The technological evolution has made everything upgraded even in the computer system; PATA to SATA to PCIe. The rising demand for the storage devices introduced innovates flash storage device that is the SSD or Solid State Drives. Certain data storage devices are important due to their higher data transfer speed. The popularity of SSDs is rising and often replacing Hard Disk Drives (HDD).
Communications Interfaces
In a computer system, the CPU controls the hard drives and optical drives and sends requests for necessary information. It requires a connection to communicate through the interface. Currently, there are two types of hard drive connections available for computer systems based on Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA); one is PATA (Parallel ATA) and the other is SATA (Serial ATA). PCI Express (PCIe) is a form of popular peripheral bus architecture that is required to update devices and comply with enterprise servers, storage devices, cloud computing equipment, etc. Even personal computers, mobile devices, industrially used computing, and automation systems, and IoT and IIoT applications.
Transformation of PATA, SATA, and PCIe
SATA and PATA describe the physical, transport, and command protocols to build an internal connection among the storage devices and host systems. PATA is earlier technology with an electromagnetic interface ensuring integrity but limits the signal period. On the other hand, SATA is a progressive technology that provides speed with efficiency in the smallest convenience. The computer servers, endpoint devices, and data center systems emphasize scalability with the fastest speed that is served in PCIe.
- PATA: Being an older version, PATA is the basic interface standard for making connections of storage devices. It has initiated with the original AT attachment and gone through gradual development. The usual length is a maximum of 18” which is beneficial for use in the internal computer storage interface. To support and control signals, a 16-bit wide data bus is also used with PATA and functions at a low frequency linked to the 40-pins connector ribbon cable.
- SATA: SATA is a more advantageous bus interface than PATA for its reduced cable size, cost, high data transfer speed, hot swapping, and so on. For interactions, SATA devices and host adapters require high-speed serial cable over the conductors. The fundamental SATA connector comprises a couple of twisted pairs, three ground wires, and 7-pins. It implements differential transmission varying from 1.5 to 6.0GB.
- PCIe: PCIe has been developed as a standard for display adapters in desktop computers, point-to-point memory-oriented load/store protocol. It has been evolved into virtually inevitable solutions for mainstream computer-to-peripheral communications. After spanning I-generations of bandwidth expansion it is popularly known in regards to a high-speed performance by attaining economy of scale. The currently available solution provides 16 times faster speed in heavy-workload and high-bandwidth applications.
The Evolution from PATA to SATA to PCIe
The evolution of PATA, SATA to PCIe created differences that are quite apparent on interfaces. Here are some major ones:
- Speed: Speed is a major fact that has been developed faster. Where PATA used to serve the highest speed in 130MB/s, SATA provides in 600MB/s and PCIe serves 128GB/s. The amplified speed is convenient for loading bigger images, videos, and influential documents larger in size.
- Cable: The cable length of PATA has extended to 18-inches to 1 meter in SATA. PCI draws all it needs from the motherboard slot and it does not require plugging in the 6-pin power cable anywhere. With the evolution, it becomes easier and flexible to use within the devices for updated configuration.
- Performance: PATA is the oldest version that does not support hot-swapping but it is possible in SATA and PCIe. The cables are short in SATA that permits airflow in the computer system. PCIe can be stretched simply through different connectors. This helps in faster performance and enhances the durability of the devices.
- Compatibility: PATA allows two connections with 4 hard drive hookups in a motherboard and SATA allows to have up to six SATA connections with multiple hard drive hookups. Conversely, PCIe slots come in different configurations of bidirectional lanes, such as x1, x4, x8, x16, x32 lanes in the PCIe slot to configure according to the device extension.
PATA, SATA, and PCIe are different from each other not just in designing, but in advanced features and functions. With the evolution of innovation, it has become faster, scalable, and flexible to decrease human effort by increasing efficiency in performance. The most updated PCIe has doubled to its standard in each generation that has made things easier to comply with the high-density application devices.
Final Thoughts
Flexxon is a NAND flash memory manufacturer evolving the latest technology into the devices to comply with industrial and personal usage. It comprises a range of PATA, SATA II, SATA III, and PCIe to mitigate the needs of Cybersecurity, Industrial, Medical, and Automotive (CIMA) applications. All the premium memory devices remove the power blockage increases effectiveness even in the worst possible scenario for SSDs. With Flexxon memory devices, the high-density applications will run smoothly ensuring reliability and endurance to work perfectly for a long time.