A SATA interface variant that enables external storage devices is called eSATA (External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment). It utilizes the same ports and protocols as internal SATA and was standardized in 2004. It does provide a somewhat different, more robust connection however. In opposed to the one meter cable length provided by SATA, the eSATA standard additionally allows cables that are two meters long.

An eSATA drive delivers the same fast data transfer speeds as an internal SATA drive since it employs the same protocols as SATA. For instance, an eSATA 3.0 drive can transport data at 6 Gbps or 4.8 Gbps when the data encoding procedure is taken into consideration. This is comparable to USB 3.0 and much quicker than Firewire 800 (800 Mbps) and USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) (5 Gbps).

Video editors, audio producers, and other media workers often utilize the external hard drive interface eSATA because it provides such fast transfer speeds. The alternatives to eSATA, Thunderbolt (10 Gbps) and Thunderbolt 2.0 (20 Gbps), are both faster than eSATA, despite the fact that it is one of the fastest interfaces currently available.

eSATAp

The eSATA interface does not provide power to connected devices, in contrast to Firewire, USB, and Thunderbolt. Because of this, every drive used with an eSATA connection has to have its own power connector. The eSATAp or eSATA USB Hybrid Port (EUHP) is an adaptation of the eSATA connection that includes two 12-volt power pins and four USB pins. Both eSATA and USB connections are supported via an eSATAp port. It eliminates the need for an additional power connection by enabling connected devices to draw power directly from the computer's power source.