 - In most computer systems, a byte is a unit of data that is eight binary digits long. A byte is the unit most computers use to represent a character such as a letter, number, or typographic symbol (for example, "g", "5", or "?"). A byte can also hold a string of bits that need to be used in some larger unit for application purposes (for example, the stream of bits that constitute a visual image for a program that displays images or the string of bits that constitutes the machine code of a computer program).
In some computer systems, four bytes constitute a word, a unit that a computer processor can be designed to handle efficiently as it reads and processes each instruction. Some computer processors can handle two-byte or single-byte instructions.
A byte is abbreviated with a "B". (A bit is abbreviated with a small "b".) Computer storage is usually measured in byte multiples. For example, an 820 MB hard drive holds a nominal 820 million bytes - or megabytes - of data. Byte multiples are based on powers of 2 and commonly expressed as a "rounded off" decimal number. For example, one megabyte ("one million bytes") is actually 1,048,576 (decimal) bytes. (Confusingly, however, some hard disk manufacturers and dictionary sources state that bytes for computer storage should be calculated as powers of 10 so that a megabyte really would be one million decimal bytes.)
Some language scripts require two bytes to represent a character. These are called double-byte character sets (DBCS).
According to Fred Brooks, an early hardware architect for IBM, project manager for the OS/360 operating system, and author of The Mythical Man-Month, Dr. Werner Buchholz originated the term byte in 1956 when working on IBM's STRETCH computer.
Also see megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte, petabyte, exabyte, Kilo, mega, giga, tera, peta, and all that, and Kibi, mebi, gibi, tebi, pebi, and all that.
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Learn more about Disk arrays |
| No-maintenance disk array aims to eliminate hard drive swapping: SAID (Sealed Array of Identical Disks) array from startup Atrato bridges the performance-capacity gap. It can in theory run for the term of a 5-year lease with zero maintenance. |
| Fail-in-place systems: Avoiding hard disk drive failures: Fail-in-place storage systems, such Atrato's V1000 and Xiotech's Emprise 5000 or ISE, can virtually eliminate hard disk drive replacement service calls. |
| Multiprotocol storage arrays gain interest, adoption: Multiprotocol storage arrays, or unified storage, combine block and file storage access protocols. Interest due to cost savings, advances in technology and simpler management. |
| Enterprise disk array consolidation product specifications: Knowing the purchasing criteria for enterprise-class disk arrays, as well as product specs for the leading arrays, can help storage managers make savvy buying decisions. |
| What is a terabyte? What is bigger than a terabyte?: What is a terabyte? What are terabytes? What are terabyte drives? What comes after a terabyte? What's bigger than a terabyte? Please don't just say that 2 terabytes is bigger than one terabyte. |
| Storwize claims good data compression rates, no performance degradation on STN-6000 appliance: Storwize's STN-6000 inline appliance acts on primary storage using real-time compression. |
| NetApp: Post-process deduplication limits performance hit in primary storage data deduplication: NetApp's approach to primary storage data deduplication limits the performance penalty to about 20% percent. |
| Best practices for solid-state drive storage technology: SSD best practices center on identifying I/O-intensive applications so that data storage technology can provide the greatest benefit to IT organizations. |
| Storage arrays quiz: Take our quiz and become a scholar on storage arrays, including array-based memory, RAID, and storage consolidation. |
| Podcast: Solid-state drives entering enterprise storage environments: Jeff Janukowicz, research manager at IDC for solid-state drives and hard drive components, discusses the impact SSDs are expected to have at the enterprise level. |
| LAST UPDATED: |
15 Sep 2006
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