Argonne's gateway access plan for connecting DOE Energy Research computing sites to the NMFEnet

Argonne National Laboratory has designed a flexible plan for connecting large multiprogram institutions to the National Magnetic Fusion Energy Network (NMFEnet). The plan promises to benefit Argonne's Energy Research scientists and engineers by making the Cray X-MP supercomputers in Livermore, California, fully accessible to users. Additionally, it will serve as a model for other large supercomputer centers whose users are scattered over a large area and who wish access to the NMFE network. This approach is general and could be adapted to a wide variety of computing environments. The specific software and system architecture developed should be transportable and usable as is for sites with local networks based on TCP/IP, DECNET, and/or IBM NJE. Many sites have or will have such systems.