# 3Server

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Network-attached storage

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The [3Com](/source/3Com) **3Server** was a headless dedicated [network-attached storage](/source/Network-attached_storage) machine designed to run 3Com [local area network](/source/Local_area_network) (LAN) server software, [3+Share](/source/3%2BShare).

## Background

The companion product was the diskless [3Station](/source/3Station) network workstation, a dedicated client machine. However, 3Servers could also network with standard PC-compatibles and were commonly used in this role. Having no display other than a small one-line [LCD](/source/Liquid-crystal_display) and no keyboard or mouse interface, 3Servers were controlled via another PC on the network which allowed console access to the internal server software.

The original 3Server was a x86 computer that wasn't compatible with any [ordinary PC](/source/IBM_PC_compatible) based on an [Intel 80186](/source/Intel_80186) CPU, running a special version of [MS-DOS](/source/MS-DOS) and 3Com's proprietary [3+Share](/source/3%2BShare) [network server](/source/Server_(computing)) software. This was a multitasking network server stack that ran on top of single-tasking DOS. Internally, it had a [network stack](/source/Protocol_stack), file and print server modules, disk caching, user handling and more, all running simultaneously inside the DOS memory space. Because they were not limited by the PC memory map, 3Servers could support 1 [megabyte](/source/Megabyte) of flat memory, breaking the PC's [640 kB barrier](/source/Conventional_memory#640_KB_barrier). This was a large amount of RAM for the time.

The original 3Server shipped in 1985 with 512 kB of RAM and a single 36 MB hard disk. It had slots for adding six additional drives, making it one of the first [network attached storage](/source/Network_attached_storage) (NAS) arrays. It supported both [Ethernet](/source/Ethernet) (then branded EtherSeries) and [AppleTalk](/source/AppleTalk) and was quick to add [IBM Token Ring](/source/IBM_Token_Ring) as well. The 3Server/70,[1] introduced in July 1985,[2] doubled the storage space to 70 MB. The 3Server/500 was a [80386](/source/Intel_80386)-based version[3] introduced in the late 1980s, with the [80486](/source/Intel_80486)-based 3Server/600 introduced in 1991.[4]

The last models, the 3Server386 family, ran [OS/2](/source/OS%2F2) 1.3 as the basic operating system, using **3+Open**, a variant of OS/2 [LAN Manager](/source/LAN_Manager). 3Com's version was an enhancement of the basic LAN Manager package, also sold by [Microsoft](/source/Microsoft) and [IBM](/source/IBM) and on other operating systems - for example, running on [VAX/VMS](/source/OpenVMS) it was the basis of [DEC](/source/Digital_Equipment_Corporation) [Pathworks](/source/Pathworks).

## Decline

In February, 1991, 3Com announced that it would hand over all rights to LAN Manager, 3+Open, its Macintosh and NetWare integration, and related software to [Microsoft](/source/Microsoft).[5] The company soon exited the network server business as well.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Computerworld"](https://books.google.com/books?id=2Huij24Zmr0C&dq=3Server%2F70&pg=PA46). 1985-07-29.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["InfoWorld"](https://books.google.com/books?id=AC8EAAAAMBAJ&dq=3Server%2F70&pg=PA27). 1985-08-05.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["InfoWorld"](https://books.google.com/books?id=rDAEAAAAMBAJ&dq=3Server%2F500&pg=PA21-IA8). 1989-09-11.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Network World"](https://books.google.com/books?id=tRIEAAAAMBAJ&dq=3Server%2F600&pg=PA61). 1990-09-03.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["1990 Networking: LAN Manager 2.0 | OS/2 Museum"](https://www.os2museum.com/wp/1990-networking-lan-manager-2-0/). Retrieved 2025-10-03.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [3Server](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3Server) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3Server?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.