The Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) is a high-speed computer network serving United States Department of Energy (DOE) scientists and their collaborators worldwide. It is managed by staff at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. More than 40 DOE Office of Science labs and research sites are directly connected to this network. The ESnet network also connects research and commercial networks, allowing DOE researchers to collaborate with scientists around the world.

Overview

The Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) is the Office of Science's network user facility, delivering data transport capabilities for the requirements of large-scale science. Formed in 1986, combining the operations of earlier DOE networking projects known as HEPnet (for high-energy physics) and MFEnet (for magnetic fusion energy research), ESnet is stewarded by the Scientific Computing Research Program, managed and operated by the Scientific Networking Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and is used to enable the DOE science mission. ESnet interconnects the DOE's national laboratory system, dozens of other DOE sites, research and commercial networks around the world, enabling scientists at DOE laboratories and academic institutions across the country to transfer data streams and access remote research resources in real time. ESnet provides the networking infrastructure and services required by the national laboratories, large science collaborations, and the DOE research community. ESnet services aim to provide bandwidth connections to enable scientists to collaborate across a range of research areas across the USA and, since December 2014, Europe with a view to enhancing collaboration. According to ESnet's own figures, during the period 1990 to 2019, average traffic volumes have grown by a factor of 10 every 47 months. In 2009, ESnet received $62 million in American Research and Recovery Act (ARRA) funding from the DOE Office of Science to invest in its infrastructure to provide the necessary support for research discovery in this new era of data-intensive science. ESnet5– ESnet's fifth-generation network – launched in November 2012, providing increased bandwidth to DOE research sites. ESnet is currently working on its next-generation upgrade named ESnet6.

Current Network Configuration (ESnet 5)

In October 2011, ESnet rolled out its 100 Gbit/s backbone network, known internally as ESnet 5. The network is serving the entire DOE national laboratory system, its supercomputing centers, and its major scientific instruments at speeds 10 times faster than ESnet's previous generation network. ESnet partnered with Internet2, the network that connects America's universities and research institutions, to deploy its 100 Gbit/s network over a new, highly scalable optical infrastructure that the two organizations share for the benefit of their respective communities. The project was funded in 2009 by $62 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. Called the Advanced Networking Initiative, the Gbit/s network was a project to handle the expanding data needs between DOE supercomputing facilities. In December 2014, ESnet extended its reach by deploying four new high-speed transatlantic links, giving researchers at America's national laboratories and universities ultra-fast access to scientific data from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and other research sites in Europe. ESnet's transatlantic extension delivers a total capacity of 340 gigabits per second (Gbit/s) and serves scientific collaborations. To maximize the resiliency of the new infrastructure, ESnet equipment in Europe will be interconnected by dedicated 100 Gbit/s links from the pan-European networking organization GÉANT. The new trans-Atlantic links build on the success of the US LHCNet, a collaboration between Caltech and CERN, led by Harvey Newman of Caltech.

ESnet6

ESnet's next-generation network, ESnet6, is designed to help the DOE research community navigate increasing data volumes by giving them more bandwidth, greater flexibility, and faster data transfer capabilities. With a projected early finish in 2023, ESnet6 will purportedly feature a new software-driven network design that enhances the ability to rapidly invent, test, and deploy new innovations. The design is said to include:

Research and Development

ESnet research and development programs have included:

Awards and honors for ESnet