Who is Energy Sciences Network?
Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) is a high-performance computer networking facility funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that provides dedicated data transport infrastructure and services for DOE national laboratories and the broader research community.
- High-bandwidth backbone network services for U.S. Department of Energy laboratories and research facilities (research and education networking)
- Dedicated connectivity and circuit services for large-scale scientific data movement across distributed computing and storage resources (network transport)
- Global interconnection with research and education networks and exchange points to support international scientific collaborations (network peering and interconnect)
- Network engineering, performance tuning, and measurement services that support data-intensive science workflows (network performance and monitoring)
- Support for advanced science use cases such as high-energy physics, climate science, and computational research requiring sustained, long-distance data transfer (scientific networking)
Show more
More About Energy Sciences Network
Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) operates as the U.S. Department of Energy’s dedicated research and education network, designed to support data-intensive science at DOE national laboratories, user facilities, and collaborating institutions worldwide. ESnet provides high-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity between supercomputing centers, experimental facilities, data archives, and university partners, enabling movement of multi-petabyte datasets and continuous data streams that are common in large-scale scientific projects.
ESnet’s core offering centers on a national backbone network (research and education networking) engineered for high throughput and reliability. The backbone connects multiple regional access points across the United States, linking DOE laboratories to each other and to other research networks. ESnet typically operates multiple 100 Gbps or greater links on major routes, and its architecture is designed for scalable capacity to support growth in scientific data volumes. The network is built using standard IP networking technologies combined with specialized capabilities for science data flows.
The organization provides dedicated circuit and virtual circuit services (network transport) that allow science applications to reserve predictable bandwidth between endpoints. These services support workflows such as remote instrument control, real-time experiment data replication, and distributed High performance computing (HPC). ESnet’s infrastructure commonly uses protocols and frameworks such as IPv4 and IPv6 routing, Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) where applicable, and standard BGP-based interconnection with peer networks. Traffic Engineering (TE) and path optimization are used to sustain high utilization without congestion for critical flows.
ESnet maintains extensive interconnections with other national and regional research and education networks (network peering and interconnect), enabling global reach for DOE science collaborations. Through peering at major exchange points and bilateral connections, ESnet carries traffic between DOE facilities and partners in Europe, Asia, and other regions. This positioning places ESnet in the same broad category as other research and education networks, while focusing specifically on DOE mission science and associated facilities.
In addition to raw connectivity, ESnet operates and promotes network performance measurement and tuning services (network performance and monitoring). This includes support for tools and architectures that help diagnose throughput bottlenecks between data centers and research sites. ESnet collaborates with site network teams to design campus network architectures capable of sustaining end-to-end performance, often referred to as science DMZ-style designs, which separate high-volume science traffic from enterprise IT traffic while maintaining security controls.
From a directory and taxonomy perspective, ESnet belongs in categories such as research and education networking, wide-area backbone services, high-performance data transport, and network performance and measurement services for scientific and technical computing environments. Its offerings are primarily used by public-sector research entities, laboratories, and universities that participate in DOE-funded or affiliated science programs and require consistent, high-throughput connectivity for large-scale data workflows.
Our description of Energy Sciences Network. Updated December 2025.
