I have set up a few systems for clients.
Best indoor value in 640x480:
axis 207W
Best value in megapixel:
Axis 207MW
Pros: The image quality is superb.
can be set up either wired or wireless.
Onboard motion detection (more on that later)
sophisticated controls and features on cam webpage.
Cons: fixed lens with no options.
No built in POE (Power over Ethernet)
For camera server software, I have found none better than
zoneminder
ZM serves up a webpage for view events and monitoring cameras. no monitor or keyboard are needed on the server itself.
I've used bosch and other commercial applications, and they lack the features and functionality of zoneminder.
Using the onboard motion detection in the 207 cameras, you can get by with a reasonable server with a P4 and a gig of ram. Using ZM for the motion detection would work at that level for a few cams, but you'd need a more robust server for a larger installation.
My largest server and camera setup is in a busy 24/7/365 medical business, with 12 analog cameras and 2 axis IP cams.
It is a core2duo e6600, 2 gigs of ram, 2x500gb disks in a raid array, running debian.
They get 32 days of motion detected recording, with the system automatically pruning off the oldest events. The event count is around 200,000 a month.