Octet

What Does Octet Mean?

An octet is a series of 8 bits. It is an important 8-bit designation that has played a significant role in the development of the personal computer (PC) and other hardware devices.

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Techopedia Explains Octet

Some of the first microprocessors used 8-bit technologies. Further IT advances led to ever greater capacities, like 8-bit to 16-bit processors. In general, the 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) required a 16-bit address bus. The actual set of permutations involved in an octet is 256. The conventional capacity of an 8-bit system is 64 kilobytes (KB).

Because the bit is a fundamental unit of data, the 8-bit label can be applied to many different aspects of IT, including address spaces, units of memory or processor capacity. Many 8-bit designations are associated with retro technologies, such as early computers that utilized an 8-bit processor for what is now considered a limited capacity.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…