Technology has evolved too far in the history of mankind. Now, if you see several years ago it would have been difficult for us if we had to transfer data from one device to another as there were very few technologies available.
Also, the technology at that point in time was evolved but not as much as what today’s ones. With just the help of your internet, everything has become possible. Similarly, transferring data from one device to another has also become easy as there are many evolved and the latest cables made to make the transfer possible.
The SATA and eSATA are two kinds of technology that is used to transfer data or files or any other things to transfer from one device to another. The eSATA is said to be the extended version of SATA and both have got their differences in various parameters.
SATA vs eSATA
The main difference between SATA and eSATA is that a SATA is used as a connector for internal devices whereas an eSATA is used as a connector for external devices. However, it is found that both the cables have almost similar functions but their shape, size differs from each other.
Comparison Table Between SATA and eSATA
| Parameters of Comparison | SATA | eSATA |
| Stands for | Serial Advanced Technology Attachment | External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment |
| Used as an | SATA is primarily used as a connector for internal devices only. | The eSATA, on the other hand, is used as a connector for external devices only. |
| Cable Length | SATA’s cable length is about 1m long. | The cable length of an eSATA is about 2m long |
| Supports | 3.0, 6.0, 16.0 Gbits/s etc | 6 Gbit/s |
| What is it? | A SATA is a technology that acts as a connecting device for transferring files or data. | An eSATA is a variation of SATA. |
What is SATA?
SATA is also known as Serial ATA connects the host bus adapters to mass storage devices. The SATA was created back in the year 2000 and SATA is used in almost all devices. In simple words, SATA is a technology whose aim is to help transfer data and files from one device to another.
Well, other than that the main purpose of SATA is to defeat the disadvantages of Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE). SATA has gone through several generations of use and today’s most Personal Computers have used the SATA devices. However, there are several kinds of SATA.
As it is mentioned above that SATA was introduced back in 2000 it substituted the PATA ribbon cables and then SATA was revised several times as years went by. The version three of SATA was released in the year 2008.
The 3.0 version of SATA came with increased speed, added features, faster, and more reliable storage drives. The overall look of SATA remained the same but the features added to it was something that would blow away your mind.
The third version or the version 3.0 is the most common SATA interface used in today’s generation and this version had four revisions and went on to 3.1 and 3.4. SATA was a huge identity back in the days and it became a huge name in the market and also in the world of technology but as time went by SATA is no longer in use in today’s laptops.
However, SATA due to its standard features is quite popular and is used for applications such as PCs, desktops, and also for storing data.
What is eSATA?
eSATA, on the other hand, is a combination of connections for external devices only. eSATA and SATA do not have much difference but there are some things that makes the difference. eSATA stands for External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment.
The purpose of eSATA allows you to connect and transfer data with external storage devices. The USB provided is fast which is quite advantageous. eSATA was created in the year 2008. The eSATA device could be plugged into an eSATA port.
The eSATA devices are most commonly used for editing of videos, processing of audio files, and operating other kinds of media tasks. The eSATA supports similar protocols just as SATA. However, the most important pro point of an eSATA is that eSATA helps prevent any kind of damage against an electrical discharge.
The eSATA is a variation of SATA and there is not much difference in their performance but the only difference is that eSATA supports external storage devices. Some devices like Optical Disc Drives, Hard Disk Drives, External Storage Arrays, Hard Disk Drive Docks, Network Attached Storage use eSATA.
Main Differences Between SATA and eSATA
- SATA stands for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment whereas eSATA stands for External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment.
- eSATA is much faster than and more reliable than SATA.
- SATA is used as a connector for internal devices only whereas an eSATA is used as a connector for external devices.
- The cable length of SATA is about 1m long whereas the cable length of an eSATA is about 2m long.
- SATA supports 3.0, 6.0, 16.0 Gbits/s while an eSATA supports up to 6 Gbit/s.
Conclusion
Both these devices help to connect to devices and help you transfer files and data from one device to another. Both of these might have a similar purpose but have different functionalities. There is also a difference in their overall look as their size varies.
Both of them are quite helpful and people still find these two devices helpful in today’s world. The standard of SATA and eSATA had quite the standard when they were introduced and had proven to be very helpful.
References
- http://www.faculty.ece.vt.edu/swe/lwa/memo/lwa0165.pdf
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781119679837.ch14