SAS (Serial Attached SCSI)
SAS, a storage interface with a maximum bandwidth of 12Gbps, is a serial computer interface designed to connect various storage devices such as hard disk drives and solid state drives. SAS was created to replace the parallel SCSI interface and provides higher throughput and scalability.
Key features of SAS:
- Throughput: SAS supports data transfer rates up to 24 Gbps, but the most common currently is 12 Gbps.
- Compatibility: SAS is backward compatible with the SATA interface, allowing SATA devices to connect to a SAS controller, but not vice versa.
- Topology: SAS uses point-to-point connections, allowing each device to communicate with the controller through a dedicated channel, as opposed to a shared bus in traditional SCSI.
- Scalability: SAS supports more than 16384 devices, significantly more than traditional SCSI.
- Reliability: SAS provides full-duplex data transfer and supports hot-plugging of devices.
SAS Applications:
SAS is widely used in server hardware and storage systems due to its high speed, scalability and reliability. It also supports SATA device connectivity via special protocols, making it a flexible solution for a variety of applications.
