SPS and LEP controls, status and evolution towards the LHC era

LEP was the first CERN accelerator to be built with a Control System based largely on off-the-shelf technology. Operational experience has confirmed the strategies of the original design. However, to maintain this system, components have to be renewed and in order to meet the increasing user demands the system requires continuous investment. These factors have ensured that the Control System is still based on a modern computer infrastructure and the recent extension to the SPS machine and its Experimental Areas has been achieved without any specific developments of the basic infrastructure. Increasingly, complete industrial systems are replacing old and obsolete equipment of the accelerators and technical services. Strategies are evolving to interface and progressively integrate Industrial Control Systems into the existing infrastructure. We present a status report of the Control System today and describe the current work to upgrade and prepare it for future applications in the LHC era.