eSATA is an External Serial ATA interface. Serial ATA is a commonly used interface for internal Hard Drives, and eSATA is an extension of that specification to be used with external devices.
eSATA enables the use of fast SATA drives for external data storage devices, not only expanding valuable storage real estate, but also enabling truly fast portable storage. eSATA's hot-swappable feature makes taking disks from work to home, or from one computer to another, a snap. Photographers, IT techs, design and production professionals, and even gamers will find this beneficial.
Aimed at the professional market, eSATA is the next step up from the common USB and FireWire interfaces on most computers. While USB2.0 will allow data transfer up to 40MB/s (MegaBytes per second), FireWire 400 & FireWire 800 up to 40MB/s and 80MB/s respectively, eSATA will allow you to transfer data from your computer to your external hard drive at speeds in excess of 200MB/s (depending on the external drive used). This is extremely beneficial when backing up large files, or to large capacity hard drives.
ESATA Cable and eSATAPort:
The eSATA cable features a specific connector designed for rough handling, similar to the regular SATA connector, but with reinforcements in both the male and female sides, inspired by the USB connector. It's harder to unplug, and can withstand yanking or wiggling which would break a male SATA connector (the hard drive or host adapter, usually fitted inside the computer). With an eSATA connector considerably more force is needed to damage the connector, and if it does break it is likely to be the female side, on the cable itself, which is relatively easy to replace
Related Products
Single Hard Drives with eSATA Interface:
Icecube G2 SuperS: 1.5TB | 2TB
NewerTech Ministack V3: 1.5TB | 2TB
Sarotech HardboxM Triple: 1.5TB | 2TB
Stardom i302 Quad: 1.5TB | 2TB
RAID Drives with eSATA Interface:
TAURUS RAID III Super S: 3TB | 4TB
Proavio EB10PM 10 Bay: Build To Order
