I would suggest that you install apache on the networking box, configure it not to do DNS lookups (or install bind internally), and configure it to only listen to the internal network. Then you can write a CGI that will bring up the network, perhaps requiring a password first or doing logging. This way, any system with a browser can do it, without the need for installing ssh or telling people how to use telnet. You might even make the CGI off of a front page where you can share bookmarks, house news, or whatever with everyone else on the home network :)