SATA

Note

The vicharak-axon board includes a native SATA interface designed to connect one or more SATA drives. This page documents how to use the SATA interface on the board.

Overview

• The SATA interface on the vicharak-axon board is exposed to the host operating system as standard storage devices (e.g., /dev/sda or /sdX).

• The interface is designed for straightforward data transfer, drive management, and typical OS-level tooling (partitioning, formatting, mounting, SMART monitoring).

SATA connectors and power

The board provides a 16-pin SATA 3.0 connector that integrates both SATA data and power signals.

• Data connector: Pins 01 - 07

• Power connector: Pins 08 - 16

16-Pin SATA Connector Pinout:

Pin	Signal
01	GND
02	SATA30_0_TX_P
03	SATA30_0_TX_N
04	GND
05	SATA30_0_RX_N
06	SATA30_0_RX_P
07	GND
08	12V
09	12V
10	12V
11	GND
12	GND
13	5V
14	5V
15	5V
16	GND

Getting started

Vicharak axon board connected with SATA expansion board/HAT

Note

In the following commands, the SATA storage device is represented as /dev/sdX. Use the lsblk command to determine the correct device name assigned by the Linux system, and replace /dev/sdX accordingly before executing the commands.

• Steps:

  1. Connect a SATA drive like a SATA HDD or SSD to the board using a Vicharak SATA expansion board or HAT with SATA data cable as shown in image above.

  2. Power on the board and boot into the operating system.

  3. Confirm the OS detects the drive:

     lsblk
     sudo dmesg | grep -i sata
     

     to verify /dev/sdX (e.g., /dev/sda or /dev/sdb) appears.

  4. Partition and format the drive as needed:

     • Create a partition table and partitions.

     • Create filesystems (e.g., ext4, xfs).

  5. Mount the filesystem: - Create a mount point and mount the new partition:

     sudo mkdir -p /mnt/data
     sudo mount /dev/sdX1 /mnt/data
     

Using Linux with the SATA interface

• Detecting drives:

  lsblk -f
  sudo fdisk -l
  

• Creating partitions and filesystems:

  sudo parted /dev/sdX mklabel gpt
  sudo parted -a optimal /dev/sdX mkpart primary ext4 0% 100%
  sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdX1
  

• Mounting and fstab:

  sudo mkdir -p /mnt/data
  sudo mount /dev/sdX1 /mnt/data
  

• Basic health and monitoring:

  sudo smartctl -a /dev/sdX
  sudo lsblk -f
  sudo blkid
  

Troubleshooting

• Drive not detected:

  • Verify power is connected to the drive.

  • Re-seat the SATA data and power cables.

  • Try a different SATA port on the board.

• Drive detected but inaccessible:

  • Verify partition table and filesystem:

    sudo fdisk -l /dev/sdX
    sudo file -s /dev/sdX1
    

  • Check dmesg for errors related to the SATA controller or drive:

    dmesg | grep -i sata
    

• Data access issues:

  • Check filesystem integrity:

    sudo fsck /dev/sdX1
    

  • Ensure proper mounting options and permissions.