3

I have a external SATA drive enclosure that connects via USB to a PC/Mac and it accepts a bare SATA drive being slotted directly into the enclosure, much like a hot swappable disk you would find in a server.

I don't have to connect a data/power sata cable, as there is a connector fixed inside the enclosure, that aligns with the location of the sockets on the drive that shipped with it.

I'm trying to determine if there is something defined in the SATA standard, that specifies the location of SATA connectors on a drive, or is the location of the connector arbitrary and I need to shop around for a disk with the connector in the correct position.

Hennes
  • 64,768
  • 7
  • 111
  • 168
Bryan
  • 1,642
  • 4
  • 19
  • 35

2 Answers2

11

Those are standardized connectors for that type of drive. You will be OK with the SATA drive you choose as long as the dimensions of the drive itself are correct for your enclosure.

Serial ATA International Organization is the group which sets the standard to those connectors.

CharlieRB
  • 22,566
  • 5
  • 56
  • 105
  • [Bingo!](http://www.sata-io.org/documents/connector_location_moi_v100_06706_000.pdf), many thanks! – Bryan Jan 06 '12 at 14:24
4

No, that is standardized, otherwise things like yours or this would be useless.

Bryan
  • 1,642
  • 4
  • 19
  • 35
inf
  • 2,751
  • 2
  • 18
  • 21
  • I guessed they were, but I couldn't find any definitive information to back this up. I expected to find something [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA#Cables.2C_connectors.2C_and_ports) or at least to be able to find this information with relative ease, but I can't seem to find anything conclusive. – Bryan Jan 06 '12 at 14:20
  • @Bryan yeah, all HDD/SDDs have the layout seen in the picture. – inf Jan 06 '12 at 14:26