The hard disk interface is the connection between the hard disk and the host system. The role is to transfer data between the hard disk cache and the host memory. Different hard disk interfaces determine the connection speed between the hard disk and the computer. In the entire system, the advantages and disadvantages of the hard disk interface directly affect the speed of the program and the system performance. From an overall perspective, hard disk interfaces are classified into four types: IDE, SATA, SCSI, and Fibre Channel. IDE hard disks are used in home products and some are used in servers. SCSI hard disks are mainly used in the server market. Fibre Channel Only on high-end servers, expensive. SATA is a new type of hard disk interface. It is also out of the stage of market adoption and has a broad prospect in the home market. In the large category of IDE and SCSI, a variety of specific interface types can be separated, and each has different technical specifications, with different transmission speeds, such as ATA100 and SATA; Ultra160 SCSI and Ultra320 SCSI represent a specific type. The hard disk interface, the difference in the speed is also relatively large.

IDE
IDE's English name is "Integrated Drive Electronics", which means "Electronic Integrated Driver". Its intention is to refer to a hard disk drive that integrates a "hard disk controller" with a "disk body." Integrating the body with the controller reduces the number and length of cables on the hard disk interface. The reliability of data transmission has been enhanced, and the hard disk has become easier to manufacture because hard disk manufacturers do not need to worry about whether their hard disk is Compatible with controllers from other manufacturers. For the user, the hard disk is also more convenient to install. The IDE interface technology has been continuously developed since its inception, and its performance has been continuously improved. Its low price and strong compatibility have created an irreplaceable position for other types of hard disks.

The IDE represents a type of hard disk, but in actual applications, people are also used to refer to the earliest IDE type hard disk ATA-1, this type of interface has been eliminated with the development of the interface technology, and its After the development branch out more types of hard disk interface, such as ATA, Ultra ATA, DMA, Ultra DMA and other interfaces are IDE hard drives.

SCSI
SCSI is called "Small Computer System Interface" in English. It is a completely different interface from IDE (ATA). The IDE interface is the standard interface of an ordinary PC. SCSI is not an interface specially designed for hard disks. A high-speed data transmission technology widely used in minicomputers. The SCSI interface has the advantages of wide application range, multi-tasking, high bandwidth, low CPU usage, and hot swapping. However, the high price makes it difficult to be used as an IDE hard disk. Therefore, SCSI hard disks are mainly used in medium and high-end servers. And high-end workstations.

Fiber Channel Fiber Channel English spelling is Fibre Channel, and Fiber Channel SCIS interfaces as originally nor for the design and development of hard disk interface technology, it is designed specifically for network systems, storage systems but with the demand for speed, gradually apply to Hard disk system. Fibre Channel hard disks were developed to increase the speed and flexibility of multi-drive storage systems. The advent of the Fibre Channel hard disks greatly increased the communication speed of multi-disk systems. The main features of Fibre Channel are: hot pluggability, high-speed bandwidth, remote connection, and large number of connected devices.

Fibre Channel is designed for multi-disk system environments such as servers. It can handle high-level data for high-level workstations, servers, mass storage sub-networks, and bi-directional and serial data communications between peripherals through hubs, switches, and point-to-point connections. Transmission rate requirements.

SATA
The hard disk that uses SATA (Serial ATA) port, also called serial hard disk, is the trend of future PC hard disks. In 2001, the Serial ATA committee consisting of Intel, APT, Dell, IBM, Seagate, and Maxtor officially established the Serial ATA 1.0 specification. In 2002, although Serial ATA related equipment was not yet officially available, Serial The ATA Commission has preempted the Serial ATA 2.0 specification. Serial ATA uses a serial connection method. The serial ATA bus uses an embedded clock signal and has a stronger error correction capability. The biggest difference compared to the past is the ability to check transmission instructions (not just data). Finding errors is automatically corrected, which greatly improves the reliability of data transmission. The serial interface also has the advantages of simple structure and hot swapping.