The Zettabyte Era or Zettabyte Zone is a period of human and computer science history that started in the mid-2010s
The precise starting date depends on whether it is defined as when the global IP traffic first exceeded one zettabyte, which happened in 2016, or when the amount of digital data in the world first exceeded a zettabyte, which happened in 2012
A zettabyte is a multiple of the unit byte that measures digital storage, and it is equivalent to 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (1021) bytes
According to Cisco Systems, an American multinational technology conglomerate, the global IP traffic achieved an estimated 1.2 zettabytes (an average of 96 exabytes (EB) per month) in 2016
Global IP traffic refers to all digital data that passes over an IP network which includes, but is not limited to, the public Internet
The Zettabyte Era can also be understood as an age of growth of all forms of digital data that exist in the world which includes the public Internet, but also all other forms of digital data such as stored data from security cameras or voice data from cell-phone calls
Taking into account this second definition of the Zettabyte Era, it was estimated that in 2012 upwards of 1 zettabyte of data existed in the world and that by 2020 there would be more than 40 zettabytes of data in the world at large
The Zettabyte Era translates to difficulties for data centers to keep up with the explosion of data consumption, creation and replication
In 2015, 2% of total global power was taken up by the Internet and all its components, so energy efficiency with regards to data centers has become a central problem in the Zettabyte Era.
According to Cisco Systems, an American multinational technology conglomerate, the global IP traffic achieved an estimated 1. 2 zettabytes (an average of 96 exabytes (EB) per month) in 2016. Global IP traffic refers to all digital data that passes over an IP network which includes, but is not limited to, the public Internet. The largest contributing factor to the growth of IP traffic comes from video traffic (including online streaming services like Netflix and YouTube). The Zettabyte Era can also be understood as an age of growth of all forms of digital data that exist in the world which includes the public Internet, but also all other forms of digital data such as stored data from security cameras or voice data from cell-phone calls. Taking into account this second definition of the Zettabyte Era, it was estimated that in 2012 upwards of 1 zettabyte of data existed in the world and that by 2020 there would be more than 40 zettabytes of data in the world at large. The Zettabyte Era translates to difficulties for data centers to keep up with the explosion of data consumption, creation and replication. In 2015, 2% of total global power was taken up by the Internet and all its components, so energy efficiency with regards to data centers has become a central problem in the Zettabyte Era.