Group drafts power delivery spec for external SATA apps

Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO) has launched the Power Over eSATA initiative to offer a new specification that will provide power to external SATA (eSATA) devices without the need for a separate power connection.

eSATA devices require an external power adapter to supply the necessary voltage for operation. The new SATA-IO specification will eliminate this requirement by providing power for a single drive directly from the host system using the Power Over eSATA cable. Key benefits will be to maintain compatibility with the existing eSATA connector form factor and retain high performance at the current maximum interface transfer rate of 3Gbit/s. eSATA offers the only 3Gbit/s bus optimized for storage performance. Data from IDC shows that eSATA can transfer a two-hour high definition movie in less than one minute.

"Its fast transfer rate and efficient protocol makes eSATA the highest-performing external mainstream storage connection," said Knut Grimsrud, SATA-IO president and Intel fellow. "Enhancing eSATA with power delivery will provide a new level of convenience to the designer and the end user. By eliminating the need for a separate power connection, customers can more easily expand their storage, making Serial ATA an even more attractive solution for mainstream storage applications."

Power Over eSATA solutions are expected to be available on the market as soon as 2H 2008, creating new business opportunities by using either a SATA HDD or a SATA optical drive in a portable external enclosure. This gives consumers the option of carrying their digital content portably in addition to using these external devices for data back-up purposes.