SATAsite.com SATA FAQs - SATA Frequently Asked Questions

SATAsite.com wants to answer any questions you may have regarding SATA. Please check for answers to your questions below. If you have a question not listed, please e-mail info@satasite.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

What is SATA (Serial ATA)?
SATA is the next generation internal storage interface, designed to replace PATA (parallel ATA or IDE) technology. The SATA architecture overcomes the constraints that have limited continued speed enhancements to the parallel ATA bus.

What are some of the advantages of SATA?

Speed. Currently SATA hard drives are available in 150Mbytes/sec versions (also know as SATA-150 or SATA I) and 300Mbytes/sec (SATA-300 or SATA II) versions with a roadmap already planned to 600Mbytes/sec!
Internal cables that are thinner, have smaller connectors, and are simpler to route and install inside the computer.
A specification for reliable external cables and external computer connections (eSATA).

How do I make my internal SATA connections external SATA Connections?

You can route your internal SATA connections outside the your computer using SATA bracket plates. These internal / external adapters allow routing 1 SATA connection, 2 SATA connections, 2 eSATA connections and up to up to 8 SATA connections outside the computer.

I want to set up a high-performance external SATA RAID, what will I need in order to do this?

As with all RAID setups, the highest SATA RAID performance is obtained by "striping" multiple drives, and the more drives the faster the performance. You'll find everything needed to setup an External SATA 4 Drive RAID on these pages: 4 Drive External SATA II 3Gb/s RAID and 4 Drive eSATA II 3Gb/s RAID