Advanced Technology Attachment

Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) is a standard interface for connecting storage devices such as hard disks and CD-ROM drives inside personal computers. Many terms and synonyms for ATA exist, including abbreviations such as IDE, ATAPI, and UDMA.

Related Topics:
Interface - Storage - Hard disk - CD-ROM - Personal computer

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With the introduction of Serial ATA in 2003, the original ATA was retroactively renamed Parallel ATA (PATA). In line with the original naming, this article only covers Parallel ATA.

Related Topics:
Serial ATA - Retroactively renamed

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Parallel ATA standards only allow cable lengths up to 18 inches (up to 450 mm) although cables up to 36 inches (900 mm) can be readily purchased, so the technology normally appears as an internal computer storage interface. It provides the most common and the least expensive interface for this application.

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