eSATAp

eSATA, Power over eSATA, Power eSATA, eSATA/USB Combo, eSATA USB Hybrid Port (EUHP)

External Serial ATA (SATA)/Universal Serial Bus (USB) with Power
Year created	2008
Supersedes	eSATA, Parallel ATA (PATA)
Speed	SATA Rev1: 1.5Gbps (bits per sec), SATA Rev2: 3Gbps, SATA Rev3: 6Gbps, USB 2.0: 480Mbps, USB 3.0: 5Gbps
Style	Serial
Hotplugging interface	Yes
External interface	eSATAp, eSATA, USB

In computing, eSATAp (also known as Power over eSATA, Power eSATA, eSATA/USB Combo, eSATA USB Hybrid Port (EUHP)) is a combination connection for external storage devices. An eSATA or USB device can be plugged into an eSATAp port. The socket has keyed cutouts for both types of device to ensure that a connector can only be plugged in the right way.

Standard

As the port is designed to work with both SATA and USB, neither organization has formally approved it. USB-IF states it does not support any connector used by other standards, hence such 'combo' ports are to be used at one's own risk. As of 2011 the organization responsible for the SATA specification, SATA-IO (Serial ATA International Organisation), is working to define the eSATAp specification.

Implementation

SATA is a computer bus interface for connecting host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives and optical drives. eSATA is a SATA connector accessible from outside the computer, to provide a signal (but not power) connection for external storage devices.

eSATAp combines the functionality of an eSATA and a USB port, and a source of power in a single connector. eSATAp can supply power at 5 V and 12 V.

On a desktop computer the port is simply a connector, usually mounted on a bracket at the back accessible from outside the machine, connected to motherboard sources of SATA, USB, and power at 5 V and 12 V. No change is required to drivers, registry or BIOS settings and the USB support is independent of the SATA connection.

If advanced functionality such as a port multiplier is required, a PCI Express add-on card can be used. If it has port multiplier support, an eSATAp port allows a user to connect to a multi-bay NAS (network attached storage) machine with multiple hard disks (HDD) using one eSATA cable.

On many notebook computers only a limited amount of power at 5 V is available, and none at all at 12 V. Devices requiring more power than is available via the Expresscard, or an additional 12 V supply as required by most 3.5" or 5.25" drives, can be driven if an additional power supply is used. Cables are available to both connect and power a SATA device from an eSATAp port (including 12V power if available).

Compatibility

eSATAp throughput is necessarily the same as SATA, and USB throughput is that of the USB version supported by the port (typically USB 3.0 or 2.0). eSATAp ports (bracket versions) can run at a theoretical maximum of 6 Gbit/s (bits per sec) and are backwards compatible with devices such as eSATA 3 Gbit/s (SATA Revision 2) and also at 1.5 Gbit/s (SATA Revision 1). The USB port is fully compatible with USB 5 Gbit/s (USB 3.0), USB 480 Mbit/s (USB 2.0) and USB 12 Mbit/s (1.1); USB 3.0 devices are compatible, but will operate at USB 2.0 speed if internal USB 3.0 connector is not connected.

+12 V issue

There are only two versions of this port. Most laptop computers do not have +12V power available, and have an eSATAp port which provides only +5 V. Desktop computers, with +12V available, have a port with two additional pads, placed against the plug's "horns", which provide +12 V. Some manufacturers refer to these ports as eSATApd, where d stands for "dual voltage". Some devices, such as 2.5-inch drives, can operate off the +5V supplied by laptop eSATAp ports. Others, such as 3.5-inch drives, also require +12V; they can be powered from a desktop eSATAp port, but require an external +12V power supply if used with a laptop computer. This can lead to confusion if users are not aware of the distinction.

eSATAp PCI and PCI-e add-on cards are available for desktop computers. They usually provide two eSATAp ports, with port multiplier functionality, and hot-swap capability.

eSATAp cables are available with wide connectors to plug directly into the power and signal connectors of a bare drive, providing a +12V supply in the case of a desktop machine. A version of this wide connector is found inside every external sata hard drive enclosure; when the hard drive is slid inside, it mates with a connector that supplies it with both signal and power.

If the smaller side of this cable is plugged into a "powered" esata port, providing both 12 volts and 5 volts, then the wide end may be plugged into a 2.5" or 3.5" sata hard drive, supplying the bare drive with both signal and power. The small 2.5" drive will get signal and power at 5 volts, which is all that the smaller drive requires, and which the larger 3.5" drive requires only for its logic board. Additionally, the larger 3.5" drive will get the 12 volts it needs to power its disk spindle motor. Thus a bare hard drive may be conveniently placed directly on top of the computer, or on an adjacent table, and powered by the unique cable, it will run at full sata speeds, without the necessity of placing the hard drive into an external enclosure. This can be very useful for hard drive testing before deploying the drive for other purposes, or for booting off a hard drive with an operating system that is only rarely used, or for data storage, in a more compact manner than keeping each drive in its own external enclosure.

Naming

The following names are used by different manufacturers for the same port:

• eSATAp (Delock, Dynex, Lindy, Addonics)
• eSATApd (Used by Delock to distinguish a port that supplies both +5V and +12V)
• Power over eSATA (Delock, Micro-Star International (MSI))
• eSATA/USB (Gigabyte Technology)
• Power eSATA/USB (ASRock)
• SATA on the go (Asus)

Other computer manufacturers are shipping computers and motherboards with eSATAp ports including Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Sony and Toshiba[1].