Would installing the latest J2SDK slow down the server significantly?

Installing j2sdk won't slow it down at all.

Just depends on what type of webapps you use.

I have a search engine that i wouldn't trust on anything else. A good j2ee server is rock solid. Sure a bit more cpu/memory consuming but mostly because of the exception checking and such.

Just have enough memory and stick with good coding practices and you will be aight

Im thinking of installing a Volano Chat java system.

Requirements:
Sun Java 2 SDK HotSpot Server VM version 1.4.2
500-MHz Intel Pentium III processor
256 MB of RAM
20 GB hard drive with 100 MB of free disk space

Bandwidth usage (based on 1,000 connections a day):

Total connections: 1,000 per day
Chat messages transferred: 13.77 megabytes per day
Average inbound bandwidth: 5.95 kilobits per second
Average outbound bandwidth: 10.56 kilobits per second
Maximum inbound bandwidth: 11.55 kilobits per second
Maximum outbound bandwidth: 20.35 kilobits per second

My dedicated server meets those requirements by a mile.

Please tell me if the server will slow down noticebly because of Volano Chat.