Need help with VHDL simulation with SPW in Linux

Hi every one. I am newbie in FPGAs, although I can write VHDL. I already setup a copy of Cadence SPW 4.82 from my company to study FPGA myself. My OS is Scientific Linux 3.08 (clone of Redhat Enterprise 3.x).

My purpose is to design in SPW by using fixed-pointed HDS, and generate to VHDL to FPGA board (etc. Xilinx). SPW can support co-simulation with C/C++ and VHDL, and I have some experiences with it. However, I am still in dark of how to generate and verify HDL code.

My questions are:

1. Could you guys tell me what softwares should I have to simulate and verify VHDL in Linux?
2. Which FPGA board/component you recommend to build a decent system, for example wireless LAN 802.11n tranceiver?

Thanks alot.

---sorry for my English ;)