Most business networks have historically and continue to be built using Ethernet cabling and devices. Ethernet is an International industry standard for networking computers and other devices together, enabling communication between them.

Ethernet is available in a choice of networking speeds, the higher the number, the faster data is transmitted: Most networks run Fast Ethernet - 100 Mbps (Mega bits per second) and/or Gigabit Ethernet - 1000 Mbps. Older networks run on basic 10baseT - 10 Mbps. NETGEAR's products are all backward compatible to slower networking speeds; i.e. Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbps) products also work at 100 and 10 Mbps, and Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps) products also work at 10 Mbps.

Fast Ethernet is more than ample for general office networking, e.g. emailing, sending documents, printing, scanning etc. Gigabit Ethernet is better for large LANs with high traffic volumes or heavy network users sending very large files or transferring media, such as voice, video, imagery or music.

Cabling
For wired networks, it is important to ensure you have (or choose) the correct cabling to meet required data transfer speeds. UTP (Unshielded Twisted-Pair) is the most commonly used cabling for Ethernet networks; commonly used UTP is referred to as Cat-5, Cat-5e or Cat-6. Fiber Optic cabling is used selectively for bandwidth demanding connections.