Serial ATA (SATA) technology may further simplify data storage for companies, but is not yet a viable reality, says Kerry Showalter, senior general accounts manager at data storage company Nexsan.
SATA is expected to replace the aging parallel ATA interface in the storage environment, and represents a significant shift in storage technology, says Showalter. Advantages of using SATA include greater speed, more efficient cabling and advanced features for integration into servers and networked storage environments.
"A lot of people think that SATA is 'the` current solution, but the fact is, at present, it has none of the protocols that it should have."
Bytes Technology Storage MD Mike Broderick agrees, adding that SATA implementation was generally not worthwhile for companies. "Basically, it only performs just like parallel ATA. There isn`t any real benefit to be derived, so it makes little sense to adopt it. That`s why uptake of SATA has been slow around the world."
SATA was initially released in December 2003, but Showalter suggests that companies wait for the updated version - due later this year - before adopting SATA.
"You wouldn`t buy a car if you knew that an updated version was coming soon. The same applies to storage. According to Hitachi, version two of SATA will be out in August or September, and that is when Nexsan will change over. I don`t think it makes much sense to do so before then."
Broderick says the updated version will provide companies with a noticeable increase in performance. "Theoretically, it is giving you a 100% increase in performance, but in reality you will probably get an overall performance increase of 30% to 50%."
Broderick adds that version two is likely to become the new standard. "It will already be fairly prevalent by the end of the year."
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