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 long archival stability. ...

manufacturer, based in

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish language, Spanish for "coastal tableland") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including ...

, that was acquired by

Conner Peripherals Conner Peripherals, Inc. (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 Conn ...

in 1993.

History

The company was founded in 1980 and based out of

. The company employed 3,367 in 1990 and reached revenues of

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

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 Tape Digital Audio Tape (DAT or R-DAT) is a signal recording and playback medium developed by Sony and introduced in 1987. In appearance it is similar to a Compact Cassette, using 3.81 mm / 0.15" (commonly referred to as 4 mm) magnetic t ...

s: 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 computational science, 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 syste ...

s and

server Server may refer to: Computing *Server (computing), a computer program or a device that provides requested information for other programs or devices, called clients. Role * Waiting staff, those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending custome ...

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 mic ...

(running the Motorola 68K family) and the

Sun-4 Sun-4 is a series of Unix workstations and servers produced by Sun Microsystems, first appearing in July 1987, with the launch of the Sun 4/260. The original Sun-4 series were VMEbus-based systems similar to the earlier Sun-3 series, but employi ...

(based on SPARC 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 computer data storage, data computers can read, but not write or erase. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold b ...

s became more cost-effective. Archive was better known for their QIC drives.

acquired Archive in 1993.

Acquisitions

In 1989, Archive acquired Maynard Electronics. The ''MaynStream'' brand of tape drives and software was maintained. In March 1990, Archive acquired

Cipher Data Products Cipher Data Products, Inc., was an American computer company based in San Diego, California, and active from 1968 to 1992. The company was once a leading manufacturer of magnetic-tape data drives and media for minicomputers, becoming a pioneer in ...

for $120 million. This included Cipher's subsidiary

Irwin Magnetic Systems Irwin Magnetic Systems, Inc., also known as Irwin Magnetics, was a computer storage manufacturer active from 1979 to 1989 and based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was founded by Samuel Irwin in 1979 as Irwin International, Inc. The company's primary ...

References

External links

* * 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 computer companies based in California Defunct computer companies of the United States Defunct computer hardware companies Defunct manufacturing companies based in Greater Los Angeles Tape-based computer storage Technology companies based in Greater Los Angeles {{tech-company-stub