There is no need to go to Windows 11 yet for you that I could think of, as Windows 10 is still supported, till 2025 sometime I believe. Other than that, I am not sure what you are asking about here. If you need to build a new NAS/server, you can do so, but I wouldn't run Windows on it. There are NAS/server OS designed particularly for that.
As for NVMe drives, in general the PCIe gen4 drives are backwards compatible as mentioned, but will be limited to around 3600 MB/s on PCIe gen3 x4. Though, if you are thinking of putting together a new NAS/server, or repairing the current one, I would probably go with quality 3.5in HDDs (enterprise or NAS pro grade) or just 2.5in SATA SSDs. These are much easier to hotswap and add a bunch of, and the backplanes are much cheaper.
You are very correct about much of it. I go through occasional "upgrade panic" episodes every so often. Part of my underlying motives are a fear of "not keeping current". But I just updated my 2-year-old laptop with Win 11 Pro, and I can see that I would've been happier deferring the upgrade. Now I have a learning curve when I least need to consume my time and trouble.
I also found the information about any "dropped support" for both Windows 10 and Windows 11, so -- yeah-- Win 10 is good for another 2 year and 4 months, and then probably good after that, if one has good updated malware protection, or there's some unforeseen obsolescence of a feature that can't be replaced by other means.
Now, as to the "server" system. You are correct about the 3.5" HDDs. I have currently "resurrected" the server's functional presence in my LAN. I can worry about future longevity of the existing 3.5" 3TB drives -- four of them. Replacing those drives with "re-furb" or new -- certified and warrantied units is a fairly cheap proposition. I can get them for between $35 and $50. HOWEVER. Because I wanted quick availability of replacements, I had already purchased at least one -- and likely two spares. The first of these is still in it's sealed anti-stat wrap. The other had been mounted in a hot-swap bay of the server, but only turned on briefly for back-ups, and then overlooked and forgotten -- unlocked and therefore not powered on all this time.
I took another, closer look at OS options and prospects. First, I am now the only household user, with three "accounts" on my network -- one for each of three front-end/client or workstation/laptop systems. If I need or want to access files on the server that I'm rebuilding, I can just use Windows file-sharing.
Looking at the feature differences between Windows "client" OS and server OS, the server-OS features may only be "conveniences" and otherwise not worth paying for. I don't need a domain server. I don't need active directory. But if all my connected (wired or wireless) systems are being backed up locally, then I don't see any additional vulnerability or performance issues. I can still run a drive pool with Stablebit under Windows 10. If I don't need a "backup server" to regularly run backups of client systems during the night, it is because each system is regularly backed up by Macrium separately. If I were to install a server OS --- say Windows 2016 -- I would need special backup software if the built-in backup features did not meet my needs, because you cannot run the regular Macrium on the server OS.
Another problem with using the server OS concerns the server battery backup. You cannot simply go out and buy a regular APC UPS and expect its software to install and then communicate with the server OS and hardware. You have to buy a server UPS. Otherwise, you'd be waiting for the power-outage disaster which depletes the UPS until it's run down, because either the server model UPS or the regular workstation model will not shut down the server in 5 minutes because the software doesn't communicate with the hardware. You'd otherwise have to be available and at home to shut down the server during a power outage.
The resurrected "server" also happens to be my HTPC machine -- "serving" my HT and TV with my library of captured movies and TV shows. I only ever needed Win 10 for the HTPC -- or before Win 10, then Win 7.
I could install TrueNAS on the same hardware instead. But as much as I was impressed by the TRueNAS interface, I think it and other NAS options use a non-NTFS file system.
IF I want to use a NAS device like Synology, I will likely have to pay for the hardware and the drives or storage media up front, and I could estimate about $600. They have warranty requirements as well. But I happen to have already a new PSU, motherboard, RAM and CPU to simply redeploy my server PC hardware. I can buy another Win 10 Pro license for about $70 in shrinkwrap, but Win 2016 Essentials will cost me at least $250. Of course, TrueNAS Core is free, or so I thought it was.
I could also just scrap the server box altogether, leaving me with two twin Kaby/Sky-lake workstation systems, one of which has a workstation motherboard with gobs of PCIE lanes for PCIE v 3.0. I can expand this workstation with a couple dual NVME cards. I could continue to use it as a "workstation", but share files to my other PCs -- its twin desktop, and my laptop. by the time I begin to feel insecure or unsupported for Win 10, I will have either built or purchased a Win-11-capable workstation.
I just have to assure that -- wherever my important files are stored -- there is a backup system that will restore them.
That leaves me with some overblown, over-imagined needs that I can defer. I shouldn't feel "left behind" because I don't have a 16-core gen-13 workstation. I could either get an OEM, or given that it is not a rush requirement, take another year to slowly build it. Either way, if I purchase an OEM Dell Optiplex or Precision "top end" workstation -- SFF or regular midtower -- it's going to cost about the same, and I might find some deficiency in expansion options.
I might like to have a PC workstation with "SFF" -- low-profile, taking less space. But I could also live with one of my high-end mid-tower cases if I just build the workstation myself.
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