A lack of basic understanding.. Setting up network. Linux & Win XP

Hi;

I've got 2 machines. Tower running Fedora Core 4, and Laptop
running Win XP pro, they are connected via a 16 port
network box.

I'm trying to setup dhcp on the Linux box, and have the laptop
get its address from the Tower. But before I get that running
properly, I have to actually get the network setup properly.

The Tower is going to be the internet gateway, and the
DHCP server for the Laptop and other adhoc computers.
(Internet is via ppp - modem. Modem is setup and working.)

I'm using the network configuration tool.
Editing the Network Card properties. General Tab.
Activate when computer starts = yes.
Automatically obtain ip address settings with = not ticked
Statically set ip addresses = ticked
Ive set Tower ip address as 192.168.10.0
subnet mask is 255.255.255.0
default gateway address ???? (not set - left blank)
should this be set to 192.168.10.0

Route Tab.
nothing is set in here.

Saved above setting and back to Devices tab.
Now go to IPSec tab. - nothing set here.
Now go to DNS tab. - nothing set here.
I fell something should be set here, but I'm not sure.
Hostname, is currently blank. This machine is
called Tower, and is going to be part of
mypint.com.au. (once domain name is registered.)
Should I set a primary DNS, secondary DNS and
Tertiary DNS, as well as DNS search path. (This
machine is going to eventually be the main control
box for everything.)
Now go to Hosts tab. - nothing set here..

Save all settings and restart network.
Restart DHCP server and laptop still gets nothing.
Problem may actually be with DHCP server settings.
Before I go trouble shooting that I'd like to just make
sure I have the actual network working.

Is ther a way I can test just the network. (perhaps set
the IP address on the laptop, and then run something from
its side. (I had the HTTP server running at one stage,
and from the laptop if I typed in 192.168.10.0 I got the
Apache default page.)

What services should I also be running. I'm wondering
if I'm missing anything there..

Anyhow enough for the moment.
Trevor..