It communicates over ethernet, which is what matters. So it doesn't matter that much, and people understand what it means -- in the same way it doesn't matter you just said "IP protocol", which expands to "internet protocol protocol".

But IP runs over more than just ethernet or is it limited only run on ethernet?

No, for example you could also run IP on DOCSIS, which is typically employed by cable modems. Or you could run it on an 802.15.4 stack, using 6LoWPAN (in the RF world, and lately also narrowband PLC such as G3).

Remember that IP is layer 3 in the OSI model, and you could run it on top of other layer 2 implementations than Ethernet.

I perhaps should have been more clear, I know this. What I meant does this protocol require ethernet? which seems unlikely.

The protocol may not but the drives themselves do so it's pretty much the same difference.

IP is not limited to Ethernet. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osi_layer Ethernet is Layer 1, IP is Layer 3.

IEEE 802.3 exists in layer 2 also. Each frame holds source and destination MAC addresses (and a lot more besides).

"The physical interconnect to the disk drive is now Ethernet." I don't know if the new standard requires Ethernet, but I would be very surprised to see any other interconnect on these drives.