An HDD external docking station is a plug-and-play peripheral that allows users to connect bare 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch SATA hard drives (HDDs) or solid-state drives (SSDs) to a computer via USB, bypassing the need to install them internally or use an enclosure. These top-loading "toaster-style" devices enable fast data transfers, backups, and drive swapping, supporting capacities up to 22TB