The main difference between SATA and SAS Hard Drives is that SAS drives are faster and more reliable than SATA drives.
SATA and SAS are two technologies that allow transferring data to and from hard drives. A hard drive that supports SATA is a SATA hard drive while a hard drive that supports SAS hard drive. SAS has a high speed and is more reliable. Therefore, it is suitable for enterprise-level computing. On the other hand, SATA is more ideal for regular use such as data storage and backups.
Key Areas Covered
1. What are SATA Hard Drives
– Definition, Functionality
2. What are SAS Hard Drives
– Definition, Functionality
3. What is the Difference Between SATA and SAS Hard Drives
– Comparison of Key Differences
Key Terms
Hard Drives, SATA Hard Drives, SAS Hard Drives
What are SATA Hard Drives
SATA stands for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment. It is also called the Serial ATA. It allows exchanging data among computer buses and storage devices. A hard drive that supports SATA technology is a SATA hard drive.
SATA hard drives have a higher capacity and are inexpensive. They are cost-effective in 1TB to 3TB range. Moreover, they are commonly used in personal computing and data storage.
What are SAS Hard Drives
SAS stands for Serial Attached SCSI. The long form for SCSI is Small Computer System Interface. SAS technology helps to transfer data from hard drives to the device and to transfer data from the device to the hard drive. The hard drive that supports SAS technology is a SAS Hard drive. SAS hard drives provide high speed and high level of reliability. Therefore, it is more suitable for enterprise applications.
There are two types of SAS hard drives as 10K and 15K. The K denotes the number of rotations per time unit. In other words, there are 10000 and 15000 revolutions per minute accordingly. The disk range of SAS differs from 300GB to 900GB. Moreover, SAS drives consume around 5 to 7 Watts when idle, and 10 to 14 Watts in the usual operating conditions.
Difference Between SATA and SAS Hard Drives
Definition
SATA is a hard drive which supports SATA technology to connect host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives, optical drives, and solid-state drives while SAS is a hard drive which supports SAS technology for transferring data among devices. Thus, this is the fundamental difference between SATA and SAS Hard Drives.
Long Form
SATA stands for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment while SAS stands for Serial Attached SCSI (SCSI stands for Small Computer System Interface).
Capacity
Also, the capacity of SATA drive is higher than that of SAS hard drives.
Reliability
Reliability is another difference between SATA and SAS Hard Drives. SAS hard drives are more reliable than SATA drives.
Speed
Furthermore, one other difference between SATA and SAS Hard Drives is that SAS drives are faster than SATA drives.
Types
Usually, SATA drives are 7.2K while SAS is of two types: 10K and 15K.
Throughput
SAS drives have more bandwidth throughput than SATA drives.
Cable Size
Cable size is another difference between SATA and SAS Hard Drives. SATA cables are around 1-meter-long while SAS cables are around 10 meters in length.
Cost
Moreover, SATA is cheaper than SAS.
Application
Finally, SATA is suitable for the consumer market (data storage, backups, desktops, etc.) while SAS is suitable for enterprise applications.
Conclusion
SATA and SAS are two hard drive types that support exchanging data between devices. The main difference between SATA and SAS Hard Drives is that SAS drives are faster and reliable than SATA drives. In brief, SATA is appropriate for general use while SAS is suitable for enterprise-level such as for high-end server hardware, etc.
Reference:
1. “Serial ATA.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Jan. 2019, Available here.
2. “What Is a SAS Hard Drive?” Pickaweb, 30 May 2018, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “MSATA SSD on top of a 2.5″ SATA HDD” By Bdortiz1076 – iPhone camera (CC0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “SAS-drive” By Frettled – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
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