Within context it might be confusing for someone that isn't familiar with the field. Networking has been measured in 'bits' (per second), even when modern pack

Within context it might be confusing for someone that isn't familiar with the field. Networking has been measured in 'bits' (per second), even when modern packets* (within the data payload anyway) are always octet (8 bits per unit) based. The speed quoted is always in "marketing" (human engineering notation) units, not in binary units (even though we presently only hook up things that count in binary). A stupidly cut-rate device might use 100mbit Ethernet: ~11MBytes/sec (base 2). A reasonable expectation is 1000mbit (gitabit) Ethernet: ~119MBytes/sec (base 2). Most /spinning/ media disks now transfer faster than gigabit Ethernet (for large file transfers); SSDs obliterate this. 10Gbit networking would eliminate a bottle-neck for even 'lightly' raided SSDs and would be ideal for interlink between switches. According to the Wikipedia article ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10_Gigabit_Ethernet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10_Gigabit_Ethernet ) 10GBASE-T (50-100 meters over copper; assuming high grade) first appeared as a standard in 2006. As a conservative estimate, the patents involved will expire in 2025. THAT is probably when we'll really see 10G take off. A bunch of the fiber modes appeared in 2002 though, so in higher end fiber gear we might see those appearing more commonly next year.