Honours project - Point me in the right direction

[misa () hotmail co uk]

Hey. I am an Honours student about to attempt my final year project in a University in the UK. I am studying Computer 
Networks and so my project will be based in this field.

I'm interested in doing a project that is based on network security, "white hat hacking" basically. I'd like to focus 
on a single server and use this to collect data on many aspects of network security. Most likely attempt to bring down 
the server with certain attack methods and collect data on this. Then use all this information to develop solutions to 
create a more efficient and resilient server.

I'd like to know if anyone can point me in the right direction. Where should I begin? I'm hoping to expand on my 
current knowledge of networks and going into great depth on security so that I may create a sucessful project.

If anyone here can help with ideas for increasing the complexity of the project or even tell me what books, research 
papers, journals and links that I should look at this would be most helpful.

Thank You for any assistance.

Asim