Need input for web server OS / software

[GoPodular.com]

My Dad is putting together a (very ambitious) web project.  He's going to host it himself on a dedicated computer, but may need to move it if the traffic gets out of hand.  I attached a pic of the basic "information page" layout.  It will need to be database driven... a first for either of us.

He only needs about 5 page templates, mostly a directory structure leading to the "information page" for each item.  The total number of pages for the site will eventually be in the hundreds.  It will need a couple dozen "global variables" for cross-referencing, and each page will have ~50 individual data variables (text stats/pics/paragraphs).

I'm not sure if a wiki would work or not?  I haven't seen any that look flexible enough in the layout.  Assuming it won't, what tree should we be barking up to handle that kind of database?  Being able to use a WYSIWYG page editor is always a plus.

It's a long-term project, so having to learn new stuff isn't a problem.  I think that's why it will be hosted locally for awhile.  It's better to blow up your own stuff than take out a handful of other sites with it via shared hosting.   

[GoPodular.com]

Knock knock puddinhead...

Here's the shortened version of the basic layout:

[hanelyp]

Don't know that much about wiki software, but I can recomend the following:
Linux
Apachi
mySQL
perl/python/php/...

NVU is a great WYSIWYG HTML editor, with the option of quickly switching to source view to do stuff that doesn't edit well in the graphical view.
http://www.nvu.com/index.php

[Pi]

I can also vouch for a LAMP server (Linux, Apache, MySQL & PHP). It's free software, with loads of good documentation and tutorials, and great support groups & forums where you can seek for help. Use PHP to generate the contents and learn CSS to make a good layout independent of the content. Those are my two centavos.

[GoPodular.com]

Any recommendation on the Linux build?  A LAMP server sounds like exactly what I want.