ESnet is a service-oriented production network chartered to support mission-oriented R&D. Its success consists not in the number of its links, its line speeds, or the number of protocols it supports but in its ability to provide services to its users. This success in providing standard as well as leading-edge services reflects an emphasis on user participation at every level of ESnet's structure. The members of the ESnet Steering Committee (ESSC), which defines requirements for ESnet and gives it general guidance, are associated with Energy Research (ER) programs and other programs at the national laboratories and numerous academic research sites. Technical expertise for ESnet is contributed by the network experts from scientific laboratories and universities who participate in the ESnet Site Coordinating Committee (ESCC). Both committees cut across organizational and scientific boundaries, providing a rich mixture of users and experts who have developed a collaborative approach to sharing network facilities and services.

It is this user-driven, collaborative framework that sets ESnet apart from most other networks. This framework has positioned ESnet as the natural leader in promoting the cutting-edge technology that will be critical in the next phases of network evolution, as DOE contributes to the IITA initiative and the broader development of the NII.

Since its inception, ESnet has consisted largely of leased lines and hardware that connected Energy Research sites together in a complex network web. The current phase of network evolution will see these dedicated communications facilities replaced with a publicly shared communications infrastructure provided by private telecommunications vendors. Over the past three years, ESnet has been proactive in fostering its own evolution from a physical to a virtual network. Procurement complications have delayed the culmination of this transition, but once it is completed ESnet will have realized the vision of the emerging networking paradigm, wherein ownership of the network communications facilities is no longer required. ESnet's service-oriented philosophy has ensured its position of leadership during this period, as the importance of owning a dedicated physical network declines and the perceived value of higher-level services increases.

ESnet's evolution from a physical to a virtual network has facilitated the extension of its services to other DOE programs. Memoranda of Understanding governing provisory use of ESnet have already been established between ER and other program areas of DOE. These collaborations will lead to further shared use of infrastructure services, resources, and expertise.

This Program Plan is the product of the members of the ESnet Steering Committee and other ER principal investigators (PIs) who represent the broad user base of ESnet. These contributors wish to make the following recommendations:

1. We ask the DOE to incorporate an explicit NII component into the next version of the DOE Strategic Plan and to fully fund the ESnet activity as a critical component of the NII. In a large, distributed, heterogeneous organization like DOE, it is critical to recognize networking requirements and the need to disseminate information broadly as top-level strategic priorities.

2. We recommend that government leaders provide the forums needed to accelerate interagency collaborations in data communications, particularly with respect to increasing DOE's involvement in these initiatives. The Clinton/Gore administration is championing the benefits of computer networking to the nation's industrial, scientific, educational, and government sectors and to the population at large. The ESnet community can play a major role in advancing the administration's networking initiatives through the application of our leading-edge expertise and through our demand for advanced applications.

3. We recommend that DOE management assign adequate human resources to the Office of Scientific Computing (OSC) to support the efforts identified in this Program Plan. As ESnet's role has expanded from one of providing dedicated lines to one of creating and supporting distributed computing and information environments, the responsibilities of the ESnet Steering Committee have grown apace. As a result, some of our activities have come to require increased support from the OSC.