Proposal Process

Overview

Researchers wanting to access the ESnet SDN Testbed must submit a 1-2 page proposal as described in the process below. Please look at the Testbed Description to get a more details on the current configuration of the testbed.  Researchers from National Labs, Universities, and Industry are welcome to apply.

Researchers must submit a PDF version of the proposal with detailed information on:

• Description of proposed research, and why the ESnet testbed will be useful.
• Testbed usage
  • Testbed components used
  • How much time on the testbed will be required, and over what duration
  • How much bandwidth will be needed
• Demonstrate the "readiness" of the proposal with evidence that the code is running in a local environment.
• List of who will need access to the testbed, and their qualifications (including the URL to a CV is fine)
• A paragraph suitable for publication on the ESnet website describing the proposed experiment and the relevance of the proposed experiment to the DOE Science Mission.
• A detailed diagram showing what testbed components will be used. If the proposal includes the use of components outside the testbed, these must be included in the diagram as well.

Proposals should be sent to: testbed-proposal@es.net

Selection criteria

The criteria for selecting the proposals will be based on:

• Relevance of the proposed work to the DOE SC mission
  • will the work help inform future ESnet design? This is one of the most important criteria.
  • will the work help benifit DOE Science?
• Quality of proposed research which includes:
  • Clear, focused research topic,
  • Creative and original concept, and
  • Test plan
• Qualifications of the team
• Readiness: is the project ready to run experiments right away?
• Value of ESnet testbed resources to the research
• Level of support required by ESnet staff

Priority will be given to researchers who are currently ESnet collaborators. Priority will also be given to research that is the most relevant to the DOE SC and ESnet missions. Researchers with accepted proposals will be given access to the testbed for up to 1 year, and can reapply for 1-year extensions as needed. An ESnet engineer will be assigned to each research project to help with testbed configuration issues.

Researcher Requirements

All researchers who are granted access to the testbed must provide a public ‘abstract’ on their project’s research, describing how they are planning to use the testbed. Researchers must also submit periodic status reports summarizing progress and any problems with the testbed they encountered and/or feature requests.

Success Metrics

For a testbed project (and the testbed) to be deemed successful, it must offer the following characteristics:

• Repeatable results
• Communication of results to ESnet staff and the broader network research community
• Conference or Journal Publication submissions