Serial ATA to Double Transfer Rate

A new specification for the popular Serial ATA storage interface will double the maximum transfer speed from 3Gb/s to 6Gb/s. This will provide an interface with data rate that will be enough to feed the forthcoming hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs).

“By doubling transfer speeds while maintaining backward compatibility, the new specification will make Serial ATA an even more attractive solution for consumers and businesses alike,” said Knut Grimsrud, SATA-IO president and Intel Fellow.

Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO), the consortium dedicated to sustaining the quality, integrity and dissemination of SATA technology, today released to its members the physical layer (PHY) portion for its third generation storage interface, which will be defined in the upcoming SATA Revision 3.0 specification. Today’s release ushers in a new generation of faster SATA 6Gb/s products. Developers can now begin designing products based on SATA 6Gb/s technology as work continues on the SATA Revision 3.0 specification, which is expected to be completed in the second half of 2008.