been a while since I setup a VPN, or I could tell you better, technically, 
why it doesn't work properly, but I can't remember off hand now.

As far as a static IP address goes - if you are not paying for a static IP address 
(usually a few dollars more a month), then you are never guaranteed to have the same 
IP.  Its just the way it is.  When you hook up a different device you are bound to 
get a new IP.

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