Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) is also popularly known as Serial ATA or S-ATA.
SATA is a computer bus used to transfer data to and from a hard disk.
It is a successor of the Advanced Technology Attachment standard (ATA).
The older technology is now known as Parallel ATA (PATA) which distinguishes it from Serial ATA disks.
Unlike IDE, which uses parallel signaling, SATA uses serial signaling technology, which makes these cables thinner than the ribbon cables used by IDE hard disks.
The SATA cables can also be longer thereby permitting you to connect to more distant devices without worrying about signal interference.
It is capable of transferring the data at 150Mbps.
SATA replaces the old 40 pin ATA plug and 80 wires ATA cables with simple thin cables that have only seven wires.
The way ATA cable operates is that it assigns one pin and wire to each bit, and with the use of same wire transmits data bi-directionally. However, Serial ATA makes use of two balanced (positive and negative) pair of wires that are devoted for transmitting bits in one direction. Its main feature is that it has a ground wire on both the outside edges along with one wire down the middle that helps in separating the signals moving in each direction. Protection is provided against interference by the ground wire.
