Petabit to Tebibyte Conversion Calculator: Free Online Tool
Convert petabits to tebibytes with our free online data storage converter.
Petabit to Tebibyte Calculator
How to Use the Calculator:
- Enter the value you want to convert in the 'From' field (Petabit).
- The converted value in Tebibyte will appear automatically in the 'To' field.
- Use the dropdown menus to select different units within the Data Storage category.
- Click the swap button (⇌) to reverse the conversion direction.
How to Convert Petabit to Tebibyte
Converting Petabit to Tebibyte involves multiplying the value by a specific conversion factor, as shown in the formula below.
Formula:
1 Petabit = 113.687 tebibytesExample Calculation:
Convert 10 petabits: 10 × 113.687 = 1136.87 tebibytes
Disclaimer: For Reference Only
These conversion results are provided for informational purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, we make no guarantees regarding the precision of these results, especially for conversions involving extremely large or small numbers which may be subject to the inherent limitations of standard computer floating-point arithmetic.
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What is a Petabit and a Tebibyte?
A petabit (Pb or Pbit) is a multiple of the bit unit for digital information or computer storage. The prefix peta- (symbol P) is defined in the International System of Units (SI) as a multiplier of 1015 (1 quadrillion, or 1 followed by 15 zeros). Therefore, 1 petabit = 1,000,000,000,000,000 bits. This is equivalent to 1,000 terabits (Tb) or 1,000,000 gigabits (Gb).
A tebibyte (TiB) is a unit of digital information storage equal to 240 bytes, which is exactly 1,099,511,627,776 bytes (or 10244 bytes). It uses the binary prefix 'tebi-' established by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The tebibyte was created to provide an unambiguous measurement for byte multiples based on powers of 2, distinguishing it from the terabyte (TB), which is based on the decimal prefix 'tera-' (1012 or 1,000,000,000,000 bytes).
Note: The Petabit is part of the imperial/US customary system, primarily used in the US, UK, and Canada for everyday measurements. The Tebibyte belongs to the imperial/US customary system.
History of the Petabit and Tebibyte
As data volumes and network speeds continued to increase dramatically beyond the terabit scale, the petabit became relevant for quantifying extremely large amounts of data and ultra-high transmission capacities. It strictly follows the SI definition of 'peta-' as 1015. The distinction between decimal (petabit, Pb) and binary (pebibit, Pib = 250 bits) became increasingly important at this scale, leading to the formalization of binary prefixes like 'pebi-' by the IEC to avoid ambiguity.
The prefix 'tebi-' (representing 240) was defined by the IEC in 1998 alongside other binary prefixes (kibi-, mebi-, gibi-, etc.). Before this standard, the SI prefix 'tera-' (T) was ambiguously used to represent both 1,000,000,000,000 (1012, as per its SI definition) and 1,099,511,627,776 (240) in computing contexts. This ambiguity became particularly significant at the terabyte scale, leading to noticeable discrepancies between advertised storage capacity (often decimal) and actual capacity reported by operating systems (often binary). The introduction of the tebibyte (TiB) aimed to resolve this by providing a specific term for 240 bytes.
Common Uses for petabits and tebibytes
Explore the typical applications for both Petabit (imperial/US) and Tebibyte (imperial/US) to understand their common contexts.
Common Uses for petabits
Petabits are primarily used in contexts involving massive data scales:
- Measuring the theoretical or actual data transfer rates of core internet backbones, major international communication links, and large-scale data center networks (often expressed in Pbps - petabits per second).
- Quantifying the aggregate data traffic processed by major internet exchange points (IXPs) or national telecommunications networks over specific timeframes.
- Describing the capacity of cutting-edge optical fiber communication systems and research networks.
- Characterizing the sheer volume of data generated or processed in large scientific endeavors, such as high-energy physics experiments, climate modeling, or large astronomical surveys, especially when discussing data transmission or raw bit counts.
- High-performance computing (HPC) environments dealing with massive datasets.
Common Uses for tebibytes
Tebibytes are used in contexts where precision based on powers of 2 is necessary for very large data quantities:
- Reporting large hard drive capacities, solid-state drive (SSD) sizes, and file system sizes by operating systems (like Windows, macOS, Linux) and file systems that adhere to IEC standards.
- Specifying the capacity of large-scale storage systems, network-attached storage (NAS), and storage area networks (SANs).
- Software development, database management, virtualization, and cloud storage contexts where exact binary multiples are crucial for resource allocation, performance calculations, and capacity planning for massive datasets.
- High-performance computing (HPC), scientific research (e.g., genomics, astrophysics), and big data analytics involving petabyte-scale datasets where tebibyte-level precision is required.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions About Petabit (Pb)
How many bits are in a petabit?
There are exactly 1,000,000,000,000,000 bits (one quadrillion bits, or 1015 bits) in 1 petabit (Pb), according to the standard SI definition of the prefix 'peta-'.
What is the difference between a petabit (Pb) and a petabyte (PB)?
- A petabit (Pb) measures data in bits and equals 1015 bits. It is commonly used for data transfer rates and network capacity.
- A petabyte (PB) measures data in bytes. According to SI standards, it equals 1015 bytes. It is typically used for measuring large storage capacities. (Note: The term pebibyte (PiB) correctly refers to 250 bytes).
Since 1 byte = 8 bits, 1 petabyte (1015 bytes) is equal to 8 x 1015 bits, or 8 petabits. Therefore, a petabyte represents 8 times more data than a petabit.
What is the difference between a petabit (Pb) and a pebibit (Pib)?
- A petabit (Pb) uses the decimal SI prefix 'peta-' and equals 1015 bits (1,000,000,000,000,000 bits).
- A pebibit (Pib) uses the binary IEC prefix 'pebi-' and equals 250 bits (1,125,899,906,842,624 bits).
A pebibit is approximately 12.6% larger than a petabit (1 Pib ≈ 1.126 Pb). Use Pb for contexts adhering to decimal standards (like network speeds) and Pib when precise binary multiples (powers of 2) are required (often related to memory or specific storage architectures).
How many gigabits (Gb) are in a petabit (Pb)?
There are 1,000,000 gigabits (Gb) in 1 petabit (Pb). This is derived from the SI prefixes: 1 Pb = 1015 bits and 1 Gb = 109 bits. Therefore, 1 Pb / 1 Gb = 1015 / 109 = 106 = 1,000,000.
About Tebibyte (TiB)
How many bytes are in a tebibyte (TiB)?
There are exactly 240 bytes in 1 tebibyte (TiB). This equals 1,099,511,627,776 bytes.
How many gibibytes (GiB) are in a tebibyte (TiB)?
There are 1,024 gibibytes (GiB) in 1 tebibyte (TiB). This follows the binary prefix system where 1 TiB = 240 bytes and 1 GiB = 230 bytes, and 240 / 230 = 210 = 1,024.
What is the difference between a tebibyte (TiB) and a terabyte (TB)?
- A tebibyte (TiB) represents 240 bytes (1,099,511,627,776 bytes), using the IEC binary prefix 'tebi-'.
- A terabyte (TB) typically represents 1012 bytes (1,000,000,000,000 bytes), using the SI decimal prefix 'tera-'. A tebibyte is approximately 9.95% larger than a terabyte (1 TiB ≈ 1.0995 TB). Use TiB for precision in binary contexts (like OS reporting of large disks) and TB for decimal contexts (like hard drive marketing) or when the specific definition is clarified.
What is the difference between a tebibyte (TiB) and a tebibit (Tib)?
A tebibyte (TiB) measures information in bytes, while a tebibit (Tib) measures information in bits. Assuming the standard 1 byte = 8 bits, 1 tebibyte (TiB) is equal to 8 tebibits (Tib). Both use the binary prefix 'tebi-' (240).
Why do operating systems often show lower capacity than advertised for large drives?
Storage manufacturers typically market drive capacity using decimal prefixes (TB, GB), where 1 TB = 1012 bytes. However, operating systems often report capacity using binary prefixes (TiB, GiB), where 1 TiB = 240 bytes. Since 1 TiB is about 9.95% larger than 1 TB, a drive marketed as "1 TB" (1,000,000,000,000 bytes) will be reported by the OS as approximately 0.909 TiB (1012 / 240 ≈ 0.909). This difference becomes more pronounced with larger capacities.
Conversion Table: Petabit to Tebibyte
| Petabit (Pb) | Tebibyte (TiB) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 113.687 |
| 5 | 568.434 |
| 10 | 1,136.868 |
| 25 | 2,842.171 |
| 50 | 5,684.342 |
| 100 | 11,368.684 |
| 500 | 56,843.419 |
| 1,000 | 113,686.838 |