Up to two ATA devices (hard disks or CD-ROM drives) can be connected to each connector, in a master/slave configuration. Almost all modern PC motherboards include two EIDE connectors. It is also referred to as Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA), a standard of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Integrated Drive Electronics is so named because the disk controller is built into, or integrated with, the disk drive's logic board. IDE is an acronym for Integrated Drive Electronics, and EIDE is an acronym for Enhanced IDE.
The most common hard disk interfaces include: ▪ Over the years, a number of different interfaces have been developed, allowing the hard disk to be connected to a disk controller that's usually mounted directly on the computer's motherboard. The interface used by an HDD serves as a communication channel, allowing data to flow between the computer and the HDD. The hard disk interface is one of several standard technologies used to connect the hard disk to the computer so that the machine can then access data stored on the hard disk.
