Understanding SATA

Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) is a computer bus primarily designed for transfer of data between a computer and mass storage devices such as hard disk drives and optical drives.As its name implies, SATA is based on serial signaling technology, unlike current IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) hard drives that use parallel signaling.The main advantages of this attachment over the older parallel ATA interface are faster data transfer, ability to remove or add devices while operating (hot swapping), thinner cables that let air cooling work more efficiently, and more reliable operation with tighter data integrity checks.It was designed as a successor to the legacy Advanced Technology Attachment standard (ATA), and is expected to eventually replace the older technology (retroactively renamed Parallel ATA or PATA).