Can eSATA be used to connect two PCs?

[AmberClad]

As the title says, I was wondering if you can connect two PCs together through eSATA (assuming both rigs have eSATA of course), using an eSATA <--> eSATA cable, similar to what you can do with a USB transfer cable.

I'm not finding much in the way of info about this, I guess because it's uncommon to have one PC with eSATA, let alone two...

 

[Billb2]

The number of reasons why that would not work is mind boggling.

But then, the thought of why anyone would want to is mind boggling.

 

[AmberClad]

Why is it mind-boggling to want to transfer files quickly between two PCs? You can do this over USB and LAN. Granted, it's very early in the morning, and the coffee hasn't kicked in yet, so there might be something obvious I'm not thinking of...

 

[Nothinman]

The number of reasons why that would not work is mind boggling.

But then, the thought of why anyone would want to is mind boggling.

Actually it's not, it works just fine with Firewire and she says it works with USB although I haven't done that myself.

 

[AmberClad]

You do need a special type of cable to do it with USB, like this thing.

 

[sutahz]

Originally posted by: Billb2
The number of reasons why that would not work is mind boggling.

But then, the thought of why anyone would want to is mind boggling.

I dont doubt that its impossible but as to why someone would want to do it if possible isnt outside of reason. Though if a mobo has eSATA, then it has a gigabit port which is faster then your computer can xfer any real ammt of data.

 

[drebo]

The problem with the references to USB and FireWire is that both of those interfaces are general purpose interfaces. Their stack is written in such a way as to not require a host/device relationship. Both devices on either end of the cable are autonomous.

SATA is entirely different. SATA was purpose-designed to act as an interface between a host computer and a storage device (external or internal), and that's all.

It doesn't work for much the same reasons that you can't connect two computers together with a PATA cable or a SCSI cable.

I can see why it'd be advantageous as a point-to-point transfer protocol, but you probably won't notice that much difference between that and GBe except in permanent environments anyway.

 

[AmberClad]

Thanks for the explanation, drebo. Just what I was looking for (yes or no, and why).

 

[imported_wired247]

Crossover cable FTW! If you are handy you can make your own with a spare ethernet cable

or even easier, put both computers behind the same router and presto.

 

[BassBomb]

Originally posted by: wired247
Crossover cable FTW! If you are handy you can make your own with a spare ethernet cable

or even easier, put both computers behind the same router and presto.

USB is faster is it not?

480mbps vs 100 (standard still for the most part among routers)

 

[toslat]

For the NIC approach, to ensure the fastest speed, u cld use a xover cable (some 10/100/1000 cards might not play nice), or put both systems on the same hub or switched LAN. You wouldnt want any >= L3 (e.g. router) processing as that will slow things down.

For USB, the 480Mbps is for USB 2.0. and theoretically its faster than Fast Ethernet, but in practical scenarios, the faster option will depend on the implementation.

Most times though I suspect the fast Ethernet will come out on top cos most USB controllers are not designed/implemented with sustaind high data rate and low delay scenarios in mind (e.g. they usually have slower interconnects to the south bridge).