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Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) is a standard physical interface for connecting storage devices within a computer. ATA allows hard disks and CD-ROMs to be internally connected to the motherboard and perform basic input/output functions.
ATA is also known as Integrated Device Electronics (IDE) and is referred to as ATA with Packet Interface (ATAPI).
Techopedia Explains Advanced Technology Attachment
The ATA interface standard was designed to connect supported, integrated and portable storage devices without the need for an external controller. The ATA interface is basically a set of thin wires merged within a cable bus that are used to transfer data in and out of the disk drives. Initially, ATA supported parallel communication and was also called Parallel ATA (PATA). It consisted of a 40-pin controller cable and data transfer speed of 16-32 bits at a time. However, PATA was replaced by Serial ATA (SATA) – which has faster data I/O speeds – in computer systems developed from 2007 onwards.
