eSATA
Short for External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment eSATA is an extension to the Serial ATA standard that enables SATA drives to be attached externally. Prior to eSATA, external hard drives were connected via USB 2.0 or FireWire. While eSATA can provide faster transfer rates than USB or FireWire, it requires its own power connector.
See also "Understanding SCSI, ATA, SAS and SATA" in Webopedia's "Did You Know?" section.


