The absolute easiest way to get started, especially if you have a "fat" PS2 with network adapter and compatible hard disk is to follow this guide:
http://imgur.com/gallery/2rUST (don't forget to click on the load more images button near what is seemingly, but is not, the last picture)
All you need are: fast PS2 + network adapter + compatible IDE hard disk and an 8MB memory card. There is no disc swapping, hardware modding, etc. All the software installation steps are done on a PC. At worst, you may need remove the metal plate on the adapter-side of the network adapter if your hard disk happens to not align perfectly with the connectors (just remove the metal plate). For anyone else interested and have access to only SATA drives, you can do this mod: http://psx-scene.com/forums/f98/sata-adaptor-ps2-network-adaptor-support-2-5-3-5-sata-hdd-115510/
Anyway, once you have free hdboot installed, you can optionally switch over to free mcboot to use the USB or SMB option (not recommended since the hard disk method is the fastest in terms of performance). The SMB option, however, means you can have several PS2's using free mcboot and they can all pull from the same NAS that has all your games (so no duplicate copies on USB sticks or HDDs, for example).
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