ESnet Site Coordinators Committee (ESCC) and Site Coordinators
What is the ESCC?
The ESnet Site Coordinators Committee (ESCC) comprises representatives from the ESnet-connected sites. Each site has a designated "Site Coordinator" who makes or approves requests to ESnet for any changes to the site’s network.
ESCC Meetings
Twice a year, the site coordinators participate in ESCC meetings. These meetings are a technical forum to establish community practices that govern the smooth operation of the ESnet-Labs/sites joint networking endeavor.
Upcoming Meetings & Events
- ESCC will have a full-day meeting on Thursday, April 10, 2025, at Confab25. Registration will be through the main Confab25 registration process, when that opens.
Recent Meetings
- ESCC Spring 2024 Meeting was held April 30 to May 2, 2024, in Berkeley, California.
Site Coordinators, Virtual Site Coordinators, and Virtual Technical Contacts Roles and Responsibilities
Site Coordinators
The site coordinator is the primary point of contact between the site and ESnet. They make or approve requests to ESnet for any changes to the site’s network as it relates to ESnet.
Assignment
The site coordinator is appointed by laboratory or site management and must have the authority to ensure that any request complies with the policies of the site, DOE and ESnet. Laboratory or site management or the site coordinator may name an alternate site coordinator, who could assume the role of primary site coordinator as needed.
Any changes in personnel must be approved by the responsible site manager and communicated to ESnet management (via trouble@es.net) and to the ESnet Site Coordinators Committee (ESCC) (via escc@es.net).
Key Contacts
The site coordinator must assign key contacts representing the site for interaction with ESnet. The site coordinator must keep current key contacts for the following functions:
- Network Operations: 24x7 contact to collaborate with ESnet in incident diagnosis, troubleshooting, and service resolution. Typically, this would be a network operations mailer or 24x7 Network Operations Center (NOC) contact.
- Site cybersecurity: A contact that can respond to security issues raised by ESnet. This contact could be initiated via the 24x7 NOC or other processes used by the site.
- Receipt of operational communications: An email address for a locally maintained mail list for the distribution of ESnet status and outage messages. (Messages will be distributed from esnet-status@es.net.)
The above roles may be filled by the site coordinator if they choose to not delegate the responsibilities.
Also, the site coordinator may name additional technical contacts to provide site networking expertise and to interface with ESnet operational personnel.
DNS
The site coordinator may provide DNS contacts for interfacing with ESnet and managing the site’s DNS requests. These contacts will provide all necessary information to register the assignment of addresses from ESnet’s address space with the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN).
ESnet Site Equipment
An ESnet connection may require locating networking equipment at the site. The site coordinator is responsible for physical security and management of ESnet equipment at the site. The site coordinator shall promptly respond to requests by ESnet staff.
Virtual Site Coordinator
ESnet has extended the site coordinator role to include representatives of virtual organizations such as science collaborations (e.g., US Atlas and US CMS) or DOE programs that span multiple laboratories (e.g., DOE IN). The virtual site coordinator has the same responsibilities as the site coordinator but they represent a virtual organization and the members of the virtual organization.
While the virtual site coordinator may delegate much of the technical and operational responsibilities to the respective organization, they have a critical responsibility to ensure compliance with policies, to set priorities, and to work with ESnet on service design modifications and exceptions. The virtual site coordinator is responsible for ensuring that all members of their organization comply with the applicable policies. (This responsibility cannot be delegated.)
Virtual Technical Contact
Virtual organizations will require technical contacts, who will serve as the primary point of coordination, the security contact for security issues, and the Network Operations Center (NOC) contact for operational issues.
ESnet-related roles and responsibilities
ESnet is monitored and proactively managed twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, by the ESnet networking staff at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Network services include maintenance, monitoring, remediation and consulting across various technology platforms.
Operations
The ESnet Network Operations Center (NOC) follows an established set of network engineering and operating processes and procedures to maintain the integrity, efficiency, and availability of the network. Operations provides the round-the-clock network coverage, monitoring alerts and troubleshooting problems to resolve incidents. Contact information can be found here.
Site Ambassadors
ESnet Site Ambassadors are the site coordinators’ networking partners. Each site is assigned a member of the Network Engineering Group to be their ESnet Site Ambassador. A site ambassador can provide consulting, assistance with network planning, and can engage other ESnet groups as appropriate to assist the site.
Responsibilities include:
- Working with the site coordinator to ensure all site contact information is current, and that site contacts remain performing the identified role. (The list of Site Ambassadors can be found on the ESnet Site Coordinators website.)
- Checking in regularly with Site Coordinators to collaborate on and understand short and long range site plans, and to provide insight on ESnet’s short and long range plans.
- Overseeing site requests, shepherding them through the evaluation and recommendation process.
Connecting sites with other ESnet groups, as required, such as ESnet Science Engagement.
