A brief history of drive interface evolution

Objective
Hello everybody, welcome to watch the article of the small fish. In the previous issue, we briefly explained the simple differences and pros and cons of HDD (mechanical disk) and SSD (SSD), but this is just a small opening in the future. I will give you more knowledge and interesting facts about solid state. In this issue, we talk about the interface of the story, a lot of people will ask, interface is not two kinds of it? SATA and m.2 interfaces. Words, that's true, but if it's more detailed, why do you have these two interfaces? An estimated number of people do not know, the interface is also a story.
"Iterative Update: Trends in miniaturization of interfaces"
With the development of computer miniaturization, the interface is also constantly changing, the common mobile phone interface has been a variety of interfaces in the direction of unification

Once there was a box of such a universal interface, is to let people look forward to things. However, because the outside of the inconvenient, and mobile phone charger manufacturing is not standard, the interface gradually from the fancy interface to micro-USB, and gradually replaced by type-c.
In the hard disk, is the same, the IDE, SATA, MSATA, NGFF (that is, m.2), u.2 and so on with the development of the computer constantly updated. The interface between miniaturization and convenience is naturally eliminated as new technologies are produced.

"Start of the beginning: IDE"
A little older or more DIYer may find an old hard disk in one corner of the home, yes. Is the old-fashioned broadband disk drive, in today's computer city, a lot of old computer repair master is still calling the SATA disk is the serial port (the IDE disk is the same as the disk,)

But the vitality of electronic products everyone should know that the rapid development of technology in the use of a few more than 10 years after the outdated, the IDE is no exception, in the 133mb/s bandwidth speed to reach the bottleneck. New technologies have also been applied--sata.
The ps:ide version is more complex, with a total of 7 versions, which are not spoken because of the time and the practical effect.

"SATA"
The 2001 SATA technology, like today's 5G technology, was established as the IDE interface was about to reach its bottleneck.
Contrast Ide,sata can be said to be more familiar than the IDE, if you turn on the computer to watch this article, I believe that 99% of people in the computer will use the SATA interface hard disk. If you have used an earlier product, you will find that there is a SATA2.0 figure on the motherboard parameters. Now the SATA interface on the motherboard is 3.0,2.0 speed has not reached our desire for speed.

As shown, there are three versions of the SATA interface (this refers to the 7-pin data +15-pin normal SATA interface), and this doubled-up bandwidth also gives us a better experience. However, when the HDD mechanical disk has not been constrained by bandwidth, the emergence of the NAND flash memory chip is gradually applied to the market, the emergence of high-speed SSD SSD let us find that the SATA3 6Gbps bandwidth has become a new bottleneck. The main control eight channel bandwidth theoretical value has been basically exploded table, in the study of the new interface at the same time, but there is a disagreement, and miniaturization in the notebook can be said to be imminent, because the notebook is not so large space to accept SATA large-capacity solid state, now the SATA solid-state is basically the removal of the CD-ROM and pallets added to
"MSATA"

is not very much like the new interface m.2 AH now. Indeed, M.2 's original intention was to replace mSATA. Increase speed with direct CPU consumption of two channels (lane)
"SATA Express"

Since we want to increase the bandwidth, but also to consider the compatibility of the old interface, then this strange Satae (Xpress) interface appears, in the case of support NVMe protocol, the SATA protocol is compatible. However, the problem arises, in the era of miniaturization, you make such a big thing, you can say and notebook say goodbye. And this thing doesn't have its own power supply, so it's embarrassing to have no promotion.
"M.2"
If you ask now to buy a solid-state disk in a price-rich situation, m.2 is the first choice. The SATA Protocol's solid state, on the way to send data to the CPU, the first to go through memory, and then to the CPU. After a round of tour, the manufacturer stared at a long-established PCI, extending in PCI technology, taking several lane to reach the condition of direct CPU. Here is not much to mention m.2, because m.2 in the future will be specially constructed. But M.2 is actually a special kind of satae.

Three different sizes of m.2
"U.2"
U.2 (SFF-8639), and m.2 is not the same, this thing just started is 4 lane, and can make a larger capacity, of course the price, hehe. But, more unfriendly, the solid state is expensive, but the motherboard that supports it is more expensive. So the solution to the experience is the transfer card.

"Pci-e"

Guess what this is? Graphics? NO, it's solid. Large capacity to take the PCIe interface solid state, the price is very moving.
Summary
I was asked before, how long do you think I can use this plate? I said, you do not ancestral can use the next generation.
Or that sentence, the history of solid state is relatively short, compared to mechanical decades of history, the history of solid state may be only one-tenth of machinery, but its development speed can not be ignored. In the American science fiction of the 70 's, they imagined that short-distance interstellar travel would become commonplace after 100 years or decades, but that the computer used was still a CRT (commonly known as a big-butt monitor) display, and that computer technology was beyond the imagination of science fiction writers. So the maturity of new technology brings low cost and improve the rate of good products, is the continuous development of the hard truth. So, when a thing is cheap enough for ordinary people to think about it, it's the real technology boost.

History of hard disk interface evolution