19AQMM20Q0082_QandAs.pdf

Questions and Answers for 19AQMM20Q0082

1. Would your staff be interested in testing two platforms, the Intel based 22 core you list here and also an AMD based platform with similar or more cores?

A: The Government requires Intel only

2. I noticed the statement: “Bidders are required to deliver one (1) fully functional demo workstation with all the requirements and specifications at time of proposal. Hard drives will not be returned per Government regulations.” And have several questions:

a. Proposals are due on 6/25. Is the government requesting vendors to send a physical workstation to the address listed before 6/25? Separate from the Price proposal which shall be emailed? Should price proposal be sent first, and then approved for the demo to be shipped? Or should every vendor who wishes to submit a price proposal will also submit a physical demo?

A: Yes, demo workstations must be received on or before the solicitation closing date. The price proposal can be submitted before delivery of demo unit; however, the government must receive a demo unit prior to the solicitation closing date to be considered for award. Every vendor who wishes to submit a price proposal must also submit a physical demo workstation.

b. The specs require 8x 4TB SATA SSD plus 1x 1TB M.2 SSD. Will the government be keeping all of the hard drives? This represents a significant loss to vendors.

A: Yes, the government will keep the hard drives. The Government will reimburse for non-return of hard drives only.

3. If the workstation is delivered prior to June 25, 2020, will the testing of the system commence before that date or does testing of the system start on/after June 25, 2020?

A: Testing will be conducted after June 25, 2020.

4. Being a forensic examiner myself I am aware that testing/work flow is typically dependent upon the performance of the software and hardware working in tandem with one another. I have previous experience with EnCase, FTK, and Nuix and know that these software packages perform much better when the software has independent volumes to support temp/cache, case management, storage of image files, and other items like the database for FTK. Is the end user open to independent PCIe NVMe, SSD, or RAID volumes that would increase the performance of the system? If not, will the independent path volumes for the software be installed on the eight (8) 4TB SSDs? If so, what is the expected RAID configuration (0, 1, 5, 10)?

A: The volumes will be RAIDed and configurations will be broken up for

Temp/Evidence, Cache, and Backups. We will be using RAID 0 and 5.

5. If we are able to modify the drive configuration to improve performance are the eight (8)

4TB drives necessary or could they be broken up into perhaps: four (4) 2TB (or 4TB)

SSDs in RAID for Temp/Cache; four (4) 2TB (or 4TB) SSDs in RAID for

Cases/Images?

A: The vendor is free to establish a RAIDed configuration that they feel will optimize performance with the (8) 4TB drives.

6. Can the sound card requirement be supported by the built in motherboard chipset with connectors on the back of the motherboard?

A: Yes

7. Is it acceptable to have the internal speaker as a small speaker connected to the motherboard header pins for detection of processes like POST (Power On Self Test)?

A: Yes

8. Is it necessary for us to install EnCase, FTK, and Nuix and perform the benchmark testing prior to shipment OR will those tasks be conducted by the end user(s)?

A: No

9. In regards to the drive bay configuration, is it acceptable to install one (1) 5 x 3.5” true hot swap bay to total the possibility of implementing five 3.5” drives AND one (1) 4 x 2.5” to hold four 2.5” drives/SSDs? My intent was to install the eight (8) drives for the requirement into their own enclosure (8 x 2.5”) AND add in the additional 2.5” and 3.5” bays to give the examiner/user the additional functionality (five 3.5” and four 2.5” empty bays).

A: Aside from the 8 - 2.5" enclosure we will only need (2) 3.5" bays and (1) 2.5" bay. A smaller form factor case is recommended.

10. In regards to this statement, "To ensure sufficient information is available, vendors must furnish as part of their proposal all descriptive material (such as cuts, illustrations, drawings, or other information) necessary for the Government to determine whether the product meets the performance characteristics and specifications of the requirement.” Does this just simply mean that we would enclose all papers, material, and equipment that comes with the individual system components? i.e. the papers, components, cables that come with a power supply OR additional connectors/equipment that come with items like motherboards and GPUs?

A: Yes - Please include all paperwork and original installation media that comes with the components minus the additional cables and connectors.