A virtual or a dedicated hosting server is a standalone machine, that has its own Os and always keeping the latter up-to-date is an important, albeit underestimated task. Not only can an update boost the functionality of your internet sites, but it will also save you lots of troubles in the future. An update can be released for several reasons, the most widespread being to fix recently identified security holes, which may permit third-party people to access and modify the content that you have on the server. You may also see an improved functionality of your web applications as updates might also be released for better compatibility between the Os and the configuration it functions on so as to get the most out of the hardware. Moreover, if you keep your programs up-to-date, they could also need a later Operating system version that will have the required software dependencies and will permit them to function properly.