SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) is an interface for connecting storage devices such as hard disk drives (HDDs), solid state drives (SSDs) and optical drives to the computer motherboard.
During its existence, the standard has undergone several revisions, each of which significantly increased the bandwidth:
- SATA 1.0 (first generation) provided a bandwidth of 1.5 Gbit/s, which is equivalent to an actual data transfer rate of about 150 MB/s.;
- SATA 2.0 (second generation) doubled the bandwidth to 3 Gbit/s (~300 MB/s);
- SATA 3.0 (current standard) reached a bandwidth of 6 Gbit/s (~600 MB/s);
- SATA 3.2 extended specification to include SATA Express with a bandwidth of up to 16 Gbit/s through combination with PCIe lines.
SATA has brought a number of significant improvements to the architecture of computer systems:
- “Hot-swap” functionality: the feature enabling to plug and unplug devices without shutting down the system (if supported by the motherboard);
- NCQ (Native Command Queuing) technology: intelligent command reordering to optimize mechanical drive performance;
- Improved power consumption: advanced power management modes to save power;
- Embedded integrity check: advanced error control for reliable data transfer.
Despite the emergence of ultra-high speed SSD-oriented interfaces (primarily NVMe over PCIe), SATA retains a significant position in the computer industry:
- Remains the de facto standard for connecting traditional hard drives;
- Widely used in budget and mid-price SSD drives;
- Universally integrated into desktop computers and server platforms;
- Unrivaled compatibility with existing hardware.
In the corporate segment, a related SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) standard has been developed, based on the same principles of serial transmission, but with enhanced functionality for mission-critical systems.
SATA technology, despite its venerable age (the first specification appeared in 2003), continues to be a viable standard due to the optimal ratio of price, performance, and mass availability of compatible devices.