SATA problem

[D. Hugh Redelmeier]

| From: Christopher Browne <cbbrowne-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org>

| I was wanting to add a couple extra drives to one of my systems, and
| apparently picked up the wrong sort of SATA controller.  Docs out on
| the "interweb" are a bit less up to date than seems useful.

What documentation did you use?

I've heard, but I don't know from where, to avoid VIA.  Maybe Lennart.
Maybe that was about firewire.

Here's a useful resource:
<https://ata.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/SATA_hardware_features>
But maybe that is what you found to be out of date.

Decent SATA controllers use PCIe because PCI isn't fast enough.
Cheap PCI controllers are usually 150 MB/s, not "SATA 2.0".
Sata I / 150 MB/s is probably fine for most applications

There are features you may want.  These may include:

- Port Multiplier support (yesterday I wanted to buy a cheap JBOD box for my
  Acer Revo but found that the ION SATA controller doesn't support
  Port Multiplication)

- hot plugging

- AHCI

- eSATA

What I've used on a PCI bus were inexpensive cards based on Silicon
Image chips.

- one was from Canada Computers (actually XpressCanada.com, their slightly 
  cheaper mail-order arm):
	<http://canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=19_252_254&item_id=008587>

- One was from NewEgg (now out of stock)
  <http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816132007>
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