Host bus adapters (HBAs) are subsystems that connect computers to network or storage devices. They come in different forms and connect to specific formats such as Fiber Channel, SCSI, SATA, eSATA, and USB. HBAs are crucial for archiving large amounts of data and can be installed as separate circuit boards.
Computers have been integrated into almost all areas of modern life. They perform a variety of complex tasks, and because of their complexity, computers have many different subsystems. One such subsystem is the host bus adapter (HBA), a device installed in computers to connect them to network or storage devices.
HBAs come in many forms and can connect to many different types of hardware. A host bus adapter can be built into computer hardware or installed as a separate circuit board. HBAs come in different varieties which are used to connect to devices that use specific connection formats. The most common formats are Fiber Channel, SCSI (Small Computer System Interface), SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment), external SATA (eSATA), and Universal Serial Bus (USB).
Fiber Channel is most commonly used to connect computers to networked storage. When the term “host bus adapter” is used loosely, it most often refers to Fiber Channel adapters. Fiber Channel is most often used with large storage devices for networked systems, such as server computers.
SCSI is another format used by a host bus adapter. SCSI is one of the older formats still in use by storage devices and HBAs in 2010. SCSI can also be used to connect with other peripherals besides storage devices. Scanners and printers are two examples of the types of devices you can use SCSI to connect with.
The third format used by a host bus adapter and the most commonly used by typical personal computers (PCs) is SATA. SATA hard drives were the most commonly used type of storage device in 2010. For this reason, SATA HBAs are usually built into PC hardware.
ESATA is similar to the standard SATA format. One main difference is that it is specifically designed for connecting to storage devices that are not enclosed in the computer, but are external. Unlike SATA, eSATA is less common and generally requires an HBA to be installed in the form of a circuit board on the computer chassis.
Another common format of HBA is USB. The USB format is similar to SCSI in that it can be used for both storage device and other peripheral connections. Like SATA, USB HBAs are often built into the hardware of most personal computers.
Host bus adapters are one of the most important subsystems in modern computers. They provide a wide variety of connectivity options, particularly as they can be installed into a system that doesn’t already have them integrated. Without HBAs, the large amounts of data created by computers would have no way to be archived.
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