What is Serial ATA?


Serial Ata Disc Drive Interface
     Serial ATA is a "serial" architecture as opposed to today's "parallel" ATA internal disc drive bus. Serial ATA wraps many bits of data into a packet and then at a higher speed (up to 50% higher) than parallel, transfers the packet of data down the wire to or from the host. Today Cyclic Redundancy Checking (CRC) is performed on the data being transmitted back and forth but not on the commands. Serial ATA integrates CRC on the command and data packet level for enhanced bus reliability. Cyclic redundancy code detects all single and double-bit errors and ensures detection of 99.998% of all possible errors. A Serial ATA drive can transfer data at 150MB/sec on the bus to the host system with extremely reliable accuracy and the Serial ATA interface will continue to allow scalability for a very long time.

Advantages of Serial ATA
     In addition to a faster, more reliable bus, Serial ATA improves cabling and connectors for a robust yet simpler integration. Gone are the days of bent pins and clumsy cabling and needless returned hard drives. Serial ATA cables are thinner and longer for improved system airflow and innovative system designs such as small form factor and consumer electronic boxes. Connectors are easier to snap into place without any pins but rather a blind-mate type of connection. Without the wide cables, system integrators can easily route the longer data cables (1 meter) within the system for simplicity or innovative designs.

Serial ATA VS. ATA/133
  • Upgrading to ATA/133 is an unnecessary step - adds cost for controller and special cable.
  • Serial ATA will be the standard on most systems by the end of 2003.
  • Most current systems are limited to the maximum rate of 100 MB/sec. in fact, most systems are now starting to approach 66 MB/sec actual throughput!
  • No Intel support for ATA/133
  • SATA addresses not only transfer rates, but also other ATA limitations which can cause problems in audio systems.
So what does this mean?
     Basically, at least a 50% improvement in throughput over ATA/100 systems for a lot less money than a SCSI-based system. If you're using your DAW for tracking, mixing, editing, or all of the above, you need this technology to reach maximum track counts with minimal problems. SATA will speed up all data transfers, whether during tracking or while performing session backup's and loads.

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What is Serial ATA? Serial Disc Drive Interface Bus Transfer