I am trying to better understand the pros and cons of firmware vs software drive wiping.

I have been doing some reading about the erase command built into firmware with the ATA specification. It's my understanding that the command will wipe the entire drive using a single pass. The command will work even on bad sectors and is very quick. The downside is only performing a single pass.

The advantage of software is the ability to perform multiple passes making it more secure. The downside is it takes much longer depending on the number or passes and will never be as quick as the firmware even in single pass mode.

Thanks to all for your input, I am glad to hear from you. By all means feel free to correct my understanding or add to it. My intent with this post is learning and confirmation of what I have read. Thanks.