LEP2: present and future performance and limitations

The LEP collider was operated during 1996 for the first time at beam energies beyond the W pair threshold. In the first period, lasting about six weeks, operation was possible at 80.5 GeV per beam by powering all of the 144 superconducting cavities (sc) as well as the original 120 room temperature cavities. After the summer shutdown, when an additional 32 sc cavities were installed, operation for physics was performed at 86 GeV per beam for about four weeks. The integrated luminosity at high energy, delivered to the detectors, was 25 pb/sup -1/ in the two fairly short running periods. The maximum integrated luminosity over a 24 hour period exceeded 1.1 pb/sup -1/. The present performance and limitations of the machine are reviewed as well as some of the crucial technical systems.