24.06.10 Z Series Tech Req Attach 1.docx

CUI Source Selection Information-See FAR 2.101 and 3.104

ATTACHMENT 1

1.0 Technical Requirements.

1.1 TASK 1 Processor Capacity.

New processor capacity shall be provided as an ‘on-demand’ service capable of readily adjusting to changes in requirements, including both increases and decreases. The Government will determine the need for additional capacity and/or processor requirements. The contractor shall provide flexible, highly scalable, solutions that are nondisruptive.

1.1.1. Technical Requirements and Architecture.

IBM System Z chipset and all supported Operating Systems hardware/chipset and the operating systems software.

1.1.1.2 Provisioning Management Infrastructure. The contractor shall provide a management infrastructure solution that includes provisioning capabilities, hardware diagnostics, hardware monitoring, event logging, image repositories and additional back-office processes required to reside in a DISA environment to provide the contractor’s technical solution. The contractor-provided infrastructure will be managed and maintained by the contractor and will be subject to Risk Management Framework (RMF) accreditation processes and DISA Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs, https://cyber.mil/stigs/) and security policies. RMF accreditation must be accomplished before the first order can be placed under this contract.

1.1.1.3 Original Equipment Manufacturer Technical Support. The contractor shall provide a methodology/process for the Government to access OEM technical support for the operating systems being utilized. Maximum use of OEM commercial documentation will be used (examples could include operator instructions, maintenance manuals, trainer publications) to provide the contractor’s solution.

1.1.1.4 Additional Hardware Components. The Government may require the installation of generic add on devices or peripherals to the contractor-provided hardware. These additional components are special use requirements that do not fit into a standard service offering (for example: Crypto card, fax card, etc.). The Government will provide the components for these special use cases and the vendor’s only obligation will be to provide installation of these components.

1.1.1.5 All operating environments whether physical (rack mount or blade) or virtual must be able to provide connectivity for a minimum of 4 network ports supporting Ethernet traffic, and two separate ports for fiber storage connectivity. Two network ports are utilized for production traffic, one network port is utilized for out of band (OOB) network connections, and one port is required for enterprise backup network (EBN) connectivity. Due to this requirement the four communications network ports must be distributed across 4 separate physical communication switches. Ports for fiber storage connectivity must be distributed across a minimum of 2 Host Bus Adapter (HBA) ports. Fiber channels shall support both 8 and 16 Gbps capabilities. All communications switch equipment must support the use of Virtual Local Area Networks and any other standard technologies and protocols. The proposed solution shall also integrate into existing processing infrastructure with minimal disruption or reconfiguration of network infrastructure.

1.1.1.6 Software. For all software provided in the contractor’s solution, including operating system software, and any other software required for the contractor solution to operate, the contractor is responsible to ensure they have documentation that confirms software licenses and annual/current maintenance levels. In the event of an audit, the contractor shall be required to defend any audit discrepancy found against all software products that the contractor has acquired for this contract.

1.1.1.7 IBM System Z Software: The System Z operating system is not required for this contract. The Contractor will not provide any Z Series operating system software. DISA will provide and maintain all Z Series operating system software.

1.2 TASK 2 - Performance/Availability.

1.2.1 Processor Capacity Availability. Processor capacity shall deliver 99.95% availability per orderable system with options to deliver up to 99.999 % availability per orderable system. The definitions and performance measurement are identified below.

Performance Measure 1: Operating Platform Availability 99.95%

1. Explanation: The percentage of time each system is available for productive use.

1. Measurement: (Total available hours for number of calendar days in reporting month – Measurement Exceptions – Time server is unavailable, unable to perform core function, or core function is significantly degraded) / (Total available hours for number of calendar days in reporting month – Measurement Exceptions) *100= Service Level Attained. Total available hours = 24x number of calendar days in reporting month for each orderable system.

Measurement Exception: DISA or customer-initiated downtime, Vendor Preventative maintenance (not break fix or hardware/software repair) that is properly coordinated through the Authorized Service Activity (ASA)/Authorized Service Interruption (ASI) process with DISA and the customer, and environmental failures not attributed to the vendor.

1. Availability Objective: 24x number of calendar days in reporting month minus Measurement Exception (reference definition above).

1. Standard: Satisfactory = 99.95%

1. Contractor Responsibility: Maintain operating platform, operating system software), and related operating equipment in operating condition at a level to meet 99.95%.

Performance Measure 2: Operating Platform Availability 99.999%

1. Explanation: The percentage of time each system is available for productive use.

Measurement: 2A (summary): (Total available hours for number of calendar days in reporting month – Measurement Exceptions – Time server is unavailable, unable to perform core function, or core function is significantly degraded) / (Total available hours for number of calendar days in reporting month – Measurement Exceptions) *100= Service Level Attained. Total available hours = 24xnumber of calendar days in reporting month averaged over all five nine’s orderable systems.

Measurement 2B (per system): (Total available hours for number of calendar days in reporting month – Measurement Exceptions – Time server is unavailable, unable to perform core function, or core function is significantly degraded) / (Total available hours for number of calendar days in reporting month – Measurement Exceptions) *100=Service Level Attained. Total available hours = 24x number of calendar days in reporting month for each five nine’s orderable system.

Measurement Exception: DISA or customer-initiated downtime, Vendor Preventive maintenance (not break fix or hardware/software repair) that is properly coordinated through the Authorized Service Activity (ASA)/Authorized Service Interruption (ASI) process with DISA and the customer, and environmental failures not attributed to the vendor.

1. Availability Objective: 24x number of calendar days in reporting month minus Measurement Exceptions (reference definition above).

1. Standard: Satisfactory = 99.999%

1. Contractor Responsibility: Maintain operating platform, operating system software (and related operating equipment in operating condition at a level to meet 99.999%.

1.2.2 The contractor shall provide management level escalation procedures to address any issues that may arise and that may impact operation of the provided services.

1.2.3 The contractor shall provide the ability to validate and view HW features and components installed.

1.2.4 The contractor shall provide the central management capability and reporting to include hardware utilization, and error diagnostics of installed hardware components.

Deliverable/s: Central management capability and reporting to include hardware utilization and error diagnostics of installed hardware components.

*Standard Distribution: 1 copy of the transmittal letter with the deliverable to the Primary COR.

1.3 TASK 3 - Maintenance.

The contractor shall perform all Preventive Maintenance actions required by the OEM, including Predictive and Remedial Maintenance, on all equipment delivered as a part of this contract. The contractor must schedule and perform maintenance with no disruption to production operating environment. Day to day operations management of the hardware does not require Contractor intervention. Software components are capable of remote management and compatible with the current DISA dedicated management network. All maintenance requirements are included in the utility pricing.

1.3.1 Maintenance Repair and Response Time. Provide processing capacity that delivers 99.95% availability per orderable system with options to deliver up to 99.999% availability per orderable system. Response and repair times for CONUS will be 2-hour response/4-hour repair, unless otherwise agreed to by DISA. The time for responses will begin when the contractor is notified and will end when the contractor contacts DISA. The time for repairs will be measured beginning when the contractor is notified and will end when the repair is completed, and the equipment is available for use in its original state prior to the outage. Contractor response times do not change the requirements but represent requirements to repair components which might be causing a degraded state. The contractor shall address solution failures of redundant components which might not impact system availability but do create performance issues or introduce single points of failure in systems.

The contractor shall provide 24x7x365 problem escalation/resolution for hardware, operating system software, and capacity management. The contractor shall provide a multi-level solution for response time after being notified by the Government, to commence remedial maintenance for hardware, operating system software and, any other software required for the contractor solution to operate. Each orderable system will be identified to a level of response based on Government need. All maintenance requirements are included in the utility pricing.

1.3.2 Predictive Maintenance. Services rendered for the purpose of avoiding an equipment failure. This maintenance includes the process of monitoring equipment error activity using automated identification and reporting systems, alert mechanisms, and diagnostic routines. When error or event thresholds are exceeded, repairs are applied prior to an actual equipment failure. The contractor shall monitor equipment/component performance using diagnostics defined in PWS Section 1.2.1 for the purpose of identifying whether equipment is operating in accordance with established specifications. This includes hardware, operating system software, and any other software required for the contractor’s solution to operate. Upon determining equipment/component is about to fail or is operating outside OEM specifications, the contractor shall initiate action to effect repair even though no call for remedial maintenance has been initiated by the Government.

1.3.3 Remedial Maintenance.

Remedial maintenance includes all unscheduled maintenance to diagnose and repair malfunctioning equipment or equipment failures. The contractor shall initiate maintenance procedures which include the Government hardware incident ticket using the procedures that will be provided after the contract award. Calls may be initiated by the Government to the contractor’s toll-free help desk service. The contractor must respond and repair, and/or obtain required OEM engagement. The contractor must perform remedial maintenance within the response and repair times required to meet the availability minimum requirements identified in PWS Section 1.3.1, Maintenance Repair and Response Time. This includes hardware, operating system software, and any other software required for the contractor’s solution to operate. The contractor shall provide a monthly report of all remedial maintenance actions, including actual response/repair times for each, within five business days after the previous month ends.

1.3.4 The contractor shall call or email the Global Service Desk (GSD) to notify them that they are going on site for predictive or remedial maintenance and request an incident ticket be generated and coordinated with the physical site. Upon arrival at the physical site, the contractor’s technician shall comply with reporting and identification requirements. The contractor technician shall not enter a production environment or perform any maintenance actions without prior coordination with the physical site. Failure to obtain a properly completed incident ticket prior to accessing a production environment or performing any maintenance action could result in the contractor technician being permanently barred from all DISA processing centers. Service is coordinated with the DISA Global Service Desk Mailbox Enterprise Services Ticket Request disa.global.servicedesk.mbx.enterprise-services-ticket-request@mail.mil or telephone 844-347-2457. The contractor technician shall be prepared to provide the following information:

DISA Site Location:

Site POC (ITSM+ group):

Serial Number:

Vendor:

Vendor Phone Number and PIN:

Vendor Case Number:

Date/Time Engineer expected:

Barcode:

Floor Location:

Physical Address:

Short Description of Malfunction:

Contract Number:

1.3.5 Preventive Maintenance.

Preventive maintenance includes all regularly scheduled maintenance to maintain equipment in fully operating order as recommended by the OEM contractor. This is accomplished using the contractor-provided system monitoring devices or other monitoring systems that do not adversely impact operations to predict impending equipment failure. Preventive maintenance shall be scheduled with the Government POC, local Government site, and the contractor.

The Government may determine that the preventive maintenance action requires coordination with the customer base of the affected system. In this scenario, the Government POC will schedule an Authorized Service Activity (ASA)/Authorized Service Interruption (ASI) and coordinate the date and time with the affected customers and the contractor. The contractor shall begin preventive maintenance IAW the approved schedule within 90 calendar days after the date of the contract award. Preventive maintenance shall be scheduled outside of the normal business hours, 0600-1800 local time. For all PWS references to local time, local time is determined by the time zone of the specific Government location. The contractor must submit the preventive maintenance schedule for their equipment in writing to the Contracting Officer (KO) within 90 calendar days after the date of the contract award. The preventive maintenance schedule will be modified if or when needed at no cost to the Government by mutual agreement of both the contractor and the Government. The contractor’s proposed preventive maintenance schedule shall not be less than the preventive maintenance recommended by the OEM and at a minimum shall include following information:

Nomenclature of hardware item Model Serial Number Remote diagnostics and reporting capabilities Frequency and duration of preventive maintenance and type of service to be performed

Authorized Service Activity (ASA): An action that is being taken where no disruption to service is anticipated.

Authorized Service Interruption (ASI): An outage that will impact the customer system causing unavailability.

Deliverable/s: Preventive Maintenance schedule within 90 calendar days of contract award.

1.3.5.1 Preventive Maintenance Malfunctions. If during preventive maintenance an equipment malfunction is identified, the contractor shall report the malfunction to the Government. The malfunction shall be corrected as Remedial Maintenance defined in PWS Section 1.3.3 in compliance with maintaining the capacity availability requirements per orderable system as defined in PWS Section 1.2.1, Processor Capacity Availability.

1.3.6 Remote Diagnostics. The Government requires that all processor solutions be supported by remote diagnostics, administration, and tools that communicate over the DISA management network. System errors will be immediately reported to remote tools servers and service center(s). The contractor shall provide written confirmation that capacity devices delivered can be supported by remote diagnostics within 30 calendar days after start of performance. Verbal contact between the local maintenance technician and an off-site technician is not acceptable for remote diagnostics. There shall be a diagnostic system usable by the remote technician. The dial-in feature for remote access to equipment can be used, but only after receiving authorization from the Government. The feature must be capable of disabling and set up to provide the Government with the ability to enable the feature upon request from the contractor.

Deliverable/s: Written confirmation that reports and remote diagnostics for applicable equipment exist within 30 calendar days of contract award.

1.4 TASK 4 - Delivery, Installation, Deactivation and Removal.

The contractor shall provide the processor hardware infrastructure necessary to provide contract requirements. The contractor shall acquire, install, deinstall, transport, provide the necessary hardware (including cabinets/racks), hardware maintenance, operating systems software, and all software required for the contractor’s solution to operate, and services to provide the processor infrastructure associated with the contract. The contractor may be required to install hardware in DISA and/or Mission Partner owned racks. DISA will ensure those racks meet the documented rack requirements defined in Appendix 7. DISA will determine the need for additional processor equipment. Unless otherwise mutually agreed upon, equipment deliveries, installations, deinstallations shall be accomplished during normal business hours, 0600-1800 local time, Monday through Friday.

1.4.1 Delivery. Equipment shall be properly packaged to prevent damage and marked to allow CSC identification (ID) at the docks to include manufacturer and call order number, contract and delivery order number, and site point of contact. Site point of contact will be contacted to coordinate installation activities. The Government reserves the right to consider an alternative delivery schedule. Delivery and installation of equipment must occur within 30 calendar days from the acceptance date of the call order by the contractor.

1.4.2 Installation. The contractor is responsible for installing the ordered capacity. Installation tasks include rack placement, power on and check for operational status. The contractor shall install, power up, and confirm operational status of processor capacity.

1.4.3 Power-up Configuration. The contractor shall complete power-up configuration as detailed by the Government. The Government shall perform final configuration.

1.4.4 Government acceptance. The written or electronic acceptance of new capacity by the Government starts the billing cycle for this service. The Government requires the ability to place orders for new technology throughout the Period of Performance (PoP) for this contract. The contractor shall work with DISA to develop an acceptance testing methodology and smoothly transition the new (unless approved by the Government) equipment into the DISA production environment.

1.4.5 Deactivation, Deinstall and Removal of Equipment. The contractor shall conduct any deinstall and removal of hardware items on this contract upon request by the Government both during and at the end of the contract, at no additional cost to the Government. Deactivation, deinstallation and removal of hardware from the DISA site shall occur within 30 calendar days after the date of the acceptance of the deactivation call order by the contractor. Removal of all Contractor owned equipment will be coordinated with the Government site Accountable Property Custodian (APC) or property management group. Deactivation and removal of equipment will be scheduled during normal business hours, 0600-1800 local time, Monday through Friday.

Components and/or writeable media being removed from the site (tapes, hard drives, mass storage devices, etc.) will be sanitized or may be retained by the Government for destruction in accordance with the Assistant Secretary of Defense Memorandum, Subject: Disposition of Unclassified DoD Computer Hard Drives, June 4, 2001. DISA Security guidance at no cost to the Government. The contractor must be aware that the sanitation process is to prevent any compromise of classified and/or controlled unclassified data and may render the system components and/or writeable media unserviceable and/or destroyed. The Government will make the determination as to whether drives can be sanitized or destroyed.

1.4.6 Contract Performance outside normal business hours. The contractor may be required to perform delivery, installation, upgrades, uninstalls and equipment removal outside of normal business hours during evenings and weekends. Although the Government will attempt to limit this requirement, the contractor must plan to work after hours, weekends, and or federal holidays. After hours are defined as before 0600 local time, after 1800 local time, weekends, and federal holidays.

Recognized federal holidays recurring annually (Reference 5 U.S.C. § 6103):

● New Year’s Day – January 1

● Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday – the third Monday in January

● President’s Day – the third Monday in February

● Memorial Day – the last Monday in May

● Juneteenth National Independence Day – June 19

● Independence Day – July 4

● Labor Day – the first Monday in September

● Columbus Day – the second Monday in October

● Veterans Day – November 11

● Thanksgiving Day – the fourth Thursday in November

● Christmas Day – December 25

1.4.7 Stand-by. The contractor may be required to be available on standby after hours, weekends, or federal holidays. All standby hours will be included in the technical assistance and consulting pricing and approved in advance with an accepted call order. Stand-by will include having a field engineer available on-site as requested by the Government.

1.4.8 Equipment Report. After an order has been placed, and before delivery, the contractor shall send a report containing equipment information to include serial numbers, worldwide names, MAC addresses, etc. to the Government via email. Email address(es) will be provided at contract award. This action allows the Government to prepare for equipment receipt. The contractor shall provide the report 10 business days prior to equipment delivery.

Deliverable/s: Provide report of equipment information 10 business days prior to equipment delivery.

1.5 TASK 5 - Processing Capacity.

1.5.1 The contractor shall provide processing capacity that is scalable to adjust to increases and decreases in the required workload. This includes Central Processing Unit (CPU), memory utilization, network interfaces (network interface cards (NIC), etc.). The contractor shall provide processing capacity with no adverse impact on existing production workload.

1.5.2 The contractor shall provide a process for increasing and decreasing capacity for CPU, memory, network interfaces, (network interface cards (NIC), etc.), and sysplex within a tier. The contractor shall provide a process to collaborate with the Government to modify hardware provided within tier(s) as technology advances, chipset performance improves, or other new hardware-based technologies are introduced, without any impact to the awarded SLIN pricing.

1.5.3 The contractor shall provision servers for the infrastructure at no additional cost. These servers must be provided by the contractor to image hardware with the current agreed upon images (reference PWS 1.1.1.6). Provisioning cannot be accomplished via the Wide Area Network (WAN). The contractor’s solution shall include automation capabilities to provide efficiencies in provisioning and automation to streamline recurring vendor and Government tasks. Automation capabilities may be utilized by both the contractor and the Government in sustainment of provisioned infrastructure.

1.5.4 The contractor shall provide processing capacity that is priced on a utility (as used) basis and tier size as defined in Appendix 1.

1.5.5 The contractor shall provide processing capacity for unclassified and SECRET workloads. Where required under this contract, the contractor shall maintain Performance/Availability standards on all hardware, operating system software, and any other software required for the contractor’s solution to operate. The contractor shall provide engineering and maintenance personnel with the appropriate clearance for DISA’s classified and unclassified environments. SIPR access is required for all personnel that will be maintaining current and future customer workloads that reside on the SECRET/SIPR network. There must be separate hardware infrastructure including channels and networks and do not share components as instructed by DISA STIGs. This requirement has no impact on the security clearance requirements in PWS Section 11.

1.6 TASK 6 - Integration/Interfaces.

All equipment provided fully function with the existing DISA infrastructure and network.

1.6.1 The contractor shall provide training and familiarization to the Government System Administrators for the Contractor-provided infrastructure solution. The contractor’s training plan shall provide all or a combination of the following elements: OEM documentation guides, Computer Based Training (CBT) manuals, training hours and in-person/virtual classroom training at Government and/or Contractor facilities. Technical training will be recurring as new hardware or capabilities are introduced into the processing environment for the Government engineering and operations teams. Technical training will be provided as part of the total managed service. The contractor shall provide a plan showing how they will provide training to employees prior to capacity being deployed for the first time. Training costs will be included in the SLIN pricing.

1.6.2 The contractor shall provide infrastructure that does not disrupt, conflict, or interfere with the Government’s specified Enterprise Systems Management (ESM) architecture.

1.6.3 The contractor shall ensure all infrastructure components provided in support of the contract are capable of being managed remotely via a dedicated Government management network.

1.6.4 The contractor shall ensure all infrastructure components provided in support of the contract are capable of being backed-up via a dedicated backup network. Infrastructure components provided must be compatible with and operate seamlessly with DISA’s communications and storage infrastructure.

1.6.5 The contractor shall ensure all infrastructure components provided in support of the contract are coordinated with and agreed to by the Government before introduction into the processing environment.

1.6.6 The contractor shall ensure all components are IPv6 capable. Criteria to be considered IPv6 capable are conformant with the IPv6 standards profile contained in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) USG IPv6 guidance, NIST SP 800-119, Guidelines for the Secure Deployment of IPv6; maintaining interoperability in heterogeneous environments and with IPv4; commitment to up-grade as the IPv6 standard evolves; and availability of IPv6 technical support.

1.7 TASK 7 - Release Management.

The contractor shall work with the Government to test and field Operating System (OS) releases and upgrade packages. The Government develops standard documentation on version levels in line with change and configuration management programs. The contractor shall package the initial and subsequent upgrade OS releases. Initial OS releases are only deployed by the contractor on capacity hardware; but the initial OS release must be tested, coordinated, and documented with the Government to ensure all images are enterprise compatible. The contractor manages the OS software repository. This repository will be available to the Government to execute OS upgrades.

1.8 TASK 8 - Package OS.

The Government will lead the operational acceptance testing with Contractor. The contractor shall provide the release of new OS's and upgrade packaging for all upgrades. Server OS software is owned and licensed by the contractor, with the Government having the right to use for the life of the capacity services contract. After receiving an image from the contractor, the Government will install, test and validate image for adherence to standards, perform integration testing, provide release documentation or image corrections necessary for seamless integration into the DISA infrastructure. Items to be validated by the Government include introduction of new hardware, patches, or firmware versions to the enterprise; new or upgraded software; and tool integration and functionality such as ESM agents, Blade Logic, HBSS, Veritas, driver compatibility, IAVA compatibility and level, and STIG to the current Government required level.

1.8.1 Manage the OS repository and Availability. The contractor shall manage the OS software repository with the availability for the Government to execute OS upgrades. The repository will be used as a central repository for approved OS version baselines. The Government must be able to pull and install the OS upgrade package for testing on capacity hardware in use under this contract and will return the validated OS packages for general provisioning and upgrade processes.

1.9 TASK 9 - Security.

The contractor shall comply with all applicable security directives, including the DoD Directive 8140.01, Cyberspace Workforce Management, and DoDM 8140.03, Cyberspace Workforce Qualifications and Management Program; the Assistant Secretary of Defense Memorandum, Subject: Disposition of Unclassified DoD Computer Hard Drives, dated June 4, 2001; DISA Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs).

1.9.1 All contractor provided hardware and software solutions shall be in compliance with DISA STIGs. The contractor’s management solution and infrastructure provided must be compatible with Government authentication, CAC (Common Access Card) or PIV (Personal Identity Verification) enabled.

1.10 TASK 10 – Facilities.

1.10.1 Racks. The contractor shall provide a solution that complies with the standard rack and power specifications as detailed in Appendix 6. Each rack shall be supplied with two (2) each three phase modular power distribution units (MPDU’s) that mount vertically into the rear access/cabling spaces of the rack and provide a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) interface or Modbus external port capability.

1.10.1.2 The contractor shall allow the Government the flexibility to modify rack configurations if necessary to install the cooling scheme that provides the cooling infrastructure. The contractor shall provide a solution for high density cooling configurations. Additional high density cooling technologies may be proposed. Rack height dimensions will be permitted to exceed maximum height specified if the high-density rack cooling solution is attached to the rack and fits within the applicable data center dimensions.

1.10.2 Ancillary Equipment. The contractor shall include ancillary equipment such as MPDUs, grommets, blanking panels. Each server/enclosure/cabinet must include Cable Management that allows for the server/enclosure/cabinet to slide on the rails without binding or causing interference to airflow. The contractor shall include any manufacturer and vendor equipment required to meet their own mounting and warranty standards.

1.10.3 Grounding. The contractor shall provide grounding capability.

1.10.4 Energy Star Requirement. The contractor shall provide hardware that meet the Energy Star requirements. See: https://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/product_specs/program_reqs/eps_prog_req.pdf

1.11 TASK 11 - Technology Refresh (TR) Program.

The processor technology continues to advance, and this contract shall require incorporation of these advances during the life of the contract. The Government will make the final determination on when or if the SLIN configurations will be updated. The TR program is designed to replace aging and outdated processor hardware to minimize obsolescence in advance of loss of service or a hardware failure.

1.11.1 Technology Update. When an OEM makes available for sale a newer technology listed in PWS Section 1.1, the contractor must make this technology available to the Government on this contract within six months. The newer technology shall replace the current SLIN offering for all new orders. If the contractor’s current solution reaches end-of-sale and the product or model is no longer available from the manufacturer, the contractor must replace it with the manufacturer’s replacement product or model at the same or lower current year SLIN pricing.

1.11.2 Technology Refresh. The contractor shall develop a program to replace aging and outdated technology to minimize obsolescence before loss of support, loss of service or failure occurs. During the lifecycle of the contract as technology used for the contractor’s solution reaches EOL and becomes unsupportable by the manufacturer or becomes obsolete as technology advances, the contractor must provide new solutions to replace older solutions without a price increase or uplift charge.

If a call order for capacity has been in production for five years, the Government may refresh the capacity. The Technology Refresh Program will replace the oldest processor equipment, but generally processor hardware will have a five-year service life. The Government may refresh hardware based on functionality and technology updates, at any point in time during the first five years. Special mission requirements, mission partner constraints, and technical or cost efficiencies and advantages for keeping technology longer than the economic life may be encountered during the life of the contract. Joint discussions with the contractor and the Government will be held to determine the benefits and any potential adverse impacts to mission partner and lifecycle management for both the Government and the contractor. The Government will make the final decision for any potential extension of technology use beyond the stated economic life of the contract. Without a viable Tech Refresh Program, the Government will be at risk because the processor equipment cannot be serviced beyond its lifecycle. The contractor shall provide technical refreshes to hardware without additional cost to the Government.

1.12 TASK 12 - Service Transition and Exit Strategy.

1.12.1 Service Transition Strategy. The contractor shall work closely with the Government to execute the transition tasks. Transition coordination is critical to the success of this contract. The Government will oversee the transition of equipment and services between the parties. Floor space and power will be available for the new Contractor to install all components of their new solution while the incumbent Contractor’s solution remains in operation.

1.12.2 Incoming Strategy Plan. The contractor shall develop an incoming strategy plan for assuming responsibility of the contract upon contract award. The transition strategy plan shall identify and encompass all tasks to be performed by the incoming Contractor. The strategy shall include a list of any questions or information requested of the Government. The incoming strategy plan shall define projected dates for future status meetings and program reviews. The strategy plan shall include details about the call order management system being provided and the schedule for the technical training of Government staff.

1.12.3 Exit Strategy. Within 30 calendar days after the start date of the contract base year four, the contractor shall provide to KO and COR a written, detailed, exit strategy plan that will be reviewed by the Government. The exit strategy shall be used by the Government in the transition of services from this contract to any follow-on contract. The contractor must agree to coordinate service transition with any follow-on Contractor to prevent service disruption during the transition. The contractor must be responsible for the removal of all Contractor-owned equipment related to this contract at the end of the contract (which includes any option periods if exercised) upon acceptance of a call order to decommission capacity solutions at no cost to the Government. The Government may provide an alternative plan for the transition of services. Any alternative plan will be reviewed with the contractor for mutual agreement.

Deliverable/s: Meeting with the Government within 30 calendar days of award to plan the transition strategy. Written plan for transitioning current operating environments to Contractor provided utility solution(s) within 60 days of award with mutually agreed to milestones.

Written Plan: 90 calendar days after contract award

*Standard Distribution: 1 copy of the transmittal letter with the deliverable to the Primary COR

1.13 TASK 13 - Quality Program.

The Government shall evaluate the contractor’s performance under this contract using the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP). This plan is primarily focused on what the Government will do to ensure the contractor has performed IAW the performance standards. It defines how the performance standards will be applied, the frequency of surveillance, and the minimum acceptable defect rate(s). The contractor shall implement a quality program that uses Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) fundamentals.

1.13.1 Industry Standards. The following ITIL principles shall be included the contractor’s proposal:

· Change Management

· Configuration Management

· Incident Management

· Asset Management

· Release Management

1.13.2 Change Management. The contractor shall develop a process for handling changes to the processor infrastructure on a continual basis. Over the ten-year contract period technologies will change, software will be revised, and hardware will be phased out by the manufacturer. Government customer requests for new or revised functionality will be added to the contract. Changes in focus and/or mission of the Government business processes will require changes that may be incorporated into the Technical Refresh Program over the contract lifecycle. The contractor’s change management plan shall include EOL and supportability issues that may occur during the life of this contract.

1.13.3 Configuration Management. The contractor shall establish a process for standardizing and managing the infrastructure’s configuration to reduce complexity and reduce break-fix down time. The contractor must provide a monthly configuration report within five business days after the previous month ends.

1.13.4 Incident Management. The contractor shall provide an established process for handling incident management escalation.

1.13.5 Asset Management. The contractor shall establish a process for coordinating all assets with the Government prior to deployment into the environment. The process shall include asset returns and redeployment within the same location or redeployment to another approved location. The contractor must provide a monthly asset summary report within five business days after the previous month ends. This report may be combined with the monthly invoice.

Deliverable/s: Monthly Configuration Asset Management report.

1.13.6 Release Management. The contractor shall provide a written process for performing package releases to the infrastructure. A release management process ensures that assets are correctly introduced into the infrastructure. Prior to implementation, the contractor must coordinate with the Government staff regarding the release and implementation of all microcode and software releases to ensure compatibility of all components. The Government will develop standard documentation at the version levels for all locations IAW change and configuration management programs.

1.14 TASK 14 - Reporting Requirements.

1.14.1 Monthly Inventory Report (Physical Level). The contractor shall provide a monthly inventory report that includes the contract number, call order numbers, hardware makes and models, serial numbers, configuration components (cabinets, disk numbers, sizes and speeds, ports, slots, transports, etc.), total capacity allocated and billing, microcode versions, physical locations, (to include site location, floor tile location, rack ID, etc.), managing site, environment (SIPR/NIPR) order dates, installation date, and Government acceptance date. The contractor must provide a monthly inventory report within five business days after the previous month ends. This report may be combined with the monthly invoice.

Deliverable/s: Monthly Inventory report at the physical level.

1.14.2 Weekly Order Summary Report. The contractor shall provide a weekly order summary report that includes the call order numbers, order date, call order line number, CLIN, SLIN, description, project, quantity, delivery location, make, model, Government requestor, technical POC, base price, extended price, ship date, actual ship date, estimated delivery date, actual delivery, estimated install date, actual install, , acceptance date, order status, and description. This report shall include a separate line item for every call order and shall be an all-inclusive list of installed assets to-date. This report shall include the new assets ordered during the reporting week.

Deliverable/s: Weekly Order Summary.

1.14.3 Ad Hoc Reports. The contractor shall provide ad hoc reports when requested by the Government.

1.15 TASK 15 - Meeting Requirements.

Recurring meetings shall be required and held at various geographical locations. The contractor shall include all costs associated with meeting attendance in the proposed prices. The Government has the right to cancel or change any meeting.

1.15.1 Contract Kickoff Meeting. The Government and the contractor will have a contract kickoff meeting. This meeting will occur soon after the contract award. The location will be determined by the Government. The purpose of the meeting is to review the requirements and processes of the contract.

1.15.2 Semi-Annual Review Meetings. The Government and the contractor will hold semi-annual contract meetings to review the contract status. The meeting location and forum will be coordinated by the Government. The contractor must prepare a report summarizing the meeting and include any pending actions within five business days after the meeting.

Deliverable/s: Semi-Annual Review Meeting Report.

1.15.3 Recurring Teleconference. At least weekly, there will be a recurring status teleconference meeting on contract status. The meetings may be held more frequently if the Government determines there is a need for additional meetings. The time will be mutually agreed upon between the Government and the contractor. The contractor must provide a toll-free conference line or use other collaboration technology readily available to the Government. The contractor shall prepare the agenda and provide the report summarizing the discussion during the meeting or within one business day after the meeting.

Deliverable/s: Agenda for recurring teleconference; Email report summarizing recurring teleconference.

1.15.4 Recurring Installation/Repair Status Teleconference. At least weekly, there will be a recurring status teleconference meeting on various installation/repair issues. The meetings may be held more frequently if the Government determines there is a need for additional meetings. The time will be mutually agreed upon between the Government and the contractor. The contractor must provide a toll-free conference line. The contractor must prepare the agenda and provide the report summarizing the discussion within one business day after the meeting.

Deliverable/s: Agenda for recurring installation/repair status teleconference; Email report summarizing recurring installation/repair status teleconference.

1.15.5 Additional Meetings/Teleconferences. Additional meetings and teleconferences may be required based on issues that need to be resolved. The contractor and Government will agree on the time and the contractor must provide a toll-free conference line or use other collaboration technology readily available to the Government. The contractor must prepare the agenda and provide the report summarizing the discussion within one business day after the meeting.

Deliverable/s: Agenda for recurring additional meetings/teleconferences; Email report summarizing additional meetings/teleconferences.

1.16 TASK 16 - Technical Assistance and Consulting Services.

The contractor shall provide technical assistance and consulting services when requested by the Government to provide flexibility to modify services to meet the requirement of the Government and its customers. Technical assistance and consulting services may include solution design, leadership in the creation and implementation of technology solutions to meet the Government’s requirements. Appendix 2 lists the categories of technical assistance and consulting services. The labor categories will be used for performing services for a specified requirement that require a firm fixed price effort with a detailed agreement between the Government and the contractor on the scope of work.

1.16.1 Technical Assistance. Technical assistance shall be priced on a firm fixed hourly price for each of the six categories. The contractor is authorized to invoice only for the amount authorized by call order. Technical assistance and consulting are a specified requirement needed by DISA and does not include predictive, remedial, or preventive maintenance for hardware, software, racks, or release management.

1.16.2 Travel. Travel may be required on a limited basis when requested by the Government. Travel will be permitted with written authorization from the COR provided through the issuance of a call order that authorizes estimated travel expenses. Travel will be priced on a direct cost reimbursable basis, IAW the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR). Reimbursement will be IAW the JTR after the contractor provides the itemized expense details to the COR. Charges for travel are permissible only in connection with a call order placed for technical assistance and consulting services as specified in the PWS. All other travel costs shall be included in the SLIN pricing.

1.17 TASK 17 - Ordering/Payment Process.

All services will be placed using the call order process. A call order will be initiated by the Government through authorized call order personnel. Processor capacity requirements can be ordered in the base period and all option years. Pricing for services in the Option Years shall include full capacity service as outlined in PWS section 5.3.

1.17.1 Ordering Process. The contractor shall provide an ordering process to manage the introduction or termination of technology and changes to current and existing…