If you get a hosting machine of your own, it will work independently, so it'll have its own Operating System and you can later install server side programs directly or script-driven sites via a hosting Control Panel. Though keeping the Operating System updated isn't always considered a necessity, it can be a rather important task for a variety of reasons. A more modern Operating system version may have better support for specific hardware, so you could get better performance for the websites and web apps that you install. Your server will also be more secure since updates typically include security patches which fix small problems which may permit unauthorized individuals to access your content. Last, but not least, more modern script versions, which are also released for both boosted security and for additional features, might require a later version of the Operating System in order to work correctly and with their 100 % capabilities.