>> I am looking for a chip or module that would provide a
>> bridge between ethernet and ATA hard drives.

I think most networking protocols have strongly resisted being 
implemented
in hardware or simple firmware, so your hypothetical "chip" will likely
need to be a good-sized microcontroller with a bunch of memory.  There 
are
companies that make x86, ARM, PPC, and 68k cores with integrated 
ethernet
controllers; one of those should suffice.  (but an old, refurbished PC 
clone
is likely to be cheaper to use by the time you include power supply, 
etc...)

BillW
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