Editing Byte (section)

== Multiple-byte units ==
{{Redirect2|EiB|Exabyte|the company|Exabyte Corporation||EIB (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect-several|Yottabyte|KIB|MIB|GIB|TIB|PIB|Zib|RIB}}
{{Quantities of bytes}}
More than one system exists to define [[unit multiple]]s based on the byte. Some systems are based on [[power of 10|powers of 10]], following the [[International System of Units]] (SI), which defines for example the prefix ''[[kilo-|kilo]]'' as 1000 (10<sup>3</sup>); other systems are based on [[Power of two|powers of two]]. Nomenclature for these systems has led to confusion. Systems based on powers of 10 use standard [[SI prefix]]es (''[[Kilo-|kilo]]'', ''[[Mega-|mega]]'', ''[[Giga-|giga]]'',&nbsp;...) and their corresponding symbols (k, M, G,&nbsp;...). Systems based on powers of 2, however, might use binary prefixes (''kibi'', ''mebi'', ''gibi'',&nbsp;...) and their corresponding symbols (Ki, Mi, Gi,&nbsp;...) or they might use the prefixes K, M, and G, creating ambiguity when the prefixes M or G are used.

While the difference between the decimal and binary interpretations is relatively small for the kilobyte (about 2% smaller than the kibibyte), the systems deviate increasingly as units grow larger (the relative deviation grows by 2.4% for each three orders of magnitude). For example, a power-of-10-based terabyte is about 9% smaller than power-of-2-based tebibyte.

=== Units based on powers of 10 ===
Definition of prefixes using powers of 10—in which 1 ''kilobyte'' (symbol kB) is defined to equal 1,000 bytes—is recommended by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).<ref name="NIST">[http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html Prefixes for Binary Multiples] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808000831/http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html |date=2007-08-08 }} — The NIST Reference on Constants, Units, and Uncertainty</ref> The IEC standard defines eight such multiples, up to 1 yottabyte (YB), equal to 1000<sup>8</sup> bytes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Matsuoka |first1=Satoshi |last2=Sato |first2=Hitoshi |last3=Tatebe |first3=Osamu |last4=Koibuchi |first4=Michihiro |last5=Fujiwara |first5=Ikki |last6=Suzuki |first6=Shuji |last7=Kakuta |first7=Masanori |last8=Ishida |first8=Takashi |last9=Akiyama |first9=Yutaka |last10=Suzumura |first10=Toyotaro |last11=Ueno |first11=Koji |date=2014-09-15 |title=Extreme Big Data (EBD): Next Generation Big Data Infrastructure Technologies Towards Yottabyte/Year |url=https://superfri.org/index.php/superfri/article/view/24 |journal=Supercomputing Frontiers and Innovations |language=en |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=89–107 |doi=10.14529/jsfi140206 |issn=2313-8734 |access-date=2022-05-27 |archive-date=2022-03-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313085857/https://superfri.org/index.php/superfri/article/view/24 |url-status=live |doi-access=free }}</ref> The additional prefixes ''ronna-'' for 1000<sup>9</sup> and ''quetta-'' for 1000<sup>10</sup> were adopted by the [[International Bureau of Weights and Measures]] (BIPM) in 2022.<ref>{{cite web |title=List of Resolutions for the 27th meeting of the General Conference on Weights and Measures |url=https://www.bipm.org/documents/20126/64811223/Resolutions-2022.pdf |date=2022-11-18 |access-date=2022-11-18 |archive-date=2022-11-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221118153958/https://www.bipm.org/documents/20126/64811223/Resolutions-2022.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gibney |first1=Elizabeth |date=18 November 2022 |title=How many yottabytes in a quettabyte? Extreme numbers get new names |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-03747-9 |journal=Nature |volume= |issue= |pages= |doi=10.1038/d41586-022-03747-9 |pmid=36400954 |s2cid=253671538 |access-date=21 November 2022 |archive-date=16 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116065817/https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-03747-9 |url-status=live |issn = 0028-0836 }}</ref>

This definition is most commonly used for [[data-rate units]] in [[computer network]]s, internal bus, hard drive and flash media transfer speeds, and for the capacities of most [[storage media]], particularly [[hard drive]]s,<ref>1977 Disk/Trend Report Rigid Disk Drives, published June 1977</ref> [[Flash memory|flash]]-based storage,<ref>[http://apac.sandisk.com/Products/Catalog(1349)-SanDisk_Extreme_Ducati_Edition_USB_Flash_Drive.aspx SanDisk USB Flash Drive] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513155718/http://apac.sandisk.com/Products/Catalog%281349%29-SanDisk_Extreme_Ducati_Edition_USB_Flash_Drive.aspx |date=2008-05-13 }} "Note: 1 megabyte (MB) = 1 million bytes; 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes."</ref> and [[DVD]]s.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} [[Operating system]]s that use this definition include [[macOS]],<ref name="apple">{{cite web |title=How iOS and macOS report storage capacity |url=https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201402 |website=Apple Support |access-date=9 January 2022 |language=en |date=27 February 2018 |archive-date=9 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200409170256/https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201402 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[iOS]],<ref name="apple"/> [[Ubuntu]],<ref>{{cite web |title=UnitsPolicy |url=https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UnitsPolicy |website=Ubuntu Wiki |publisher=Ubuntu |access-date=9 January 2022 |archive-date=18 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118114902/https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UnitsPolicy |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Debian]].<ref>{{cite web |title=ConsistentUnitPrefixes |url=https://wiki.debian.org/ConsistentUnitPrefixes |website=Debian Wiki |access-date=9 January 2022 |archive-date=3 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203075715/https://wiki.debian.org/ConsistentUnitPrefixes |url-status=live }}</ref> It is also consistent with the other uses of the [[SI prefix]]es in computing, such as [[Hertz#Computers|CPU clock speeds]] or [[FLOPS|measures of performance]].

Prior art, the IBM System 360 and the related tape systems set the byte at 8 bits.<ref>http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/360/systemSummary/A22-6810-0_360sysSummary64.pdf#page=6</ref> Early 5.25-inch disks used decimal{{dubious|Units based on powers of 10|date=February 2025}} even though they used 128-byte and 256-byte sectors.<ref>https://docs.rs-online.com/41b6/0900766b8001b0a3.pdf#page=2</ref> Hard disks used mostly 256-byte and then 512-byte before 4096-byte blocks became standard.<ref>https://documents.westerndigital.com/content/dam/doc-library/en_us/assets/public/western-digital/collateral/white-paper/white-paper-advanced-format.pdf#page=3</ref> RAM was always sold in powers of 2.{{fact|date=February 2025}}

=== Units based on powers of 2 ===
A system of units based on [[powers of 2]] in which 1 kibibyte (KiB) is equal to 1,024 (i.e., 2<sup>10</sup>) bytes is defined by international standard IEC&nbsp;80000-13 and is supported by national and international standards bodies ([[BIPM]], [[International Electrotechnical Commission|IEC]], [[NIST]]). The IEC standard defines eight such multiples, up to 1 yobibyte (YiB), equal to 1024<sup>8</sup> bytes. The natural binary counterparts to ''ronna-'' and ''quetta-'' were given in a consultation paper of the International Committee for Weights and Measures' Consultative Committee for Units (CCU) as ''robi-'' (Ri, 1024<sup>9</sup>) and ''quebi-'' (Qi, 1024<sup>10</sup>), but have not yet been adopted by the IEC or ISO.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=Richard J. C. |date=27 April 2022 |title=Reply to "Facing a shortage of the Latin letters for the prospective new SI symbols: alternative proposal for the new SI prefixes" |url= |journal=Accreditation and Quality Assurance |volume=27 |issue= 3|pages=143–144 |doi=10.1007/s00769-022-01499-7 |s2cid=248397680 |access-date=}}</ref>

An alternative system of nomenclature for the same units (referred to here as the ''customary convention''), in which 1 ''kilobyte'' (KB) is equal to 1,024 bytes,<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kilobyte Kilobyte – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100409171320/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kilobyte |date=2010-04-09 }}. Merriam-webster.com (2010-08-13). Retrieved on 2011-01-07.</ref><ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/kilobyte Kilobyte – Definition of Kilobyte at Dictionary.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100901202451/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/kilobyte |date=2010-09-01 }}. Dictionary.reference.com (1995-09-29). Retrieved on 2011-01-07.</ref><ref>[http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/kilobyte?view=uk Definition of kilobyte from Oxford Dictionaries Online] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060625132017/http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/kilobyte?view=uk |date=2006-06-25 }}. Askoxford.com. Retrieved on 2011-01-07.</ref> 1 ''megabyte'' (MB) is equal to 1024<sup>2</sup> bytes and  1 ''gigabyte'' (GB) is equal to 1024<sup>3</sup> bytes is mentioned by a 1990s [[JEDEC]] standard. Only the first three multiples (up to GB) are mentioned by the JEDEC standard, which makes no mention of TB and larger. While confusing and incorrect,<ref>[https://www.hpe.com/psnow/resources/ebooks/a00113994en_us_v2/Prefixes_for_Binary_and_Decimal_Multiples.html Prefixes for Binary and Decimal Multiples: Binary versus decimal]</ref> the customary convention is used by the [[Microsoft Windows]] operating system<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/121839 |title=Determining Actual Disk Size: Why 1.44&nbsp;MB Should Be 1.40&nbsp;MB |publisher=Microsoft Support |date=2003-05-06 |access-date=2014-03-25 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209012305/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/121839 |archive-date=2014-02-09 }}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Source is nearly 20 years old and may not reflect recent versions of Windows; need a newer reference.|date=January 2022}} and [[random-access memory]] capacity, such as main memory and [[CPU cache]] size, and in marketing and billing by telecommunication companies, such as [[Vodafone]],<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Vodafone Ireland |title=3G/GPRS data rates |url=https://www.vodafone.ie/planscosts_bus/data/|access-date=26 October 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026232743/https://www.vodafone.ie/planscosts_bus/data/ |archive-date=26 October 2016}}</ref> [[AT&T]],<ref>{{cite web |publisher=AT&T |title=Data Measurement Scale |url=http://www.att.com/support_static_files/KB/KB24648.html |access-date=26 October 2016 }}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> [[Orange S.A.|Orange]]<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Orange Romania|title=Internet Mobile Access|url=https://www.orange.ro/recharge/internet.html|access-date=26 October 2016|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026234911/https://www.orange.ro/recharge/internet.html |archive-date=26 October 2016}}</ref> and [[Telstra]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Telstra|title=Our Customer Terms|page=7|url=https://www.telstra.com.au/content/dam/tcom/personal/consumer-advice/pdf/intl-roaming.pdf|access-date=26 October 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410020355/https://www.telstra.com.au/content/dam/tcom/personal/consumer-advice/pdf/intl-roaming.pdf|archive-date=10 April 2017}}</ref>

For [[Computer data storage|storage]] capacity, the customary convention was used by macOS and iOS through Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and iOS 10, after which they switched to units based on powers of 10.<ref name="apple"/>

=== Parochial units ===

Various computer vendors have coined terms for data of various sizes, sometimes with different sizes for the same term even within a single vendor. These terms include ''double word'', ''half word'', ''long word'', ''quad word'', ''slab'', ''superword'' and ''syllable''. There are also informal terms. e.g., ''half byte'' and ''nybble'' for 4 bits, ''octal K'' for {{base|1000|8}}.

=== History of the conflicting definitions ===
[[File:Binaryvdecimal.svg|thumb|right|275px|Percentage difference between decimal and binary interpretations of the unit prefixes grows with increasing storage size]]

{{quote|When I see a disk advertised as having a capacity of one megabyte, what is this telling me? There are three plausible answers, and I wonder if anybody knows which one is correct ... Now this is not a really vital issue, as there is just under 5% difference between the smallest and largest alternatives. Nevertheless, it would [be] nice to know what the standard measure is, or if there is one.|Allan D. Pratt of ''Small Computers in Libraries'', 1982<ref name="pratt19820412">{{Cite magazine |last=Pratt |first=Allan D. |date=1982-04-12 |title=Kwandary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YjAEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA3&pg=PA21#v=onepage&q&f=true |access-date=2025-03-16 |department=Letters to the Editor |magazine=InfoWorld |page=21}}</ref>}}

Contemporary{{efn|Through the 1970s there were machines with [[Decimal computer|decimal]] architectures.}} computer memory has a [[Binary addressing|binary architecture]] making a definition of memory units based on powers of 2 most practical. The use of the metric prefix ''kilo'' for binary multiples arose as a convenience, because {{val|1,024}} is approximately {{val|1,000}}.<ref name="IEC_Binary" /> This definition was popular in early decades of [[personal computing]], with products like the [[Tandon Corporation|Tandon]] 5{{1/4}}-inch [[double density|DD]] floppy format (holding {{val|368,640}} bytes) being advertised as "360&nbsp;KB", following the {{val|1,024}}-byte convention. It was not universal, however. The [[Shugart Associates|Shugart]] SA-400 5{{1/4}}-inch [[floppy disk]] held 109,375 bytes unformatted,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/SA400/SA400_Index.htm |title=SA400 minifloppy |publisher=Swtpc.com |date=2013-08-14 |access-date=2014-03-25 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2014-05-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527094602/http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/SA400/SA400_Index.htm}}</ref> and was advertised as "110&nbsp;Kbyte", using the 1000 convention.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shugart Associates SA 400 minifloppy™ Disk Drive |url=http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/SA400/SA400_Datasheet.pdf |access-date=2011-06-24 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-06-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608195322/http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/SA400/SA400_Datasheet.pdf}}</ref> Likewise, the 8-inch [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]] RX01 floppy (1975) held {{val|256,256}} bytes formatted, and was advertised as "256k".<ref>{{cite web |title=RXS/RX11 floppy disk system maintenance manual |publisher=Digital Equipment Corporation |location=Maynard, Massachusetts |date=May 1975 |url=http://bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/disc/rx01/EK-RX01-MM-002_maint_Dec76.pdf |access-date=2011-06-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110423194129/http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/disc/rx01/EK-RX01-MM-002_maint_Dec76.pdf |archive-date=2011-04-23 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Some devices were advertised using a ''mixture'' of the two definitions: most notably, floppy disks advertised as "1.44&nbsp;MB" have an actual capacity of {{val|1,440|u=KiB}}, the equivalent of 1.47&nbsp;MB or 1.41&nbsp;MiB.

In 1995, the [[International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry]]'s (IUPAC) Interdivisional Committee on Nomenclature and Symbols attempted to resolve this ambiguity by proposing a set of [[binary prefixes]] for the powers of 1024, including kibi (kilobinary), mebi (megabinary), and gibi (gigabinary).<ref>IUCr 1995 Report - IUPAC Interdivisional Committee on Nomenclature and Symbols (IDCNS) http://ww1.iucr.org/iucr-top/cexec/rep95/idcns.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201219055254/http://ww1.iucr.org/iucr-top/cexec/rep95/idcns.htm |date=2020-12-19 }}</ref><ref>"Binary Prefix" University of Auckland Department of Computer Science https://wiki.cs.auckland.ac.nz/stageonewiki/index.php/Binary_prefix {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016032232/https://wiki.cs.auckland.ac.nz/stageonewiki/index.php/Binary_prefix |date=2020-10-16 }}</ref>

In December 1998, the [[International Electrotechnical Commission|IEC]] addressed such multiple usages and definitions by adopting the IUPAC's proposed prefixes (kibi, mebi, gibi, etc.) to unambiguously denote powers of 1024.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html|title=Prefixes for binary multiples|author=[[National Institute of Standards and Technology]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808000831/http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html|archive-date=2007-08-08}} "In December 1998 the [[International Electrotechnical Commission]] (IEC) [...] approved as an IEC International Standard names and symbols for prefixes for binary multiples for use in the fields of data processing and data transmission."</ref> Thus one kibibyte (1&nbsp;KiB) is 1024<sup>1</sup> bytes = 1024 bytes, one mebibyte (1&nbsp;MiB) is 1024<sup>2</sup> bytes = {{val|1048576}} bytes, and so on.

In 1999, [[Donald Knuth]] suggested calling the kibibyte a "large kilobyte" (''KKB'').<ref name=kilobyte>{{cite web | title = What is a kilobyte? | url = http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/news99.html | access-date = 2010-05-20 | archive-date = 2011-06-06 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110606103601/http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/news99.html | url-status = live }}</ref>

=== Modern standard definitions ===
The IEC adopted the IUPAC proposal and published the standard in January 1999.<ref>NIST "Prefixes for binary multiples" https://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114113918/https://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html |date=2018-01-14 }}</ref><ref>Amendment 2 to IEC International Standard IEC&nbsp;60027-2: Letter symbols to be used in electrical technology – Part 2: Telecommunications and electronics.</ref> The IEC prefixes are part of the [[IEC 80000-13|International System of Quantities]]. The IEC further specified that the kilobyte should only be used to refer to {{val|1,000}} bytes.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Barrow |first1=Bruce |title=A Lesson in Megabytes |website=IEEE |url=https://standards.ieee.org/reading/ieee/SB/Jan97/bearer_jan97.pdf |access-date=14 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051217152918/http://standards.ieee.org/reading/ieee/SB/Jan97/bearer_jan97.pdf |archive-date=17 December 2005 |page=5 |date=January 1997 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Lawsuits over definition ===
Lawsuits arising from alleged consumer confusion over the binary and decimal definitions of multiples of the byte have generally ended in favor of the manufacturers, with courts holding that the legal definition of gigabyte or GB is 1&nbsp;GB = {{val|1,000,000,000}} (10<sup>9</sup>) bytes (the decimal definition), rather than the binary definition (2<sup>30</sup>, i.e., {{val|1,073,741,824}}). Specifically, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California held that "the U.S. Congress has deemed the decimal definition of gigabyte to be the 'preferred' one for the purposes of 'U.S. trade and commerce' [...] The California Legislature has likewise adopted the decimal system for all 'transactions in this state.{{' "}}<ref name="Order Granting Motion to Dismiss">{{cite web  | url = https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/flashdrives.pdf  | title = Order Granting Motion to Dismiss  | publisher = [[United States District Court for the Northern District of California]]  | access-date = 2020-01-24  | archive-date = 2021-10-07  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211007112246/https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/flashdrives.pdf  | url-status = live  }}</ref>

Earlier lawsuits had ended in settlement with no court ruling on the question, such as a lawsuit against drive manufacturer [[Western Digital]].<ref name="WesternDigital">{{cite web  | last = Mook  | first = Nate  | date = 2006-06-28  | url = http://www.betanews.com/article/Western-Digital-Settles-Capacity-Suit/1151510648  | title = Western Digital Settles Capacity Suit  | publisher = betanews  | access-date = 2009-03-30  | archive-date = 2009-09-07  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090907183334/http://www.betanews.com/article/Western-Digital-Settles-Capacity-Suit/1151510648  | url-status = live  }}</ref><ref name="Baskin-2006-02-01">{{cite web  | last = Baskin  | first = Scott D. | date = 2006-02-01  | url = http://www.wdc.com/settlement/docs/document20.htm  | title = Defendant Western Digital Corporation's Brief in Support of Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Approval  | work = Orin Safier v. Western Digital Corporation  | publisher = [[Western Digital Corporation]]  | access-date = 2009-03-30  | archive-date = 2009-01-02  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090102041947/http://www.wdc.com/settlement/docs/document20.htm  | url-status = dead  }}</ref> Western Digital settled the challenge and added explicit disclaimers to products that the usable capacity may differ from the advertised capacity.<ref name="WesternDigital"/> Seagate was sued on similar grounds and also settled.<ref name="WesternDigital"/><ref name="Seagate">{{cite news  | last = Judge  | first = Peter  | date = 2007-10-26  | url = https://www.zdnet.com/article/seagate-pays-out-over-gigabyte-definition/  | title = Seagate pays out over gigabyte definition  | work = ZDNet  | access-date = 2014-09-16  | archive-date = 2014-09-03  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140903033455/http://www.zdnet.com/seagate-pays-out-over-gigabyte-definition-3039290393/  | url-status = live  }}</ref>

=== Practical examples ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!width="55"| Unit
!width="450" class="unsortable" | Approximate equivalent
|-
|rowspan="1"|bit
|a [[Boolean data type|Boolean]] variable indicating true (1) or false (0).
|-
|rowspan="1"|byte
|a [[Basic Latin (Unicode block)|basic Latin]] character.
|-
|rowspan="2"|kilobyte
|text of "[[Jabberwocky]]"<!-- text is widely available, easy to count, no source needed-->
|-
|a typical [[favicon]]
|-
|rowspan="1"|megabyte
|text of ''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]''<ref>Allison Dexter, "How Many Words are in Harry Potter?", [https://wordcounter.io/blog/how-many-words-are-in-harry-potter/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125205432/https://wordcounter.io/blog/how-many-words-are-in-harry-potter/|date=2021-01-25}}; shows {{val|190,637}} words</ref>
|-
|rowspan="2"|gigabyte
|about half an hour of [[DVD-Video|DVD]] video<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://web.stanford.edu/class/cs101/bits-gigabytes.html |title=Kilobytes Megabytes Gigabytes Terabytes (Stanford University) |access-date=2020-12-12 |archive-date=2020-11-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108095242/https://web.stanford.edu/class/cs101/bits-gigabytes.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|[[CD]]-quality uncompressed audio of ''[[The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway]]''
|-
|rowspan="2"|terabyte
|the largest consumer hard drive in 2007<ref name="Hitachi1st">{{cite news |title=Hitachi Introduces 1-Terabyte Hard Drive |url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/128400/article.html |website=[[PC World|www.pcworld.com]] |last=Perenson |first=Melissa J. |date=4 January 2007 |access-date=5 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024011417/http://www.pcworld.com/article/128400/article.html |archive-date=24 October 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
||75 hours of video, encoded at 30 Mbit/second
|-
|petabyte
|{{val|2000}} years of [[MP3]]-encoded music<ref name="computerweekly.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/What-does-a-petabyte-look-like|title=What does a petabyte look like?|access-date=19 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128072952/http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/What-does-a-petabyte-look-like|archive-date=28 January 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|rowspan="1"|exabyte
|global monthly [[Internet traffic]] in 2004<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/139885/article.html|title=Internet Could Max Out in 2 Years, Study Says|author=Gross|first=Grant|date=24 November 2007|website=[[PC World]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071126041511/http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,139885-pg,1/article.html|archive-date=26 November 2007|url-status=live|access-date=28 November 2007}}</ref>
|-
|zettabyte
|global yearly Internet traffic in 2016 (known as the ''[[Zettabyte Era]]'')<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-09-09|title=The Zettabyte Era Officially Begins (How Much is That?)|url=https://blogs.cisco.com/sp/the-zettabyte-era-officially-begins-how-much-is-that|access-date=2021-08-04|website=Cisco Blogs|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-08-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802021532/https://blogs.cisco.com/sp/the-zettabyte-era-officially-begins-how-much-is-that|url-status=live}}</ref>
|}