I'm running debian etch. Is there an easy way of transferring the system from one server to another? Or would I manually have to transfer the users, mysql db, config files, etc...
Boot the old server with a LiveCD. Mount filesystems, tar everything using the -p switch to preserve UID/GID. Boot new server with LiveCD. Mount new filesystems as you like, then untar everything into that (again, using -p). Transferring the tar file between machines can be done however you like - DVD, piped over the network via netcat or SSH, whatever floats your boat.
On the new server, install the bootloader, then adjust fstab for the new filesystem labels / UUIDs / whatever. Make sure that your kernel+initramfs has the correct drivers for the new server hardware. This is the bare minimum. Other things to look at are network config, udev rules, and hal rules for specific hardware on the old machine (you'll almost certainly want to tweak network interface naming).
That's it. The whole process is less complicated than it looks. I've done this a lot with both real and virtual machines.
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