So, finally after one week of intense configuration in the evenings the
new server is finally completely functional and the old one has been
shut down for good. I have already seen a noticeably higher performance
of the web server and IMAP server.
As part of this change I also installed a totally different mail
server. I am now using postfix, which is really much easier to
configure than sendmail, and cyrus instead of University of Washington
IMAP. The change of IMAP server also brings a much higher performance
since cyrus uses a more efficient database storage than UW IMAP which
uses the standard large mail files. One thing I noticed straight away
is that checking my mail with my mobile phone is now much faster than
before.
The old server was really coming to an end. The last days with all the
heat it was getting really hot and two days ago I woke up at 5:30 AM
with an alarm from the server because it was overheating. Now, with the
external storage and the Intel Core DUO I have a much more stable
configuration. No more excessive heat.