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eSATA is an external interface for SATA technology, offering fast data transfer speeds for external storage devices. It competes with FireWire 400 and USB 2.0. eSATA requires its own power connector but eliminates the need for an additional off-load chip. It allows the use of fast SATA drives for external disk arrays and has a hot-swap feature. SATA has different standards, with each new iteration increasing speed. When purchasing an eSATA controller, make sure it supports the required SATA standard.
External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment or eSATA is an external interface for SATA technologies. It competes with FireWire 400 and the universal serial bus (USB) 2.0 to provide fast data transfer speeds for external storage devices.
SATA replaced the legacy ATA technology as the next generation internal bus interface for hard drives. The SATA interface is leaner than ATA and provides a serial architecture for increased speed over older parallel technology. eSATA cables are narrow and can be up to 6.56 meters (2 feet) long, while parallel cables are much wider and limited to a length of 18cm (45.7 inches). With eSATA, the speed of SATA expands to include external storage solutions.
While eSATA achieves transfer speeds at least three times that of USB 2.0 and FireWire 400, it does have one drawback. eSATA requires its own power connector, unlike the above interfaces. However, it is still an excellent choice for external drive storage. Unlike USB and FireWire interfaces, eSATA does not have to translate data between the interface and the computer. This improves data transfer speed, saving computer processor resources and eliminating the need for an additional off-load chip.
For desktop motherboards that don’t have an eSATA connector, you can purchase and install a Peripheral Components Interconnect (PCI) card into an available PCI slot that will provide an eSATA interface. Notebooks can use an external eSATA device made for PCMCIA, PC Card, or ExpressCard slot, depending on the laptop model. eSATA allows the use of fast SATA drives for external disk arrays, not only expanding valuable storage space, but also enabling truly fast portable storage. eSATA’s hot-swap feature makes it easy to take drives from work to home or from one computer to another. Administrators, IT technicians, advertising and marketing executives, and even gamers can find it beneficial.
SATA has different standards, with older hardware only supporting the original standard. With each new SATA iteration, the speed increases. Original SATA, or SATA 150, has a data transfer rate of 150 megabytes per second (MB/s). SATA 3G doubled the speed to 300MB/s or about 3GB/s. This is also sometimes referred to as SATA 300.
When purchasing an eSATA controller or bus card, make sure it supports the SATA standard that your SATA hard drives require. Hardware that supports the newer standards is usually backward compatible with older devices, but not the other way around. An eSATA controller made for SATA 150, for example, won’t be able to support the higher transfer speeds of a SATA 300 hard drive.
