SATA

(Serial ATA) A standard hardware interface for hard drives and CD/DVD drives to a computer. Introduced in 2002, most modern desktop and laptop computers employ SATA drives, while servers and disk arrays may also use SCSI technologies (see SAS and SCSI).

SATA is the serial version of the earlier Parallel ATA (PATA) interface. SATA and PATA drives are "integrated drive electronics" (IDE) devices, which means the controller is in the drive, and a simple circuit resides on the motherboard. For more on the earlier PATA drives, see IDE.

External SATA (eSATA)

An external version of SATA allows SATA drives to be plugged into an eSATA port on the computer and hot swapped. Cables up to two meters long are supported. Designed for numerous insertions, eSATA plugs and sockets are more rugged than internal SATA connectors.

   SATA         Speed in      Year
   Version   Both Directions  Intro

   SATA I       1.5 Gbps      2002
   SATA II      3.0 Gbps      2003
   SATA III     6.0 Gbps      2008

Much Smaller Cables

The four-wire shielded SATA cable (up to one meter long) is much easier to string inside a computer case than the wide, flat 18" PATA cables.

SATA and PATA Ports

All four SATA slots barely take up the room of one PATA slot on this earlier motherboard, which supported both interfaces.

Regular eSATA, Powered eSATAp and USB

The combo port on this laptop accepts regular eSATA, and eSATAp, which draws current from the same cable, as well as USB.

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