After reading up on Serial ATA (SATA) I've gathered the following
information:

- NetBSD -current does support SATA cards using 
  the Silicon Image 3112A controller chip.

- SIIG Serial ATA PCI does use the 3112A chip. Price
  ranges from $38-$50.

- SATA is still "fresh" from the factory. So don't 
  expect to run production servers on it.

- SATA has a theoretical transfer rate of 150 MB/s

- SATA cables have only 7 wires. Doesn't restrict airflow.

- SATA cable length is limited to 1 meter.

- Performance tests on Windows machine place SATA/150
  only slightly above ATA/100. See:
  http://www.envynews.com/review.php?ID=379&page=1

- SATA does offer hotswappable feature. Theoretically.
  I've not seen any tests or hotswap trays offering
  this feature.

- SATA hard drive prices is about $20 to $30 more than
  equivalent ATA/100 drives.

Thomas T. Thai

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