Serial ATA (SATA) has evolved beyond a serial replacement for parallel ATA in desktop computers. SATA is now an alternate, lower cost solution for non mission-critical enterprise storage applications. SATA technology can provide adequate scalability and hot plug capability needed for server and network storage devices at the entry to mid-range levels.
The Serial ATA Revision 3.0 and 3.1 specifications increase the maximum data transfer rate from 3 gigabits per second (Gb/s) to 6 Gb/s and add new features. The higher speed provides more headroom for solid-state drives (SSDs) and for using multiple disk drives through expanders. New features such as native command queuing (NCQ) and NCQ management improve performance. NCQ lets a drive rearrange the order of requests from the host to maximize throughput, and NCQ management lets the host manage and process outstanding NCQ commands.
This technology brief describes key technologies in the SATA specification, its implications for SATA storage devices, the interoperability of SATA and Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) devices, and examples of internal and external SATA topologies. Table 1 in the Appendix contains terms related to SATA technology.
Find here the whitepaper.