For years we have been using a relatively slow networking protocol that had a maximum transfer rate of either 10 or 100 Megabits per second. Back in the Windows XP days that might have been considered fast but today, that speed is actually considered quite slow. The good news is that today, you have a new option called Gigabit Ethernet. This new technology is now built into most new routers and switches but in order for everything to work properly, you will have to have all your devices Gigabit ready.