SATA

SATA Native Command Queuing Reorders Storage Requests

A storage request does not always need to finish in the same order that software submitted it. SATA Native Command Queuing, commonly shortened to NCQ, lets a compatible host issue several commands without waiting for each one to complete first. The device can then schedule eligible work in an order suited to its internal operation. The mechanism was especially valuable for hard disk drives, where physical head movement and rotational position can make request order affect service time. Solid-state drives have no moving heads, but multiple outstanding commands can still expose parallel work to the controller and reduce idle gaps.