Contacts sata. Hard drive speed (IDE, SATA1,2,3). Further development of SATA
Today, the eSATA port has long ceased to be something truly new and exotic. However, not all users are familiar with it and do not clearly understand what advantages and disadvantages this standard provides in daily work with a computer.
A little about eSATA
Of course, beginners will first of all be interested to know eSATA - what it is and what it is used for. If I try to answer more simply, then this standard in terms of speed and ease of use, it lies somewhere between the USB2.0 and traditional SATA standards. The term itself has the abbreviation External, that is, a port that uses advanced serial data exchange technologies and has the ability to be “hot” swapped on the fly as hard drives, as well as other devices connected to the computer.
Despite the fact that the eSATA connection appeared back in 2004, today users often prefer more traditional technologies - USB and SATA.
Advantages
Of course, the eSATA standard would not have become widespread if it did not have its objective advantages. And these include:
- the ability to extend the data cable up to 2 meters without the risk of signal distortion;
- eSATA signal compatibility with SATA;
- accelerated data transfer compared to USB2.0;
- low cost of production makes it possible to equip chipsets with several eSATA ports and use this connector in many devices. For example, there is eSATA external hard disk and even flash drives;
- hard drives at the same time, it can be combined into RAID arrays;
- You can replace hard drives on the fly, which is unthinkable when using a traditional SATA interface.
As you can see, this interface has plenty of advantages, at least in comparison with such common and familiar standards as USB2.0 and SATA.
Flaws
Answering the question, eSATA - what is it, we cannot ignore the disadvantages of this type of connection. Despite the fact that this type interface has been in operation since 2004, not all devices are equipped with ports of this standard, and so far its use is complicated by some inconveniences:
- physical incompatibility of eSATA and SATA ports;
- The data exchange speed is still somewhat lower than that of SATA. Numerous synthetic tests have confirmed this;
- The cable length is limited to two meters, which is less than with USB;
- hard drive eSATA will require additional power via USB and 1394 or through a regular outlet (in new models of external devices this need is often eliminated);
- eSATA and SATA use different signal levels;
- to organize eSATA sometimes requires a special controller on system board;
- Not many devices have yet been released that support this standard.
As for directly, eSATA is superior in this regard to the USB 2.0 standard, which is quite widespread today, but inferior to modern USB 3.0. It is possible that this is precisely the reason for the fact that eSATA connectors are not popular today: after all, it is easier to work with USB, and the speed in version 3.0 is higher.
Types of eSATA
Oddly enough, this interface also has its own variations. However, there are not many of them. Or rather, just two:
- Actually eSATA, the features of which were discussed above.
- ESATAp - distinctive feature This type of port is that it became possible to power the device directly through the eSATA cable, while SATA required that power be supplied through an external source. The postfix p means power.
It would seem that with the advent of such a standard as eSATAp, all problems have been solved, and this port is ready to become self-sufficient. But then USB 3.0 arrived, and eSATAp could not compete with it.
And plus 12 volts
However, connect any USB device You can also use the eSATA port. Interfaces allow you to do this. In this case, the device will be simultaneously recharged in both directions.
The main problem in this case is that some models of hard drives require not only the standard 5 volts for recharging, but as much as 12. But in laptops this powerful source no food provided. Therefore, an improved version of eSATAp was developed, which provides for the presence of additional power contacts in the connector. The interface received the unofficial name eSATAdp, that is, dual power.
If there is no eSATA
Not too often, but sometimes it is necessary to remove an eSATA device when there is only a SATA port on the motherboard. For example, if you need to connect an external eSATA to any device.
This can be done, but it will require a passive extender that connects directly to SATA on the motherboard. If we are talking about a laptop or netbook, then such a connection can be made through PC Card adapters, as well as through an Express Card. But in this case, the maximum cable length will be limited to only one meter, which is not always convenient.
External devices with eSATA support
At one time, before the advent of USB 3.0, the eSATA interface was predicted to have a fairly bright future. External drive eSATA can still be found on sale today. After all, USB 3.0 has not yet managed to completely displace its predecessor USB 2.0.
And since the eSATA standard is intended primarily for fast data exchange, it is quite logical that the lion’s share of the market for external devices that support this interface consists of all kinds of drives. These are external hard drives and flash drives. But you can also find printers and scanners on sale that use this type of connection.
Unfortunately, some confusion associated with the small variety of eSATA, eSATAp, and eSATAdp has led to confusion among consumers regarding port and cable compatibility. And even an eSATA adapter does not always help solve this problem, especially if the difficulties are related not only to compatibility, but also to the need for additional power supply (those 12 volts). In addition, the eSATAdp standard has not yet been standardized.
For now, all that remains is to carefully monitor the compatibility of the cables so as not to confuse the eSATA, SATA and other cables. And hope that either all of this will finally be standardized, or the variety of SATA ports will be replaced by some more universal port.
Why not FireWire or USB
Of course, the answer to the question of what eSATA is cannot be considered complete without an attempt to analyze the capabilities of competitors. In this case - FireWire and USB.
And there are three reasons why eSATA has not yet been supplanted by them:
- To organize data exchange through these two ports, you need to convert the PATA or SATA protocols to USB or FireWire. However, it has significant limitations. This was not very noticeable in the past, but with the advent of solid-state drives with capacities of 500 GB or more, which today do not surprise anyone, this threshold has become very noticeable.
- The second reason is that even in the case of FireWire there is a limitation on the information transfer speed - 400 Mbit per second, since FireWire controllers operate according to the standard. Here such a limitation is noticeable not so much when using large hard drives as high-speed ones, but as well as large RAID arrays, which, naturally, require quite considerable speeds.
- Finally, FireWire and USB drives do not have access to some features low level. For example, to the S.M.A.R.T. function. At the same time, eSATA is free from this drawback.
Although competitive interfaces are very popular among ordinary users due to their convenience, in some cases it is impossible to do without an eSATA interface. So, if the user needs high speed transfer of large-volume information, this standard will be an ideal solution for this kind of task. Unfortunately, its implementation is associated with certain technical difficulties, but if additional power is available, for example, using an external unit, this will not be a problem.
Prospects for eSATA
It is still difficult to say anything with a 100% guarantee regarding the future of this interface. But when answering the question of what eSATA is, it is also impossible to make a prediction.
While there are devices on the market that support ports such as USB 2.0, USB 3.0, and the aforementioned FireWire, the future of eSATA is uncertain. On the one hand, manufacturers are in no hurry to actively use this port in all their devices, and on the other hand, they still produce drives with such an interface, but they also do not forget about USB 3.0.
ESATA looks good if, for example, connecting large storage devices or processing multimedia content in HD quality is required. This interface will also help everyone who wants to have their own RAID array at home.
But many users will prefer to use a slower, but simple and intuitive interface such as USB 2.0 in everyday work. After all, most of them do not need to work with fast and capacious drives; in addition, users are often deterred by the need for additional power supply to a device with an eSATA interface. They are willing to put up with some speed restrictions for the sake of convenience. But in some cases it is impossible to do without it.
So you shouldn’t expect the eSATA interface to have a significant impact on the market in the future, but it won’t lose its position quickly either, since there is still a need for it.
Many experts argue that this standard will exist until the spread of a more modern new standard, or over time, USB 3.0 will still take precedence. However, until this happens, you can safely purchase drives that operate on the basis of eSATA.
When assembling a computer or changing its components, the user is often faced with a huge number of interfaces. It’s not easy to deal with them right away, because, firstly, there are a lot of them, and secondly, they have some varieties. This often raises questions: what is SATA or ATA? At the same time, it is also important to understand the types of this interface, the differences and tasks.
Interface
Before we understand what SATA is, we need to briefly explain what an interface is. This is an interaction element that consists of signal lines, a controller and a set of rules.
Any computer system cable interacts with the device and motherboard. One end of the interface connects to a specific piece of equipment, and the other end connects to a connector on the platform.
Data exchange
What is SATA? This interface has serial data exchange with devices that accumulate information. Speaking by example, in at the moment SATA is used for connecting hard drive to the motherboard.
This interface has recently become universal, since it took into account the mistakes of past inventions and turned out to be the most suitable for connecting a hard drive to the system.
SATA has a 7-pin connector, while its predecessor PATA had 40 pins. In this regard, the size of the interface was significantly reduced, which also resulted in a decrease in air resistance. Thus, it became much easier to organize the cooling system, and the air accelerated by its coolers began to reach all the batteries.
Another positive feature of the SATA cable is its resistance to multiple connections. Manufacturers made sure that the power cord had high-quality and durable materials.
Another change was the principle of connecting cables. Previously, when the PATA interface was popular, connections were made in pairs. One cable could connect two devices. Now each component is connected with one cable.
This change has affected the technology of equipment collaboration. In addition, problems with system configuration have been significantly reduced, and problems with the use of non-terminated loops have disappeared.
Variations
Since the world learned what SATA is, this interface has survived two generations. In addition, he has a huge number of modifications for different devices. Among the main types there are 1, 2 and 3 revisions. SATA also acquired many modifications and adapters.
First revision
HDD SATA first appeared in 2003. This was the first attempt to create an interface. The bus operated at a speed of 1500 MHz. At the same time, the throughput did not exceed 150 MB/s. So many compared this revision with Ultra ATA, which had slightly lower data transfer rates.
However, some innovations can be highlighted. Firstly, the serial bus replaced the parallel one. Secondly, this entailed operation at higher speeds. Thirdly, the problem of channel synchronization has disappeared. This invention was revolutionary in computer technology.
Second revision
SATA 2 was not long in coming and appeared in an updated format. It began to operate at a frequency of 3000 MHz. At the same time, the throughput was equal to 300 MB/s net. When manufacturers of other mechanisms saw the potential in this interface, they began to use it in their new products. As a result, Nvidia was the first to produce new devices, using this interface in the chipset.
The new product was supposed to work with the previous SATA revision. But many users were faced with the fact that some devices and controllers required manual intervention in operating modes. So, some manufacturers have introduced special jumpers to switch between SATA 1 and SATA 2.
Third revision
SATA 3 also did not take long to arrive and appeared already in 2008. This revision acquired a throughput of 6 Gbit/s gross. In addition to the fact that the new interface is faster, there are also improved power management. Taking into account the mistakes of previous revisions, the developers thought about the compatibility of all previously released interfaces in this series.
SATA III was later developed. This is how two more types appeared.
SATA Revision 3.1 received quite a lot of significant and not so significant changes. For example, an mSATA option has appeared for mobile devices. WITH new technology The zero-power interface no longer requires energy in sleep mode. The performance of solid-state drives has also improved, overall energy consumption has decreased, and host identification capabilities have also appeared.
This was followed by SATA Revision 3.2. Typically this version is also called Express. In general, this interface interacted with classic SATA, but in this case the carrier interface became PCI Express, as is clear from the name. All this led to changes in the port design. The new product received two long SATA ports, which made it possible to connect both hard drives and drives that work with SATA Express. One of the connectors operated at a speed of 8 Gbit/s, and the second - 16 Gbit/s.
Along with this revision, a modification of micro SSD became known. It was designed specifically for small built-in drives.
"Hot swap"
Devices evolved, and with them new variations of interfaces appeared. A little later than the first revision of SATA, the eSATA variant appeared on the market. This interface assumed the connection of equipment in “hot-swappable” mode.
What kind of mode is this? “Hot swap” allows you to connect or disconnect a device to a system that can still operate continuously. In this case, you do not need to turn off the computer to connect the hard drive to it.
The eSATA option has its own characteristics:
- The interface turned out to be less fragile and could also have larger number connections than SATA. The only problem was that both interfaces turned out to be incompatible.
- Required connection of two cables.
- The wire length has increased. This was done in order to compensate for the loss of signal level changes.
- Transfer rates were above average.
To use this connector, in the operating room Windows system it was necessary to enable a special mode. To do this, you had to go to the BIOS and select Advanced Host Controller Interface.
In this case, many users encountered such a problem that the operating system might stop loading. But this was only at the time of the popularity of Windows XP, which was connected to a controller with ATA modes. Now this problem is not at all relevant, since this operating system is practically not used, and new ones do not have such a problem.
eSATA modification
Initially, SATA was associated with a hard drive. But many developers began to create modified versions. This is how Power eSATA was born. This option combined eSATA and USB. The interface made it possible to simultaneously use a Power Over eSATA cable and connect a drive without any adapters.
Mini version
The classic SATA interface also has its own modifications. In 2009, the Mini-SATA connector became known. It is now defined as a form factor for solid-state drives that have a smaller connector relative to hard drives.
Mini-SATA works in laptops and other devices that operate with small SSD drives. Most likely, mSATA originated from the PCI Express Minin Card interface. Both connectors are electrically compatible, but have different signals.
SATA adapters
Looking at the wide variety of SATA variations and its various modifications, it becomes clear that for all this goodness you need to buy adapters. Of course, adapters are not always needed. But there are devices that have an outdated connection type and require an appropriate interface.
The most popular adapter is SATA to IDE and vice versa. Since the IDE is an outdated version, the need for adapters has practically disappeared. Previously, this question was relevant, since many devices, including motherboards, worked with ATA. Now all equipment works on different revisions of SATA (mainly on the third), and therefore does not require adapters.
The issue of adapters may be relevant in the case of more modern interfaces. So, some users are looking for an mSATA-M.2 or USB-SATA adapter.
Adapters are easy to find. There are especially many of them in popular Chinese online stores. By the way, this is where such mechanisms are most often ordered.
Conclusions
The SATA connector has a long history. It develops and every year acquires new modifications that turn out to be much faster and more effective. Like any other interface, it is assumed that this one will soon be replaced by another improved version, which will appear with an increased data transfer rate.
SATA(Serial ATA) - a serial interface for data exchange with storage devices, usually hard drives.
SATA is a development of the ATA (IDE) interface, which after the advent of SATA was renamed PATA (Parallel ATA).
The SATA standard originally specified a bus speed of 1.5 GHz, providing approximately 1.2 Gbps (150 MB/s) of bandwidth.
The 20% performance loss is due to the use of the 8B/10B encoding system, in which for every 8 bits useful information there are 2 service bits.
Bandwidth SATA I (SATA/150) is slightly higher than the bandwidth of the Ultra ATA bus (UDMA/133).
The main advantage of SATA over PATA is the use of a serial bus instead of a parallel one.
The SATA II standard (SATA/300) operates at 3 GHz and provides throughput up to 2.4 Gbps (300 MB/s).
SATA connectors on the motherboard
Theoretically, SATA I and SATA II devices should be compatible (both SATA/300 controller and SATA/150 device, and SATA/150 controller and SATA/300 device) due to support for speed matching (downward), however, for some devices and controllers require manual setting of the operating mode (for example, on Seagate HDDs that support SATA/300, a special jumper is provided to force the SATA/150 mode on).
At the moment, the SATA-2.5 standard, which complements the previous ones and combines previous standards into one document, is no longer divided into SATA I and SATA II.
It provides the ability to increase operating speed up to 600 Mbit/s (6 GHz).
To be very precise, this is a planned step-by-step promotion of three generations of the Serial ATA interface to the market - the second should provide speeds of up to 300 Mb/s, and the third, accordingly, up to 600 Mb/s.
SATA data connector
SATA uses a 7-pin connector instead of PATA's 40-pin connector.
The SATA standard provides for hot-plug devices and a command queuing (NCQ) function.
LVDS technology is used for signal transmission.
The SATA cable has a smaller area, which reduces the resistance to air blowing across the computer components and improves system cooling.
Due to its shape, it is more resistant to multiple connections.
Connector SATA power supply
The 15-pin SATA power cord is also designed to accommodate multiple connections.
The SATA power connector supplies 3 supply voltages: +12 V, +5 V and +3.3 V, however modern devices can operate without +3.3 V voltage, which makes it possible to use a passive adapter from a standard IDE to SATA power connector.
Row SATA devices Comes with two power connectors: SATA and 4-pin Molex.
Using both types of power connectors at the same time may damage the device.
Pinout
G- grounding (Ground)
R- reserved
D1+, D1-- data transmission channel from the controller to the device
D2+, D2-- data transmission channel from the device to the controller
The wires of each pair (D1+, D1- and D2+, D2-) are shielded twisted pairs.
The SATA standard abandoned the traditional PATA connection of two devices per cable; each device has a separate cable, which reduces delays when two devices operate simultaneously on the same cable, reduces possible problems during assembly (there is no problem of Slave/Master device conflict for SATA).
eSATA logo
eSATA(External SATA) - interface for connecting external devices.
eSATA Specifications:
Requires two cables for connection: a data bus and a power cable;
. Maximum length data cable - 2 m;
. The average practical data transfer rate is higher than USB or IEEE 1394;
. Significantly less load CPU;
. Purpose: external and internal connection devices;
. It has built-in error control tools - ECC, so that data integrity is guaranteed;
. Supports hot-plug mode.
There is also a standard SAS(Serial Attached SCSI), which provides connection via the SATA bus to devices controlled by a set of SCSI commands.
Being backward compatible with SATA, it theoretically makes it possible to connect any devices controlled by the SCSI command set via this interface - not only a hard drive, but also scanners, printers, etc.
Compared to SATA, SAS provides a more advanced topology, allowing one device to be connected in parallel across two or more buses.
Bus expanders are also supported, allowing you to connect several SAS devices to one port.
SATA (English: Serial ATA)- serial interface for data exchange with information storage devices. SATA is a development of the parallel interface, which after the advent of SATA was renamed PATA (Parallel ATA). - data cable connector. Hard drive data cable connector -
Description SATA
SATA uses a 7-pin connector instead of PATA's 40-pin connector. The SATA cable has a smaller area, due to which the resistance to air blowing through the computer components is reduced, and wiring inside the system unit is simplified.
Due to its shape, the SATA cable is more resistant to multiple connections. The SATA power cord is also designed to accommodate multiple connections. The SATA power connector supplies 3 supply voltages: +12 V, +5 V and +3.3 V; however, modern devices can operate without +3.3 V, which makes it possible to use a passive adapter from a standard IDE to SATA power connector. A number of SATA devices come with two power connectors: SATA and Molex.
The SATA standard abandoned the traditional PATA connection of two devices per cable; Each device is assigned a separate cable, which eliminates the problem of the impossibility of simultaneous operation of devices located on the same cable (and the resulting delays), reduces possible problems during assembly (there is no problem of conflict between Slave/Master devices for SATA), and eliminates the possibility of errors when using non-terminated PATA- loops.
The SATA standard supports the command queuing function (NCQ, starting with SATA Revision 2.x).
The SATA standard does not provide for hot swapping of the active device (used Operating System) (up to SATA Revision 3.x), additionally connected drives must be disconnected gradually - power, cable, and connected in the reverse order - cable, power.
SATA connectors
SATA devices use two connectors: 7-pin (data bus connection) and 15-pin (power connection). The SATA standard provides the ability to use a standard 4-pin Molex connector instead of a 15-pin power connector. Using both types of power connectors at the same time may damage the device.
The SATA interface has two data transfer channels, from controller to device and from device to controller. LVDS technology is used to transmit the signal; the wires of each pair are shielded twisted pairs.
There is also a 13-pin combined SATA connector used in servers, mobile and portable devices for slim CD/DVD drives. Devices are connected using a SATA Slimline ALL-in-One Cable. It consists of a combined connector of a 7-pin connector for connecting the data bus and a 6-pin connector for connecting the device’s power supply. In addition, to connect to these devices, servers use a special adapter.
Using http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/SATA
The most interesting comments on the colors of the SATA power connector cable:
RU2012:"Adapters are available to convert a 4-pin Molex connector to a SATA power connector. However, since 4-pin Molex connectors do not provide 3.3 V, these adapters only provide 5 V and 12 V power and leave the 3.3 V lines disabled. This does not allow the use of such adapters with drives that require 3.3 V power - orange wire.
Realizing this, manufacturers of hard Drives have largely left support for the 3.3 V orange power cable option in their storage devices - power lines are not used in most devices.
HOWEVER, WITHOUT 3.3V POWER (orange wire), the SATA DEVICE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO HOT PLUG THE DISK..." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA
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We are increasingly receiving questions from blog readers regarding the emergence of SATA III (6 Gb/s) and the need for its use. For specialists working in IT, this topic is very familiar, and this article will not be of particular interest to them. And for those who are just starting or continuing to get acquainted with computers, I will tell you what is special about the new standard and how it differs from previous versions.
From the point of view of the design of the connector itself, there are no significant changes. You can connect either a SATA-3 device to a SATA-2 port, or vice versa, connect a SATA-2 device to a SATA-3 port. In the first case, the faster device will understand that it is connected to a slow port and will operate in compatibility mode at lower speeds. In the second case, the port will provide significantly more bandwidth than is required by the drive, which will still operate at full capacity.
In addition, when buying a motherboard or computer with SATA-3, having only SATA-2 devices, you are making a big foundation for the future. Over time, manufacturers will completely switch to the third version, and then the purchase will be justified. The transition has already begun, modern hard drives are produced with SATA-3, and if we are talking about SSDs, then they are produced only with SATA-3 (we do not take into account exotic ones), since previous versions are not capable of maintaining such high speeds.
Now I will briefly go through all three versions of SATA.
SATA
The very first version of SATA, which provided data transfer speeds in 150 MB/s. The previously widely used IDE in the latest, fastest version provided only 133 MB/s. In addition, the use of a serial interface made it possible to avoid fussing with jumpers, which are still sometimes nightmares for experienced computer scientists. Now you just need to connect the hard drive to the motherboard, and it will be recognized and then work normally.
SATA-2 (SATA II)
Assuming that over time the speed of one and a half hundred megabytes per second may not be enough, experts developed and implemented the second version of the standard. This time a speed of 300 MB/s. It must be said that the experts were right in their reasoning. Very soon it turned out that the resources of the first revision were exhausted. Modern advanced hard drives read at speeds of about 150-160 MB/s. And the recent 4 TB giant from Seagate was able to squeeze out more than 180 MB/s, sending the first version of SATA into retirement.
SATA-3
If for hard drives the capabilities of the second version turned out to be more than enough, then with the entry into the arena of fast SSDs, it became clear that something faster was required to transfer data from media. It is the use of SATA-3 that allows you to fully unleash the potential of SSDs. Modern solid state drives show read speeds of 540-560 MB/s. SATA-3 Bandwidth – Approx. 600 MB/s. If you try such a drive on the second version of SATA, the speed of the same drive will drop to approximately 270-280 MB/s. That is, more than twice. On classic hard drives the difference between the second and third revisions is insignificant.
Manufacturers are adding support latest version solely for compatibility with future motherboards.
Thus, each next version SATA is twice as fast as the previous one. This is the main difference between them. In this case, you don’t have to worry about equipment conflicts. A drive connected via any version of SATA will work on any computer.
I recommend reading the article Using a modern SSD on a computer with a SATA 2 port, which talks about the experience of using a fast OCZ Vertex 4 (SATA 6 Gb/s) drive on an old SATA II port, as well as the article Using a modern hard drive with SATA 3 on a computer with a SATA 2 port, in which a similar experiment is carried out, but with a traditional hard drive.
You can read about how to connect a SATA drive to a computer in the article “