Serial Attached SCSI (SAS)

In computing, Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) is a point-to-point serial protocol that moves data to and from computer-storage devices such as hard drives and tape drives. ... SAS, like its predecessor, uses the standard SCSI command set.

SAS / Serial Attached SCSI Hard Drives 2.5" SFF & 3.5" LFF are almost exclusively for usage in servers that use hot swappable (hot-swap) drives with a SAS hot pluggable backplane. You use a hard drive tray or caddy or sled, and simply slide and clip the drive into the front of your server.

SAS / Serial Attached SCSI hard drives are commonly used in Dell Poweredge Servers T110 II, T310, T320, T410, T420, T610, T620, T630, T710, R220, R310, R320, R415, R420, R420XR, R510, R515, R520, R610, R620, R630, R710, R715, R720, R720XD, R730, R730XD, R810, R815, R820, R910, R920, NX3000 and PowerVault Storage Arrays MD1200, MD3200, MD3200i, MD3800f ; Compaq Proliant® systems such as DL160 Gen8,DL320e Gen8, DL360e Gen8, DL360p Gen8, DL380e Gen8, DL380p Gen8, DL385p Gen8, ML310e Gen8, ML350e Gen8, ML350p Gen8, SL4540 Gen8, SL4545 Gen8 and Ibm xSeries such as 336, x336 and SFF (Small Form Factor) Servers & Storage Systems.

Example models are: 400-ANVM, R755K, 400-ANVG, ST3600057SS, ST3300657SS, ST600MM0026, ST1200MM0088, WD4001FYYG, MK2001TRKB, MG03SCA300, ST3600057SS, AL13SXB60EN, ST9300653SS, AL13SEB900, WD9001BKHG, MBF2600RC, ST2000NX0273, MBF2600RC, ST300MP0005, ST900MM0036, ST2000NM0045, AL13SEB600, ST600MM0006, ST1000NM0045, ST9300653SS, AL14SEB120N, ST300MM0008, ST600MP0005, ST900MM0026, ST1000NM0005, AL13SXB30EN, ST1200MM0088, ST4000NM0025, ST600MM0088, ST800FM0043, ST9300603SS, ST33000652SS, ST200FM0053, ST600MP0005, 0F27352, 0F23370, 0F23369, 0F23369, DTK38, C36WJ, 9CDHG, CGC60, G5DM2, D5FMJ, 391KC, J7FYX, 2XT8Y, VT8NC, 6N9HJ .

A diagram showing the relationship and differences between SATA and SAS drives

SAS hard drives have a higher data transfer rate than SATA hard drives, so they can more quickly read and write data. This is especially important for servers that need to handle large amounts of data or that need to respond quickly to requests. SAS hard drives also have better reliability than SATA hard drives.