Editing History of the Internet (section)

===Merit Network===
{{Main|Merit Network}}
The [[Merit Network]]<ref name="Merit">The [[Merit Network|Merit Network, Inc.]] is an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation governed by Michigan's public universities. Merit receives administrative services under an agreement with the [[University of Michigan]].</ref> was formed in 1966 as the Michigan Educational Research Information Triad to explore computer networking between three of Michigan's public universities as a means to help the state's educational and economic development.<ref>{{cite web | title=A Chronicle of Merit's Early History | website=merit.edu | date=1 August 2006 | url=http://merit.edu/about/history/article.php | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207130720/http://merit.edu/about/history/article.php | archive-date=7 February 2009 }}</ref> With initial support from the [[State of Michigan]] and the [[National Science Foundation]] (NSF), the packet-switched network was first demonstrated in December 1971 when an interactive host to host connection was made between the [[IBM]] [[mainframe computer]] systems at the [[University of Michigan]] in [[Ann Arbor]] and [[Wayne State University]] in [[Detroit]].<ref name="MeritTimeline1970-1979">{{cite web | title=Timeline: The 1970s | website=merit.edu| date=11 July 2013 | url=http://www.merit.edu/about/history/timeline_1970.php | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101025735/http://www.merit.edu/about/history/timeline_1970.php | archive-date=1 January 2016  }}</ref> In October 1972 connections to the [[Control Data Corporation|CDC]] mainframe at [[Michigan State University]] in [[East Lansing]] completed the triad. Over the next several years in addition to host to host interactive connections the network was enhanced to support terminal to host connections, host to host batch connections (remote job submission, remote printing, batch file transfer), interactive file transfer, gateways to the [[Tymnet]] and [[Telenet]] [[public data network]]s, [[X.25]] host attachments, gateways to X.25 data networks, [[Ethernet]] attached hosts, and eventually [[TCP/IP]] and additional [[List of colleges and universities in Michigan#Public colleges and universities|public universities in Michigan]] join the network.<ref name=MeritTimeline1970-1979/><ref name="MeritTimeline1980-1989">{{cite web | title=Timeline: The 1980's | website=merit.edu | date=11 July 2013 | url=http://www.merit.edu/about/history/timeline_1980.php | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101025735/http://www.merit.edu/about/history/timeline_1980.php | archive-date=1 January 2016 }}</ref> All of this set the stage for Merit's role in the [[NSFNET]] project starting in the mid-1980s.