Operation of the CERN-ISR for High Luminosity

The CERN Intersecting Storage Rings are routinely operated at 26 GeV/c for physics experiments with proton beam intensities greater than 25 Amps and luminosities greater than 2.1031cm-2sec-1. Six out of eight intersection regions are used concurrently for colliding beam physics experiments. Each experiment is sensitive to background caused by protons lost from the stacked beams and locally induced radiation. Operational techniques for each of the essential processes involved in establishing stable beam conditions are reviewed and methods of maintaining minimal beam loss rates and the control of background in individual intersections throughout the beam lifetime of about 40 hours are presented.