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.