SATA-6-Gbs-The-Path-from-3gbs-to-6gbs.pdf

______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ The Path from 3Gb/s to SATA 6Gb/s: How to Migrate Current Designs to the SATA Revision 3.0 Specification May 27, 2009 ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 1 Abstract: The new Serial ATA Revision 3.0 specification doubles the throughput of SATA- based interconnects to 6Gb/s for a wide range of applications and eliminates storage as a system bottleneck. While the spec’s increased data rate seems to capture most of the limelight, the SATA Revision 3.0 specification introduces several new features and capabilities that improve the performance, power efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of SATA technology in a way that enables developers to leverage much of their existing IP. This whitepaper will explore the key differences between SATA Revisions 2.6 and 3.0 and what impact they will have on new designs. Another whitepaper, “Fast Just Got Faster: SATA 6Gb/s,” provides an overview of the benefits and applications enabled by SATA 6Gb/s technology. An FAQ document also is available. In the race for faster throughput, there rarely seems to be a time when interconnect standards remain the same long enough to allow the industry to feel as if it can catch its breath. Every few years, interfaces are expected to at least double their data rates to keep pace with increasing bandwidth demand. With the penetration of digital audio and the continuing momentum of digital video, storage interfaces are being pressed to their limits. Doubling an interface data rate typically requires a redesign of many of the interface’s internal components and may introduce new signal integrity issues which in turn can prompt modifications in connector p