What Is eSATA?

Overview of eSATA

Initially, SATA was designed as an internal or inside-the-box interface technology, bringing improved performance and new features to internal PC storage. Designers quickly realized the innovative interface could reliably be expanded outside the PC, bringing the same performance and features to external storage needs instead of relying on USB or 1394 interfaces.

Called "external SATA" or "eSATA," it is possible to use shielded cable lengths up to 2 meters outside the PC to take advantage of the benefits the SATA interface brings to storage. SATA is now out of the box as an external standard, with specifically defined cables, connectors, and signal requirements released as new standards in mid-2004. eSATA provides more performance than existing solutions and is hot pluggable.

Below are a few key benefits of eSATA technology:

• Up to six times faster than existing external storage solutions such as USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394
• Robust and user friendly external connection
• High performance, cost effective expansion storage
• Up to 2 meter shielded cables and connectors

The information contained above consists of excerpts from the SATA-IO Web site. The technical information described herein is for informational purposes only. For additional information or the complete article, please refer the SATA-IO Web site for eSATA.

Enable eSATA

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1. Power up the system, or if the system is already turned on, shut it down and then power it up.
2. Press the <F2> key once every three seconds while the initial Dell logo is on the screen to enter the BIOS.
3. In the BIOS, Press the <Down-Arrow> key to highlight Drives and press the <Enter> key.
4. Under the Drives branch, press the <Down-Arrow> key to highlight External SATA and press the <Enter> key.
5. Press the <Right-Arrow> key to highlight On and press the <Enter> key.
6. Press the <Esc> key.
7. On the Exit screen, press the <Right-Arrow> key to highlight Save/Exit and press the <Enter> key to restart the system with eSATA enabled.

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Potential System Issues with eSATA Enclosures on Dell Systems

Some eSATA enclosures may cause minor issues, resulting in the eSATA not working correctly, in these given scenarios:

1. With an eSATA drive attached, AHCI mode enabled, and eSATA disabled in BIOS, eSATA must be enabled in the BIOS.
2. With an eSATA drive attached, ATA mode enabled, and eSATA enabled in BIOS, AHCI/RAID mode must be enabled as eSATA is not supported in ATA mode.
   Note:For more information about entering the BIOS, the BIOS configuration, or restoring the system setup defaults, refer to the User's Guide.

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Internal and External Locations of eSATA Connections

The Dell eSATA implementation could consist of either a built in jack (Figure 1) or may require an adapter that connects to an expansion bay in the chassis. (Figure 2)

Figure 1: Location of Built-In eSATA Port on the Optiplex 960

Figure 2: Add-on eSATA AdapterThe attached SATA cable then connects to a port on the system board. (Figure 3)

Figure 3: eSATA Adapter Mounted in a Dell™ OptiPlex™ 755 Chassis
When connecting a drive to the eSATA adapter port, the drive requires external power. Power is not provided by the port itself. The eSATA port on system boards is designated with eSATA silkscreened next to the port. (Figure 4)

Figure 4: eSATA Port on an OptiPlex 755 System Board