Assisting Research & Education in Michigan
Michigan's public universities created Merit as a shared resource to help meet their common need for state-of-the-art networking expertise and services. Nearly 50 years of rapid advances in networking and applications have continuously proven the value of sharing knowledge among campuses and collaborating to build a regional network.Today, Merit's Members rely on Merit for the high-speed connectivity they need to fulfill their academic and research missions, including connections to Internet2 and research networks throughout the world. Merit's Members participate in the organization through strategic leadership and technical collaboration, and by sharing information through meetings, mailing lists and working groups.
Cybersecurity Training
The Michigan Cyber Range prepares cybersecurity professionals for detecting, preventing, and thwarting cyber-attacks in a real-world setting. Throughout the year, the Michigan Cyber Range hosts certification courses covering multiple cybersecurity disciplines. A current schedule of cybersecurity courses is available online.Universities can rent their own space on the Michigan Cyber Range, and use the Merit Secure Sandbox to conduct their own training or cybersecurity excercises.
Merit's High-Speed Backbone Network
Merit's Governing Members have sites in multiple locations within Michigan, many of which are connected to Merit's backbone network. Merit can provide connectivity to satellite campus locations and research facilities across Michigan.Merit manages the nation's longest-running regional network, which has been in continuous operation since May 1973. Merit has implemented a 10 gigabits-per-second (Gbps) backbone to provide a flexible, robust architecture to support the needs of our Members.
