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| 3ware | |
|---|---|
| Name | 3ware |
| Type | Private |
| Fate | Acquired |
| Successor | LSI Corporation |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Defunct | 2009 |
| Headquarters | San Jose, California |
| Industry | Computer storage |
3ware 3ware was a privately held American company specializing in controller hardware for RAID storage systems, founded in 1997 and headquartered in San Jose, California. The company developed add-in cards and integrated controllers targeting server and workstation markets, competing with firms such as Adaptec, LSI Logic, Intel and Broadcom. 3ware's product lines served deployments from small businesses to enterprise datacenters used by organizations like Amazon (company), eBay, Yahoo! and Google (as representative users of RAID technology).
3ware was founded during the late 1990s storage boom alongside contemporaries such as Promise Technology, Areca Technology Corporation, HighPoint Technologies and NetApp. The company navigated the dot-com crash that affected companies like Netscape and WorldCom, then expanded amid the 2000s era marked by acquisitions including Maxtor purchases and consolidation by Seagate Technology and Western Digital. 3ware evolved through product cycles influenced by standards set by PCI Express, Serial ATA, SATA-IO and industry transitions driven by vendors such as Intel Corporation and AMD. In 2009, 3ware was acquired by LSI Corporation, a deal occurring during an acquisition wave that included Emulex and QLogic consolidation activity.
3ware produced RAID controller cards, integrated backplanes and host bus adapters competing with offerings from Adaptec, Areca, Promise Technology and HighPoint Technologies. Key families included controllers supporting SATA and SAS drives, with models comparable to LSI MegaRAID lines and alternatives to integrated solutions from Intel RAID and Broadcom/LSI. These products were adopted in systems from OEMs such as Dell, HP Inc., IBM, and Supermicro for use in server platforms based on Intel Xeon and AMD Opteron processors. 3ware also targeted storage appliances and networked storage deployments analogous to products from EMC Corporation, NetApp, Hitachi Data Systems and Quantum Corporation.
3ware's controllers implemented RAID levels like RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 and RAID 6 consistent with specifications promoted by RAID Advisory Board and industry practices exemplified by Storage Networking Industry Association. Their designs leveraged host interfaces including PCI-X and PCI Express, and drive interfaces such as Serial ATA and Serial Attached SCSI. Firmware and management utilities provided features similar to utilities from Adaptec Storage Manager and LSI MegaRAID Storage Manager, interoperating with operating systems including Microsoft Windows Server, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and FreeBSD. 3ware's engineering had to adapt to evolving error recovery standards influenced by initiatives from T10 and T13 committees addressing command queuing and device behavior.
3ware competed in a market alongside Adaptec, LSI Logic, Broadcom, Intel Corporation and Promise Technology, contributing to price-performance tradeoffs that affected procurement by Data center operators at companies like Facebook and Twitter. The company's offerings provided alternatives to integrated motherboard RAID and to external arrays from EMC Corporation and NetApp, influencing OEM choices for servers from Dell Technologies and Hewlett-Packard. 3ware's presence helped shape expectations for controller features such as hot-swap support, battery backup and online RAID expansion, features also emphasized by HP StorageWorks and IBM System Storage product lines. Its acquisition by LSI Corporation reflected broader consolidation trends visible in acquisitions involving Agere Systems and PMC-Sierra.
3ware operated as a private company headquartered in San Jose, California, with business relationships spanning distributors like Ingram Micro and channel partners typical of firms such as Arrow Electronics and Avnet. The company engaged in OEM partnerships with Dell, HP, Supermicro and boutique appliance builders comparable to Zmanda and ClearSky Data. Its corporate trajectory intersected regulatory and commercial contexts shaped by standards bodies including SATA-IO and SNIA, and business cycles influenced by macro events such as the 2008 financial crisis. In 2009, corporate control transferred when LSI Corporation acquired the company, integrating teams into LSI's storage division.
Following the acquisition, 3ware's controller technology and personnel were absorbed into LSI Corporation's product roadmap, contributing to lines such as LSI MegaRAID and later enabling features in products acquired by Avago Technologies and then Broadcom Inc. after subsequent M&A involving Broadcom Limited. The technical heritage influenced RAID implementations used in servers by Dell EMC and storage vendors like NetApp, and informed open-source support in projects such as those maintained by communities around Linux kernel storage subsystems and FreeBSD. 3ware's trajectory exemplifies consolidation patterns similar to those of Adaptec and 3Com in the hardware industry, leaving a legacy embedded in controller firmware, management utilities and OEM integrations still traceable in modern storage stacks.
Category:Computer storage companies