Well for as long as I’ve used SATA I have enjoyed it. I have yet to have a problem with it, its fast, and the cables are small. SATA 1.0 is spec’d out at 150MB/s (Yes, One hundred fifty megabytes per second — Faster than your average LAN by about 10 times), SATA 2.0 is spec’d out for 300 MB/s, and is spec’d out for the next version is set for 600 MB/s. While many argue that SCSI is still the server standered, I’d disagree. I see no point in using SCSI or SCSI2 (or what ever version they are on) when you can have sexy SATA.
Unlike IDE RAID’s which never really caught on — SATA RAID’s are hugely popular. 3Ware is a popular maker, and while I have not personally used any of their card’s — They are supposed to be the best in the business.
So many great toys to play with, so little time. News today was of the new VIA Dual Proccessor Mini-ITX motherboard. Of course now the idea is to take that motherboard + 1 4U Case + 3Ware SATA Raid Card + As many SATA drives as you can fit = GIANT FILE SERVER. I found this good deal on NewEgg for 80gig SATA drives. While 80gig drives in a file server isn’t the greatest idea, its a good place to start if your on a budget (or course 3Ware cards are damned expensive…).
