Does it make sense to use up-to-date software on a web server?

Question

PHP

I often wonder if it is worth using the current software on a web server (and other types of production servers) ?
There is a web server running on Ubuntu Server 12.04.3 LTS. The nginx + php-fpm bundle is used.
Nginx is installed from the official repository.
PHP version 5.4 is installed from the Debphp.org
MySQL repository from the Ubuntu repository (formerly MariaDB)
So. Does it make sense? Or, as I understand it, it depends on the requirements of the individual project?

Answer 1

Of course, everything depends on the specific project or server task. In some cases, you may never update at all. But still, it’s better to update regularly, the main thing is that nothing breaks, and for this you first need to test / run in.
Here is a typical example that I have come across in one form or another. Let's say there is a server with one large project or a bunch of small sites that were created 5 years ago or earlier. Nothing has been updated on them and the version of php 5.1-5.2 is used. An attempt to upgrade at least to 5.3 firstly caused difficulties in updating the server (it was Ubuntu 8.04 with its own unknown settings), and secondly, when testing on the new version, some web projects did not start, some bugs were treated easily, while others were Poryty somewhere in the depths of the ancient CMS. As a result, I had to make a second clean virtual machine and transfer what could be transferred.
To sum up, a lot of time was wasted as a result of the lack of timely updates. If the migration to new versions happened gradually, then the labor costs would be distributed more evenly. I'm talking about server software and projects.
Well and to put patches it is not discussed at all.

Answer 2

I'll just leave it here

Answer 3

It is not advisable to update and use the most up-to-date software for economic reasons. (Rewriting and catching bugs is long and expensive)
But patches and fixes are a must. And this is most often a line of code or a shutdown of an unused one.

Answer 4

The concept of "actual software" must first be defined. If this is the latest version of the software, then this is one thing, if these are updates for the current version in the distribution, this is another. Everything is determined by the availability of resources, if the version from the distribution is supported by the distribution, installs all the patches, tests compatibility, then you will have to support the latest version yourself, and it’s not at all a fact that you have enough time and knowledge for this now, and it’s very unlikely that there will be extra time later when there will be a dozen projects on different "latest versions", changes in which must be coordinated with the programmers who made the project and quit. So for normal use, when there is no big company, it is better to use the standard version from the distribution - the ease of maintenance will make up for any performance loss,