B26_SQA_Questions_and_Answers_8-28-2026_0002.docx

Questions and Answers for Solicitation #140D0426Q0875 8/28/2026

PRICE-MATERIAL

1. Attachment 1, BOM item 10, C9300-DNA-A-24 is described as "C9300 DNA Advantage, 24-port Term Licenses," but no term length is stated. Cisco offers this license in multiple term durations at materially different prices. What term does the Government require? Absent direction quoted prices will not be comparable across offerors on an LPTA basis.

Response: Minimum available term would be best. These devices will get coverage from the Cisco GEMSS contract.

2. The BOM includes Cisco software and subscription licenses (items 3, 7, 9-15) but contains no Cisco SmartNet or Solution Support line for either the FPR1120 or the C9300. Is hardware support intentionally excluded from this procurement, or was it omitted? If the Government intends to acquire it, please state the required duration and service level.

Response: These devices will get coverage from the Cisco GEMSS contract.

3. DFARS 252.211-7003, Item Unique Identification and Valuation, is incorporated by reference at Section 2-1.1, but the solicitation contains no IUID appendix, no list of items requiring a Unique Item Identifier, and no marking or registry submission instructions. Several BOM items appear to exceed the $5,000 unit acquisition cost threshold. Does the Government require IUID marking under this order? If so, on which items, and are contractor-applied marking and IUID Registry submission required?

Response: Yes, IUID markings are required for items exceeding $5,000. Contractors are encouraged to utilize DoD recognized unique identification equivalent meaning a unique identification method that is in commercial use and has been recognized by DoD. Additionally, the clause has been converted to full text.

4. Block 19 establishes a single line item (00001) covering all 58 BOM lines. Does the Government require a line-item price breakdown for the 58 items, or is a single extended price for CLIN 00001 acceptable? If a breakdown is required, is a preferred format or template available?

Response: A breakdown of pricing is requested. The government is relying on the vendor’s best commercial practice for providing the format.

BRAND NAME AND SUBSTITUTION

5. Section 4-2.1 incorporates FAR 52.211-6, Brand name or equal, and Section 4-2.4 paragraph 5 states that "a portion of this requirement is restricted to brand name only items." Attachment 1 section 2.1 states that "'Or equal' substitutions will not be accepted unless explicitly approved in writing by the Government." These provisions are in tension. Would the Government identify, by BOM item number, which lines are brand-name-only and which may be satisfied by an equal product?

Response: Brand name only (1,3,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,22,25,27,28,29,31,34,35,38,41,43,51,52,54) Other items may have equal products substituted as long as they are TAA compliant.

6. Attachment 2 identifies only Cisco and Super Micro components as brand-name-only. BOM items 49 (NVIDIA), 56 (Aten), 57 (LG) and 58 (StarTech) are not addressed in that justification. May equal products be offered for those four items? If so, please confirm the salient characteristics that equal products must meet, as FAR 52.211-6(b)(1) requires them to be specified in the solicitation.

Response: 49 – Form factor: PCIe Gen4 x8, Output: (4) mini DisplayPort 1.4 ports, Processors must provide 190TFLOPS of tensor computation, 12 TFLOPS of single-precision computation, Memory: 16GB DDR6 ECC video RAM, Power: power consumption NTE 75W 56 – Display: min 19” 1280x1024 resolution at 75Hz, Keyboard and mouse support both PS/2 and USB emulation, Minimum of 8 KVM input ports, Mountable in standard 19” server rack, No software required for connected computers, Max 1U rack space usage, Has locking mechanism that keeps tray secure when not in use, OS Support: Linux (RHEL 7 and RHEL 8 distributions) 57 – 27 inch class size, 3840x2160 minimum resolution, HDR10 support, 225cd/m2 minimum display brightness, 175 degree viewing angle both R/L and U/D, Display inputs (min): 2 HDMI 1 DP, Includes stand, Power: 120VAC @ 60Hz 58 – Length: 6ft, Connector 1: Mini DisplayPort, Connector 2: DisplayPort, Supported resolution: 3840x2160, 21 Gbps bandwidth, Backward compatible with DisplayPort 1.1

7. Attachment 1 section 2.1 approves "the upcoming Supermicro SuperWorkstation SYS-542T-2R" as an acceptable replacement for item 41. We have been unable to identify SYS-542T-2R as a released or announced Supermicro product through the manufacturer, distribution, or public sources, and the solicitation describes it as upcoming. Please confirm whether this part number is currently orderable. If it is not, we understand offerors are to quote the SYS-551A-T as listed in the BOM, and would appreciate written confirmation to that effect.

Response: Upcoming workstation is not available at this date on the market. The unavailable item has been removed from the Statement of Work.

PART NUMBERS

8. BOM item 5 is listed as "FPR1K-RM-SSD200-" with an incomplete suffix. Please provide the complete orderable Cisco part number.

Response: Correct number is FPR1K-RM-SSD200

9. BOM item 4 is listed as "CAB-AC" with a description of a North America C13 / NEMA 5-15P 2.1m cord. CAB-AC is a base identifier rather than a region-specific orderable SKU. Please confirm the exact part number required.

Response: CAB-AC is the North America cable supported by the Firepower 1100 series security appliances, according to the Hardware Installation Guide.

10. BOM item 29 is listed as "SYS-122C-TN 1U." We read this as Supermicro P/N SYS-122C-TN with the form factor appended to the part number field. Please confirm.

Response: Confirm

11. BOM item 53 is described as a "4U Active CPU Heat Sink for SYS-551A-T X13 UP Workstation." Supermicro publishes the SYS-551A-T (CSE-GS7A-2000B) as a 5U platform. Please confirm SNK-P0091AP4 is the correct heat sink for the specified processor and chassis.

Response: Part number is correct.

SOLICITATION ADMINISTRATION

12. Attachment 1 section 2.2 requires all items to be Trade Agreements Act compliant. However, the solicitation incorporates DFARS 252.225-7001, Buy American and Balance of Payments Program, and provision 252.225-7000, rather than DFARS 252.225-7021, Trade Agreements. These establish different country eligibility standards; several TAA-designated countries are not DFARS qualifying countries. Please clarify which standard governs award eligibility. We further request the Government's position on whether FAR 25.103(e) and DFARS 225.103(e), which except acquisitions of commercial information technology from the Buy American statute, apply to this procurement.

Response: The Government confirms that the commercial information technology (IT) exception under DFARS 225.103(e) applies to this procurement, exempting it from the Buy American Act. Trade Agreements Act (TAA) standards will govern award eligibility, provided the final evaluated price meets or exceeds the TAA threshold. An amendment will be issued to remove the Buy American clauses (DFARS 252.225-7000 and 252.225-7001) and conditionally incorporate the appropriate TAA clauses (DFARS 252.225-7020 and 252.225-7021).

13. Amendment 0001 revises the Section 3 attachment table to show four rows using duplicate attachment numbers 1 and 2, listing both the original and revised titles. Please confirm which documents constitute the governing attachments. We also note that "A15 BN Brand Name Only Justification" dated 08/25/2026 is listed in the table but was not among the files posted; please confirm whether an additional attachment remains outstanding.

Response: The attachments did not transmit with the original posting of the RFQ. The correct attachments are “B08_SOL_Brand-Name_Justification_Redacted_0001.pdf” and “B08_SOL_System_Requirements_V1_2_0001.docx.” The other two listed on the continuation pages are duplicates of these posted documents.

14. The Brand Name Justification states that solicitations will be restricted to NASA SEWP contract holders; however, RFQ 140D0426Q0875 is issued as an unrestricted standalone RFQ. Please confirm that vendors that are not NASA SEWP contract holders are eligible to submit quotations directly under this RFQ.

Response: This solicitation is not restricted to NASA SEWP.