Serial challenger - feature: storage

What began as a project to make it easier to fit storage devices such as disk drives into a PC, replacing an anachronistic mix of ribbon cables and jumpers with a much more compact connector and software configuration, has mutated into something that could see low-cost drives eat into the market for high-speed, high-reliability storage for large-scale servers. The original Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) standard, based on a parallel cable, is widely used in high end desktop PCs and low end servers, but that was regarded as having run out of steam some time ago. Only market inertia has been keeping the parallel ATA interface alive.