In computing, the term data warehouse appliance (DWA) was coined by Foster Hinshaw[1][2] for a computer architecture for data warehouses (DW) specifically marketed for big data analysis and discovery that is simple to use (not a pre-configuration) and has a high performance for the workload. A DWA includes an integrated set of servers, storage, operating systems, and databases.
In marketing, the term evolved to include pre-installed and pre-optimized hardware and software as well as similar software-only systems[3] promoted as easy to install on specific recommended hardware configurations or preconfigured as a complete system.[4][5] These are marketing uses of the term and do not reflect the technical definition.
A DWA is designed specifically for high performance big data analytics and is delivered as an easy-to-use packaged system. DW appliances are marketed for data volumes in the terabyte to petabyte range.