Exos expansion?

[Enquiries]

Ok I have had to redo my current server, it is at the moment, i7 14700k in a Gigabyte Z790 board with a 10GB network card. running Unraid. there is a 2 TB M.2 drive for cache and 3 x 8 TB Seagate Iron wolf Pro drives plugged into MB SATA. I put uncompressed blue ray and 4k films on for best quality, I also allow about 4 homes to connect to my server to watch my library. Would I see a benefit starting to add Exos drives on a SAS card? I have never used sas and have no idea on protocols, initially I would put two 10 or 12 TB drives in but Exos drives say either 7E10, X18 or X24. there are videos comparing Exos to Iron Wolf Pro but I can't find one telling me the difference between these. Could you advise on suitable hardware if SAS would be better inc add in cards or would Iron Wolf Pro keep up with possible demand. When available I will be upgrading my internet from 1GB down 110 Mbps up to 1GB both ways.
Thank you for any help with my first steps in server grade hardware.

[ed]

It sounds like you're setting up a great home server setup with a lot of potential for high-quality media streaming. Regarding your question about whether SAS and Exos drives would benefit you, here's a breakdown of the key points to consider:

SAS vs SATA (IronWolf Pro):

SATA (IronWolf Pro) drives like your current 8TB IronWolf Pro drives are excellent for NAS environments and home servers, offering reliable performance for media storage and streaming.
SAS (Exos) drives, particularly the models you're looking at (7E10, X18, or X24), are typically found in enterprise environments due to their higher durability, faster data transfer speeds, and more robust error correction. They also tend to have higher endurance and performance under heavy workloads, making them ideal for larger, data-intensive environments.
Will you see a benefit with Exos drives?
Since you're currently using IronWolf Pro drives, you may not see a significant performance boost with Exos drives unless you're planning to expand your server to handle much larger amounts of data or more simultaneous users. The Exos drives can offer benefits like more stable performance under heavy multi-user loads, and they generally come with a longer warranty. However, IronWolf Pro should be sufficient for your setup, especially with 4 concurrent users streaming media. They are more than capable of handling high-quality media like 4K and Blu-ray without issue.

Adding SAS:
If you do decide to switch to SAS drives, you will need a SAS HBA (Host Bus Adapter) card to interface with the drives. This will require some additional setup and research into compatibility with your system, but SAS drives do offer better reliability and speed, especially for larger-scale server builds. For a small home server, however, SATA-based IronWolf Pro drives will likely serve your needs just as well, without the complexity and additional cost of SAS.

Your Internet Upgrade:
With your future upgrade to 1Gbps symmetrical, this will improve your streaming capabilities, especially for remote connections. If you're planning to stream to multiple devices at once, ensuring your server's internal network (10GB NIC) is fast enough to support the new speeds will help keep everything running smoothly.

Recommended Hardware:
If you want to stick with your current IronWolf Pro drives, I suggest:

A good HBA card (if you plan to go the SAS route) — I recommend looking at the LSI 9300-8i or HBA 9305-16i for SAS compatibility.
Consider adding more RAM for smooth multitasking on Unraid, especially if you're running multiple VMs or containers.
Expanding your drive pool with more IronWolf Pro drives or starting with a larger cache (more than 2TB for better performance).
If you're still unsure about SAS and the added complexity, it might be worth testing with a few more IronWolf Pro drives and upgrading to SAS once you have a clearer need for higher speeds or more storage.