The Serial ATA (SATA, IPAEng: ˈseɪtə, /ˈsætə/ or /ˈsɑːtə/) computer bus is a storage-interface for connecting host bus adapters (most commonly integrated into laptop computers and desktop motherboards) to mass storage devices (such as hard disk drives and optical drives).
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The Serial ATA (SATA, IPAEng: ˈseɪtə, /ˈsætə/ or /ˈsɑːtə/) computer bus is a storage-interface for connecting host bus adapters (most commonly integrated into laptop computers and desktop motherboards) to mass storage devices (such as hard disk drives and optical drives).
Conceptually, SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) is a 'wire replacement' for the older AT Attachment standard (ATA). Serial ATA host-adapters and devices communicate via a high-speed serial cable.
SATA offers several compelling advantages over the older parallel ATA/"EIDE" interface: reduced cable-bulk and cost (7 pins vs 40 pins), faster and more efficient data transfer, and the ability to remove or add devices while operating (hot swapping).
As of 2009, SATA has all but replaced the legacy ATA (retroactively renamed Parallel ATA or PATA) in all shipping consumer PCs. PATA remains dominant in industrial and embedded applications dependent on CompactFlash storage though the new CFast storage standard will be based on SATA.
SATA specification bodies
There are at least four bodies with possible responsibility for providing SATA specifications: the trade organisation, SATA-IO; the INCITS T10 subcommittee (SCSI); a subgroup of T10 responsible for SAS; and the INCITS T13 subcommittee (ATA). This has caused confusion as the ATA/ATAPI-7 specification from T13 incorporated an early, incomplete SATA rev. 1 specification from SATA-IO. The remainder of this article will try to use the terminology and specifications of SATA-IO.
Advanced Host Controller Interface
Main: Advanced Host Controller Interface
As their de facto standard interface, SATA controllers use the Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI), which allows advanced features of SATA such as hot plug and native command queuing (NCQ). If AHCI is not enabled by the motherboard and chipset, SATA controllers typically operate in "IDE emulation" mode which does not allow features of devices to be accessed if the ATA/IDE standard does not support them. Windows device drivers that are labeled as SATA are usually running in IDE emulation mode unless they explicitly state that they are AHCI. While the drivers included with Windows XP do not support AHCI, AHCI has been implemented by proprietary device drivers. Windows Vista and Linux with kernel version 2.6.19 onward have native support for AHCI.
Features
The SATA rev. 2.x specifications detail data transfer rates as high as 3.0 Gbit/s per device. SATA uses only 4 signal lines; cables are more compact and cheaper than PATA. SATA supports hot-swapping and NCQ. There is a special connector (eSATA) specified for external devices, and an optionally implemented provision for clips to hold internal connectors firmly in place. SATA drives may be plugged into SAS controllers and communicate on the same physical cable as native SAS disks, but SATA controllers cannot handle SAS disks.
