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3PARdata Inc. (3PAR) is a manufacturer of a new category of storage array, called Utility Storage. It is a simple, efficient and massively scalable tiered storage array designed for utility computing. 3PAR is headquartered in Fremont, California. 3PAR produces a range of enterprise storage products, including hardware disk arrays and storage management software. 3PAR's flagship implementation of Utility Storage, the InServ Storage Server, is the foundation of storage networks in many leading data centers that are deploying utility computing infrastructures. Utility computing allows IT organizations to achieve more with less through the use of technologies that include internal virtualization, automation and clustering.

3PAR launched Utility Storage and the S-Class InServ in 2002 after three years of development. In 2003, 3PAR introduced Thin Provisioning, a software product that helps eliminate allocated but unused storage capacity. It automatically drives the effective utilization of storage up towards 100% without arduous administrative overhead. Continuing its innovation in enterprise storage arrays, in 2005, 3PAR introduced Dynamic Optimization, a software product that allows the online movement or migration of data volumes from one Quality of Service level to another in the same Utility Storage array, without disruption to running applications. In August 2006, 3PAR added support for iSCSI server network connectivity in addition to existing FibreChannel fabric connectivity. The same month 3PAR extended Utility Storage down into the mid-range with an active-active dual controller platform, the E-Class. The E-Class and S-Class InServ Storage Servers represent a broad product line that offers complete software and storage management compatibility, together with seamless interoperability for remote replication.

History

3PAR began in 1999, founded by Jeff Price, Ashok Singhal, Robert Rogers, George Cameron and David Broniarczyk. 3PAR received initial venture capital funding from Mayfield and Worldview Technology Ventures. In January 2001, David Scott joined 3PAR as President and CEO. In five rounds, 3PAR has raised $183 million in equity funding, including a $30 million mezzanine round raised in March 2006. Other investors include Oracle, Veritas (now Symantec), Sun Microsystems, Cisco, AllianceBernstein, Integral Capital Partners and Menlo Ventures.

External links

3PAR website