Archive Corporation was a computer
tape drive
A tape drive is a data storage device that reads and writes data on a magnetic tape. Magnetic tape data storage is typically used for offline, archival data storage. Tape media generally has a favorable unit cost and a long archival stability.
...
manufacturer, based in
Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa (; Spanish for "Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wa ...
, that was acquired by
Conner Peripherals
Conner Peripherals (commonly referred to as Conner) was a company that manufactured hard drives for personal computers. Conner Peripherals was founded in 1985 by Seagate Technology co-founder and San Jose State University alumnus Finis Conner ( ...
in 1993.
History
The company was founded in 1980 and based out of
Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa (; Spanish for "Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wa ...
. The company employed 3,367 in 1990 and reached revenues of
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
293 million in that year, up from $79 million in 1986.
Of particular note are the Archive
DDS tape drives produced for
Silicon Graphics
Silicon Graphics, Inc. (stylized as SiliconGraphics before 1999, later rebranded SGI, historically known as Silicon Graphics Computer Systems or SGCS) was an American high-performance computing manufacturer, producing computer hardware and soft ...
that could also read and write
Digital Audio Tapes: the Archive Python 4320 and the Archive Peregrine 4326 (rebranded under Conner or
Seagate).
Prior to this, Archive was a leading vendor of the very popular
quarter-inch cartridge (QIC) format which was a popular distribution format for
Unix workstation
A workstation is a special computer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by a single user, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems. The term ''workstat ...
s and
server
Server may refer to:
Computing
*Server (computing), a computer program or a device that provides functionality for other programs or devices, called clients
Role
* Waiting staff, those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers and su ...
s. For example, software for the
Sun-3
Sun-3 is a series of UNIX computer workstations and servers produced by Sun Microsystems, launched on September 9, 1985. The Sun-3 series are VMEbus-based systems similar to some of the earlier Sun-2 series, but using the Motorola 68020 micropro ...
(running the
Motorola 68K family) and the
Sun-4 Sun-4 is a series of Unix workstations and servers produced by Sun Microsystems, launched in 1987. The original Sun-4 series were VMEbus-based systems similar to the earlier Sun-3 series, but employing microprocessors based on Sun's own SPARC V7 RIS ...
(based on
SPARC
SPARC (Scalable Processor Architecture) is a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture originally developed by Sun Microsystems. Its design was strongly influenced by the experimental Berkeley RISC system developed ...
processors) was most commonly distributed on QIC media before
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...
s became more cost-effective. Archive was better known for their QIC drives.
Conner Peripherals
Conner Peripherals (commonly referred to as Conner) was a company that manufactured hard drives for personal computers. Conner Peripherals was founded in 1985 by Seagate Technology co-founder and San Jose State University alumnus Finis Conner ( ...
acquired Archive in 1993.
Acquisitions
In 1989, Archive acquired
Maynard Electronics
Maynard Electronics was an American company based in Lake Mary, Florida that produced magnetic tape data storage related products.
The company was founded by Kim and Alison Knapp in 1982. It was acquired by Archive Corp. in 1989, but the brand ...
. The ''MaynStream'' brand of tape drives and software was maintained.
In March 1990, Archive acquired
Cipher Data Products for $118 million. This included Cipher's subsidiary
Irwin Magnetics
Irwin Magnetic Systems was a computer storage manufacturer founded in 1979 and based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. At its height, the company employed 600 people in Ann Arbor. The company's primary product line was magnetic tape data storage systems, ...
.
References
External links
*
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{{tech-company-stub
1980 establishments in California
1993 disestablishments in California
1993 mergers and acquisitions
Companies based in Costa Mesa, California
Computer companies established in 1980
Computer companies disestablished in 1993
Defunct companies based in California
Defunct computer companies based in California
Defunct computer companies of the United States
Defunct computer hardware companies