# Introduction

Switchboard is the **fastest**, most **customizable**, and only **permissionless** way to bring data on-chain.

We're the go-to data provider for prominent DeFi projects such as [Kamino](https://kamino.com/), [Jito](https://www.jito.network/), [MarginFi](https://app.marginfi.com/), and [Drift](https://www.drift.trade/). We secure billions of dollars of on-chain volume, process hundreds of millions of requests weekly, and deliver real-time information for hundreds of projects and assets across 10+ blockchains.

Why use Switchboard? Our protocol is designed around 4 principles:

* **Fastest Oracle Updates**
  * With latencies of 2-5ms with Surge, or 400ms with our standard oracles, no one beats Switchboard's speeds. In the fast-paced world of DeFi, faster price updates directly translate to increased security and higher returns.
* **Low Costs**
  * With pull feeds, feeds are created and used only when needed. This eliminates constant data streaming and *significantly* reduces latency and costs.
* **Permissionless and Flexible**
  * Deploy your new data feed, stream from any source on or off-chain, and set the exact parameters that you need. No need to wait for contracts or red tape.
* **Secure and Private**
  * Switchboard prevents anyone, including node operators, from altering, exposing or frontrunning your data. Inside Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), your code and data stay safe and secure.

The Switchboard Protocol is [open-source](https://github.com/switchboard-xyz) and contributions are welcome. Need help using Switchboard? Our support team is available around the clock on [Discord](https://discord.gg/TJAv6ZYvPC).


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.switchboard.xyz/readme.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.