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Early Ethernet LAN’s were running at 10 Mbps (Megabits per second) speeds. Then we had FastEthernet operating at a speed of 100 Mbps (Megabits per second). Later at 2010 beginning, Gigabit Ethernet operating at speeds of 1000 Mbps (Megabits per second) or 1 Gbps (Gigbits per second) started to replace FastEthernet. Ethernet standards are renewed periodically, as IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) releases new standards on Ethernet.
If you notice the term 10/100/1000 in any networking device (network switch, NIC card etc.), meaning is that device can handle Ethernet, FastEthernet or Gigabit Ethernet.
Following picture shows a 48-port Cisco 10/100/1000 Ethernet Switch.
Following picture shows a 10/100/1000 Ethernet NIC.
We can say an Ethernet network interface Card (NIC), an Ethernet network switch or a router’s Ethernet interface is 10/100/1000, if it can transmit data at all Ethernet (10 Mbps), FastEthernet (100 Mbps), Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbps speeds).
Please note that above pictures are not in scale.