What is "etherdrive"

EtherDrive is a brand name for a variety of storage area network devices based upon the ATA over Ethernet (AoE) protocol. EtherDrive is a registered trademark of The Brantley Coile Company. EtherDrive is an invented word, owned and used as a trademark by Coraid from 2002 until 2015 when it was purchased by The Brantley Coile Company. It was registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in 2004. The word was invented by Brantley Coile as a portmanteau of the words Ethernet and disk drive. The trademark was purchased by The Brantley Coile Company as part of the purchase of the ATA over Ethernet storage software copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets in May 2015.