HBAs and SAS expanders are integral to any storage solution, whether consumer or enterprise. While both devices accomplish the same task of connecting storage media to a host computer, they play fundamentally different roles. Understanding the differences between these two devices is important when configuring a storage solution for your needs. HBAs and SAS Expanders …
In our article on what a SAS expander is, we saw how it could be a valuable tool for extending the number of storage devices in a server or home PC. However, a common issue when installing them is a lack of ways to power them without a motherboard. Although a SAS Expander does not …
Storage demands for personal and professional use have grown quickly in recent years. Take a video editing workstation, for example, where large quantities of raw footage must be saved, or a home media server storing high-resolution movies and shows for on-demand entertainment. SAS expanders are a cost-effective plug-and-play solution for your home server or PC, …
Looking to pull data from an old HDD? Trying to repurpose an internal drive for external use? Want to connect multiple hard disks to your laptop? In each case, you’ll need to identify how to power a SATA hard drive externally. A SATA connector splits into two parts. The first section, with six pins, transfers …
Most SSDs in the market today her categorized on the interface or the markets they are targards. Both are equally important to consider when shopping for an SSD. NVMe vs. SATA NVMe or the Non-Volatile Memory Express is an interface that connects the NAND flash of an SSD to your computer’s PCIe bus. This is …
You can often find cheap SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) drives online, thanks to their use in enterprise environments, where drives need to be upgraded periodically for better reliability. However, one downside to buying them is their lack of compatibility with consumer hardware. It’s easy to mistake these drives for more common SATA (Serial ATA) drives …
