scope:

This standard specifies the mandatory and optional operating features of a parallel bus transport for ATA commands described in the AT Attachment 8 - Command Set (ATA8-ACS) standard. It provides a common attachment interface for systems manufacturers, system integrators, software suppliers, and suppliers of intelligent storage devices.

This document specifies the connectors and cables, electrical and logic parameters for the interconnect between a device and the host, and the transport protocols for transporting commands, data, status, and other relevant communications across a parallel bus interface. This document also describes the mapping of command parameters from ATA8-ACS to registers and interface actions on the parallel bus communications path.

Figure 1 shows the relationship between the various ATA standards. For further information on the relationship between the documents and the ATA operating model refer to the AT Attachment 8 - ATA/ATAPI Architecture Model standard (ATA8-AAM).