SATA For Servers: Testing Backplanes

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Proximity Data PD0104ME/SE

The host adapter from Proximity Data is a relatively new product. It is based on Intel's GD31244 or the VSC7174 from Vitesse and thus targets the server market. They are both connected via PCI-X and allow operation with 133 MHz and 64 bits. Native command queuing is still not supported, but tagged command queuing, which IBM has been promoting for ATA for several years, is. However, that hardly makes any difference today, because drives with support for NCQ are still hard to find.

Although the total height of the PD0104 is not any smaller than the models from HighPoint or Silicon Image - the arrangement of the SATA ports is a plus. The horizontal cable outlet makes this the only adapter in this round to fit into rack-mount servers with 2U. Computers with only one height unit, on the other hand, are less critical, because what is usually the lone expansion card is inserted horizontally over a riser board anyway.

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Patrick Schmid was the editor-in-chief for Tom's Hardware from 2005 to 2006. He wrote numerous articles on a wide range of hardware topics, including storage, CPUs, and system builds.