ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Merit Network’s software development team recently completed an upgrade to the network weather map, a popular feature in the Member Portal. The application enables Merit’s Members to observe the usage of Merit’s backbone network any time of day. It’s a great way for Members to view the performance of Merit’s fiber-optic network in real-time.
Merit’s network infrastructure was greatly expanded by the REACH-3MC project, increasing the fiber-optic network to over 3,900 miles. The updated network weather map now better reflects the diverse network routes in the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Users can now view network traffic reports for routes between Houghton, Marquette, and Sault Ste. Marie in the U.P., and check network usage patterns around Alpena and Traverse City.
Routes in Lower Michigan were also better defined to provide an accurate reflection of network traffic. Nodes for Bay City, Berrien Springs, Big Rapids, Flint, Hilldale, Jackson, Mount Pleasant, Muskegon, Rochester, and Southfield were added to provide a wider view of the network’s performance.
Network weather map updates include:
- A large number of network links were added, and several nodes were renamed to be more descriptive.
- The width of the lines between nodes was narrowed to improve the map’s appearance.
- The application was moved to a new server to improve the speed and performance.
Users can interact with the weather map and view network traffic graphs for specific links by hovering their mouse over locations on the map. The graphs display daily traffic data by default, but users may change the requested time periods to show hourly or weekly data for specific network routes. It’s easy to view real-time bandwidth usage graphs at points along the network with just the click of a mouse.
To experience the new application, please visit the network weather map in the Member Portal.
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