CF-204100_SupercomputerCluster_BidDocument_2020-02-14.pdf

University of Wisconsin Eau Claire

REQUEST FOR BID

THIS IS NOT AN ORDER

AGENT: MELISSA ALLEN

Questions regarding this bid – see Section 3.1

For Submittal of Bid Instructions – see Section 1

BID NUMBER: CF-204100

ISSUE DATE: 02/14/2020

DUE DATE: 03/06/2020

If NO BID (check here) and return.

Bid prices and terms shall be firm for sixty (60) days from the date of bid opening, unless otherwise specified in this Request for Bid by the University Procurement. Unless otherwise noted, public openings will be on the date and time specified. Award(s), if any, will be made as soon thereafter as possible. The bid abstract will be on file and is open to public inspection only after award determination has been made.

HIGH PERFORMANCE SUPERCOMPUTER CLUSTER

In signing this bid, we have read and fully understand and agree to all terms, conditions and specifications and acknowledge that the University Procurement bid document on file shall be the controlling document for any resulting contract. We certify that we have not, either directly or indirectly, entered into any contract or participated in any collusion or otherwise taken any action in restraint of free competition; that no attempt has been made to induce any other person or firm to submit or not to submit a bid; that this bid has been independently arrived at without collusion with any other bidder, competitor or potential competitor; that this bid has not been knowingly disclosed prior to the opening of bids to any other bidder or competitor; that the stated statement is accurate under penalty of perjury. I certify that the information I have provided in this bid is true and I understand that any false, misleading or missing information may disqualify the bid.

By submitting a bid, the bidder certifies that no relationship exists between the bidder and the University that interferes with fair competition or is a Conflict of Interest, and no relationship exists between such bidder and another person or firm that constitutes a Conflict of Interest. Further, bidder certifies that no employee of the University whose duties relate to this request for bid assisted the bidder in preparing the bid in any way other than in his or her official capacity and scope of employment.

The Bidder certifies by submission of the bid that neither it nor its principals is presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from participation in this transaction by any federal department or agency.

COMPANY NAME:

COMPANY STREET ADDRESS:

COMPANY CITY, STATE & ZIP:

SIGNATURE: DATE :

TYPE OR PRINT NAME:

TITLE:

TELEPHONE NUMBER: ( ) FAX NUMBER: ( )

EMAIL ADDRESS:

FEIN NUMBER: DUNS #:

Contents

1 SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS

1.1 Bid Response Requirements

2 GENERAL INFORMATION

2.1 Purpose

2.2 Scope

2.3 Definitions

2.4 E-Supplier Registration

2.5 Orders

2.6 Electronic Commerce/Online Ordering

2.7 Campus Delivery Requirements

2.8 Parking

2.9 Promotional Materials/Endorsements

2.10 Energy Star

2.11 Discriminatory Boycotts of Israel

2.12 Supplier Diversity

2.12.1 Minority Business Enterprise Program (MBE)

2.12.2 Woman-Owned Business Enterprise Program (WBE)

2.12.3 Disabled Veteran Owned Business Program (DVB)

2.12.4 VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESS Program (VB)

3 BID PROCESS INSTRUCTIONS

3.1 Clarifications and/or Revisions through Designated Contact

3.2 Applicable Dates

3.3 Proprietary Information

3.4 Accommodations for Individuals with Disabilities

3.5 Method of Bid

3.6 Method of Award

4 BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS

4.1 Bidder Information

4.2 Bidder Experience

4.3 Authorization

4.4 Client List / References

4.5 Fair Price Analysis

4.6 Minimum Order

4.7 Debarment

5 PERFORMANCE AND CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

5.1 Firm Prices

5.2 F.O.B

5.3 On Site Service

5.4 University Imports

5.5 Requirements for Criminal Background Checks

5.6 Timeliness of Delivery

5.7 Item Return Policy

5.8 Acceptance and Testing (Post Award)

5.9 Invoicing Requirements

5.10 Payment Terms

5.11 Shipments, Duplicates and Over Shipments

5.12 Training

5.13 Insurance

5.14 Performance Meetings

5.15 Subcontracting

5.16 Contract Termination

5.17 Other Eligible Purchasers

5.18 Record and Audit

5.19 Entire Contract

5.20 Travel Per Diems

6 SPECIFICATIONS

6.1 Specification One

6.2 Warranty

6.3 Labor and Travel Time

6.4 Emergency Situation

6.5 Reconditioned, Refurbished or Remanufactured Items

6.6 Used Equipment

6.7 Demonstration Equipment

6.8 Employee Identification

6.9 Cables

6.10 Environmentally Friendly “Green” Products

7 ATTACHMENT A – BIDDER RESPONSE SHEET

8 ATTACHMENT B - SPECIFICATIONS

9 ATTACHMENT C – ITEMIZED BID LIST

10 ATTACHMENT D – VENDOR INFORMATION FORM

11 ATTACHMENT E – CLIENT REFERENCE LIST

12 ATTACHMENT F – STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS

13 ATTACHMENT G – APPLICABLE FEDERAL RULES

1 SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS

BIDS MUST BE EMAILED TO: PURCHASING@UWEC.EDU

Emails should contain the solicitation #CF-204100 and your company’s name in the subject line.

Bids must be received and date/time stamped prior to 2:00 p.m. CST/CDT on the stated bid due date. Bids not so date/time stamped shall be considered late. Late bids shall be rejected. Submitting a bid to any other e-mail address than PURCHASING@UWEC.EDU does not constitute receipt of a valid bid by Procurement. Proof of transmission doesn't constitute proof of receipt.

Email submissions may not be greater than 25 megabytes. Any email file greater than 25 megabytes will be rejected by the email server. It is the responsibility of the sending party to confirm emailed bid responses were received by the Purchasing office prior to bid due date.

A cover page (page 1 of this document) is required, and you must provide all the documents required by the solicitation.

RETAIN A COPY OF YOUR BID RESPONSE FOR YOUR FILES.

1.1 Bid Response Requirements

In order for your bid to be considered, the following forms/information must be completed and submitted as part of your bid response. Failure to provide these forms/information with your bid submittal may disqualify your bid.

1. An electronic copy of your bid, including the signed original, with your company’s name and the solicitation number in the document name. Bids must be received and date/time stamped prior to 2:00 p.m.

CST/CDT on the stated bid due date. The received date and time on your email will serve as the date/time stamp.

Bids not so date/time stamped shall be considered late. Late bids shall be rejected. It is the bidder’s responsibility to verify that their bid was received before the deadline.

2. Page 1 of the Request for Bid Form (signed)

3. Bidder Response Sheet (including attachments as requested on Bidder Response Sheet) (Attachment A)

4. Specifications, descriptive brochure and detail for the item(s) bid (Section 6) (Attachment B)

5. Itemized Bid List (Attachment C)

6. Vendor Information Form (Attachment D)

7. Client Reference List (Attachment E)

8. Applicable Federal Rules (Attachment G)

2 GENERAL INFORMATION

2.1 Purpose

The University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, hereinafter referred to as the "University", through its Purchasing Services Department, hereinafter referred to as "Purchasing," on behalf of Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering as a part of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics hereinafter referred to as "STEAM," requests bids for the purchase of High Performance Supercomputer Cluster.

All University of Wisconsin Eau Claire departments must be eligible to purchase from this contract.

Conditions of bid which include the word “must” or “shall” describe a mandatory requirement. All specifications are defined as mandatory minimum requirements unless otherwise stated. If no bidder is able to comply with a given specification, condition of bid or provide a specific item/service on the Itemized Bid List, Purchasing reserves the right to delete that specification, condition of bid or item without having to complete the bid process again. FAILURE TO MEET A MANDATORY REQUIREMENT SHALL DISQUALIFY YOUR BID. This contract bid document and the awarded bidder’s (Contractor’s) response information shall become the Contract.

2.2 Scope

Located in western Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (abbreviated hereafter as UWEC) is one of the Midwest’s top public universities offering small-sized classes with an average student-faculty ratio of 20:1.

UWEC has maintained its commitment to high-impact learning practices with an emphasis on undergraduate research. Recent statistics show that more than a third of students (36%) across campus are engaged in collaborative research. Such research-based, high-impact practices were found to foster creativity, critical insights, and problem-solving skills in preparation for their active citizenship and lifelong inquiry. The excellence in undergraduate education is reflected by the fact that UWEC is one in a select group of primarily undergraduate institutions in the nation with two Rhodes Scholars and more than double the number of Fulbright Fellows compared to any other Master’s-level university in Wisconsin or Minnesota.

Because, undergraduate research is an integral part of the UWEC culture, there has been continuing effort to maximize undergraduate research experiences. This includes computation-based research to compliment experiments, computational research-embedded classrooms and integration of computational experiments in courses. The university received the distinguished national award, Award for Undergraduate Research Accomplishments (AURA) from the Council of Undergraduate Research.

Building upon UWEC’s existing strength in high-performance computing, UWEC is acquiring a High-performance GPU-CPU Computational Cluster. The cluster will be used primarily for undergraduate research and training purposes by various departments, including but not limited to, Chemistry, Material Science & Engineering, Geography, and Mathematics. Staff members, including those from other departments and sister UW universities, will also be involved. Examples of other departments who will utilize the HPC include Biology, Computer Science, Learning and Technology Services, and Physics.

See Specifications (Section 6 and Attachment B) and/or Itemized Bid List (Attachment C) for the minimum acceptable specifications for items/services desired. The estimated item quantities identified on the Itemized Bid List are for bid purposes only. The University does not guarantee to purchase any specific quantity or dollar amount. This Contract must not be construed as mandatory upon any University campus, State agency or municipality. The University reserves the right to issue separate bids when deemed in the best interest of the University.

2.3 Definitions

The following definitions are used throughout this document:

Agent means University Procurement Agent responsible for this Request for Bid. Full contact information can be found in Section 3.1.

Bid means Request for Bid.

Bidder means a firm submitting a bid in response to this Request for Bid.

Contractor means successful Bidder awarded the bid.

Custom Charges/Fees: typically includes, but is not limited to, United States duties, if applicable; port of entry documentation fees; custom clearance fees; applicable tax; etc.

Department means University Department of Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering as a part of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics.

DVB means Disabled Veteran-Owned Business.

GSA means General Services Administration.

MBE means Minority Business Enterprise.

Procurement means the Procurement Office in the Division of Finance and Administration responsible for the procurement of goods and services on UW Eau Claire campus, located at Schofield 230; 105 Garfield Ave; Eau Claire, WI 54701.

State means State of Wisconsin.

University and UW both mean University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire.

University Imports: When the University is the Importer of Record or has responsibilities for paying Custom Charges/Fees for products purchased directly from a foreign country.

WBE means Woman-Owned Business Enterprise.

2.4 E-Supplier Registration

Registration on the State of Wisconsin’s Wisconsin e-Supplier Portal is available free of charge to all businesses and organizations that want to sell to the state or University system. Only vendors who are registered in Wisconsin’s e-Supplier Portal are guaranteed to receive notice of State of Wisconsin solicitation opportunities in their commodity or service area. To register with Wisconsin e-Supplier Portal navigate to:

https://esupplier.wi.gov Registration allows a vendor to:

Register for a bidders list for commodities/services that the vendor wants to sell to the state.

Receive an automatic e-mail notification each time a state agency, including the University of Wisconsin

System campuses, posts a Request for Bid (BID) or a Request for Proposal (RFP) with an estimated value over $50,000 in their designated commodity/service area(s).

Receive an e-mail notification of addendums/amendments relative to the BID or RFP.

2.5 Orders

Under this contract, Specific order(s) may be issued to the Contractor(s). Bidder should identify method by which you will accept orders against this contract (e.g. e-mail, fax, internet, mail, phone, etc.).

Specific order(s): issued as one-time orders.

2.6 Electronic Commerce/Online Ordering

Customers of this contract may want to take advantage of electronic ordering and “E-Commerce” opportunities that may be offered by the Contractor. All electronic orders shall receive contract pricing and/or discounts.

2.7 Campus Delivery Requirements

Delivery of orders shall be made to University departments five days per week, Monday through Friday, during normal University business hours, 8:00am – 3:30pm, excluding state holidays or as allowed by specific receiving departments.

2.8 Parking

University parking is very limited. Each Contractor and/or Contractor employee(s) shall make their own arrangements for parking through UW Eau Claire Parking + Transportation Department at 715-836-2544 at least 48 hours in advance. No additional Contractor costs will be allowed for parking fees or violations. Unauthorized vehicles parking in University lots or loading docks without permits will be ticketed and/or towed.

2.9 Promotional Materials/Endorsements

Contractor agrees that they will not use any promotional or marketing material which states expressly or implies that the University endorses either the Contractor or any party related to the Contractor or this Contract.

2.10 Energy Star

The State encourages the use of equipment which meets the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star™ requirements. The Energy Star Program is a voluntary contract between an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and the EPA. It is not mandatory that every device offered under this bid meet Energy Star requirements but the bulk of the product line should be energy efficient. Bidder should identify those items which meet the Energy Star requirements on the Bidder Response Sheet.

2.11 Discriminatory Boycotts of Israel

Effective October 27, 2017, consistent with 2017 Wisconsin Executive Order 261, contractor agrees it is not engaged in a boycott of the State of Israel and further, contractor will not during the term of the contract engage in a boycott of the State of Israel. State agencies may not execute a contract and reserve the right to terminate an existing contract with a business entity that is not compliant with this provision. This provision applies to all contracts of all values.

2.12 Supplier Diversity

2.12.1 Minority Business Enterprise Program (MBE)

The State of Wisconsin is committed to the promotion of minority business in the state's purchasing program and a goal of placing 5% of its total purchasing dollars with certified minority businesses. Authority for this program is found in ss. 15.107(2), 16.75(4), 16.75(5) and 560.036(2), Wisconsin Statutes. The University of Wisconsin Colleges and Extension is committed to the promotion of minority business in the state's purchasing program.

The State of Wisconsin policy provides that Wisconsin Certified minority-owned business enterprises should have the maximum opportunity to participate in the performance of its contracts. The supplier/contractor is strongly urged to use due diligence to further this policy by awarding subcontracts to minority-owned business enterprises or by using such enterprises to provide goods and services incidental to this agreement, with a goal of awarding at least 5% of the contract price to such enterprises.

The supplier/contractor may be requested to provide information about its purchases from Wisconsin certified MBEs.

A listing of certified minority businesses, as well as the services and commodities they provide, is available from the Department of Administration, Office of the Minority Business Program, 608/267-7806. To view all MBE firms go to https://wisdp.wi.gov/search.aspx select the MBE box and click search.

2.12.2 Woman-Owned Business Enterprise Program (WBE)

Woman-owned business enterprises (WBEs) are certified by the Wisconsin Department of Administration. This program can be found at: http://www.doa.wi.gov/Divisions/Enterprise-Operations/Supplier-Diversity-Program

State certified WBEs are able to provide both governmental entities and private companies with a credible recognition of the business' ownership. The WBE certification may serve as an additional marketing tool when seeking contract opportunities with entities that place a value on having a diverse supplier base. There is no price preference for certified WBEs that compete for State Contracts.

A listing of certified WBEs, as well as the services and commodities they provide, is available at:

https://wisdp.wi.gov/search.aspx

2.12.3 Disabled Veteran Owned Business Program (DVB)

Disabled veteran-owned businesses (DVBs) are certified by the Wisconsin Department of Administration. This program can be found at: http://www.doa.wi.gov/Divisions/Enterprise-Operations/Supplier-Diversity-Program

The State of Wisconsin is committed to the promotion of DVBs in the State's purchasing program. Wisconsin statutes provide for a permissive 5% price preference for certified DVBs that compete for State Contracts. This means that State agencies may make an award to the DVB submitting the lowest qualified Bid when that qualified Bid is not more than 5% higher than the apparent low Bid. (A Bidder preference will not be considered on a printing or stationery procurement.) Policy provides that DVBs should have the maximum opportunity to participate in the performance of its Contracts. The Supplier/Contractor is strongly urged to use due diligence to further this policy by awarding subcontracts to DVBs or by using such enterprises to provide commodities and services incidental to this agreement.

The Supplier/Contractor shall furnish appropriate quarterly information about its efforts, including the identities of such businesses certified by the Supplier Diversity Program and their Contract amount.

A listing of certified DVBs, as well as the services and commodities they provide, is available at:

https://wisdp.wi.gov/search.aspx

2.12.4 VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESS Program (VB)

The State of Wisconsin encourages the participation of veteran-owned businesses (VBs) in the statewide purchasing program by inviting VBs to actively solicit public purchasing business and by reducing undue impediments to such participation. VBs are certified by the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). Applicants shall complete a Veteran-owned Business Request for Certification form (WDVA 1037).

Contact the DVA at: http://dva.state.wi.us. There is no price preference for certified VBs that compete for State Contracts.

3 BID PROCESS INSTRUCTIONS

3.1 Clarifications and/or Revisions through Designated Contact

All communications and/or questions regarding this request must be in writing and must reference the bid number.

Bidders are required to e-mail written questions to the Agent.

If a Bidder discovers any significant ambiguity, error, conflict, discrepancy, omission or other deficiency in this BID, they have five (5) business days after the bid issue date and time to notify, in writing, the Agent at the address shown below of such error and request modification or clarification of the BID document.

Melissa Allen

UW Eau Claire Procurement 105 Garfield Ave S230

Eau Claire, WI 54701-4811 E-mail: Purchasing@UWEC.edu

PHONE 715-836-5171

If a Bidder fails to notify the Purchasing Office of an error in the Bid document which is known to the Bidder, or which should have reasonably been known to the Bidder, then the Bidder shall submit a bid response at the Bidder’s risk and if awarded a contract, shall not be entitled to additional compensation or delivery or installation time by reason of the error or its later correction.

In the event that it becomes necessary to provide additional clarifying data or information, or to revise any part of this BID, supplements or revisions will be posted on http://vendornet.state.wi.us) and publicnotices.wi.gov.

Any contact with University employees concerning this Bid are prohibited, except as authorized by the Bid manager during the period from date of release of the BID until the notice of award is released. Contacting anyone other than the Designated Contact(s) above may disqualify your BID.

3.2 Applicable Dates

Date

02/14/2020

02/21/2020 – 2:00PM CST/CDT

02/28/2020 – close of business

03/06/2020 -- 2:00 PM CST/CDT

03/10/2020 – 2:00 PM CST/CDT

Event

Date of Issue of the Bid

Written vendor questions due

Responses posted

BID Due

Bid Opening

3.3 Proprietary Information

Any information contained in the Bidder’s response that is proprietary must be detailed separately on the attached Designation of Proprietary and Confidential Information Form (DOA-3027). Marking of the entire response as proprietary will neither be accepted nor honored. The University cannot guarantee that all such material noted remains confidential, particularly if it becomes a significant consideration in contract award. Information will only be kept confidential to the extent allowed by State of Wisconsin Public Disclosure Law (refer to Standard Terms and Conditions, Section 27.0). Pricing information cannot be kept confidential.

3.4 Accommodations for Individuals with Disabilities

The University will provide reasonable accommodations, including the provision of informational material in an alternative format, for qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. Please contact the Purchasing Department, 715-836-5171, Purchasing@UWEC.edu to make a reasonable accommodation request.

3.5 Method of Bid

Bidder must submit a net unit price and extended net total for each item and a total price by lot as designated.

Prices listed shall be in US dollars unless otherwise indicated.

An additional price column is provided for each item identified as part of a lot. In this column, Bidders must bid their net unit price per item based on a line item award rather than a lot total award if these prices would be different based on the different types of award.

This bid may qualify for GSA Pricing. If you have a GSA contract covering any of the items specified, enclose information on use of that contract including the contract number.

For University Imports: See Section 5.3

3.6 Method of Award

Award(s) shall be made based on the lowest extended net total for the individual line items. Bids that state the University shall guarantee orders of a specific quantity or dollar amount will be disqualified.

An on-site trial period of 30 days is required for evaluation purposes. This is to be without expense or obligation to the University. If the University determines in good faith that the equipment fails to function as described in the bidder's bid response (performance level) the equipment may be rejected and the bidder must remove the equipment at no cost to the University. Final payment shall not be made until the item/service is determined to meet specifications and has been accepted by the University.

For University Imports: See Section 5.3

Supplier Diversity Preferences State of Wisconsin agencies may make awards to certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), or Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (DVB) firms submitting the lowest qualified bid when that qualified bid is not more than 5% higher than the apparent low bid or the proposal is no more than 5% lower than the apparent high point score.

Authority for this program is found in ss. 16.75(3m)(b)2,3, 16.75(3m)(c)(4) and 560.0335(1)(b)(3), 15.107(2), 16.75(4), 16.75(5) and 560.036(2), Wisconsin Statutes.

4 BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS

To be eligible for a Contract award, you must be qualified and able to provide the following as required or your bid will be disqualified. Respond on Bidder Response Sheet (Attachment A).

4.1 Bidder Information

Bidder must complete the attached Vendor Information Form (Attachment D) to identify designated contact people, to provide information regarding the size of the bidder’s company, and other information as requested. All sections of this form must be completed.

4.2 Bidder Experience

The Bidder (company or its principals) must be in the business of providing high-performance supercomputer clusters to higher education institutions or national labs and must have done so for the past 3 years.

4.3 Authorization

Bidder must be an original manufacturer, authorized distributor, or dealer authorized by manufacturer.

4.4 Client List / References

Bidder must supply with their bid a client list of three (3) higher education institutions or national labs to which similar items/services have been provided during the past three (3) years (see Bidder Required Form, DOA-3832).

If contacted, information received from those clients will be used to determine whether bidder can reasonably meet contract requirements and specifications. Client references may be used in the award consideration.

4.5 Fair Price Analysis

Purchases made under this contract may require further fair price analysis. Bidders should identify on the Bidder Response Sheet the type of documentation they will provide (i.e. published price list, list of previous buyers, etc.)

to allow the University to complete this analysis. The awarded Bidder will be required to provide this documentation prior to the order being issued.

If, because of riots, war, public emergency or calamity, fire, flood, earthquake, act of God, government restriction, labor disturbance or strike, business operations at the University are interrupted or stopped, performance of this contract, with the exception of monies already due and owing, shall be suspended and excused to the extent commensurate with such interfering occurrence.

4.6 Minimum Order

Bids that require any order quantity or dollar amount in excess of $364,000 shall be disqualified.

4.7 Debarment

Federal Executive Order (E.O.) 12549 “Debarment“ requires that all contractors receiving individual awards, using federal funds, and all subrecipients certify that the organization and its principals are not debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded by any Federal department or agency from doing business with the Federal Government. By signing this document you certify that your organization and its principals are not debarred. Failure to comply or attempts to edit this language may disqualify your bid. Information on debarment is available at the following websites: www.sam.gov and https://acquisition.gov/far/index.html see section 52.209-6.

5 PERFORMANCE AND CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

5.1 Firm Prices

Prices must remain firm for 120 calendar days after notice of award. Prices established may be lowered due to general market conditions or negotiations between the Contractor and the University.

5.2 F.O.B.

F.O.B.: All deliveries shall be FOB Destination and Installed. Delivery and installation charges and risk of loss shall be borne by the Contractor.

Items are to be installed at Phillips Hall, Room 170, 101 Roosevelt Ave, Eau Claire, WI 54701. Bid prices must include all packing, freight, insurance, set-up, testing, instruction and operation manual charges, excluding any import/export costs. Items must be set in place connected to utilities as applicable, installed in the area designated by University personnel, demonstrated to be in operating condition, and approved by University personnel. All debris must be removed from the University premises and properly disposed of by the Contractor. Upon installation, all operating instructions and operating and maintenance manuals must be furnished to University personnel as identified.

Indicate on the Bidder Response Sheet the Country of Origin and Shipping Point.

For University Imports: See Section 5.4

Failure to bid FOB DESTINATION INSTALLED, delivery and installation charges and risk of loss borne by the Contractor in price may disqualify your bid.

5.3 On Site Service

In carrying out the scope of this Contract, the Contractor shall be required to perform services on University property. Bidders cost must include all transportation charges. Certificates of Liability with appropriate levels of coverage must be provided prior to beginning work.

5.4 University Imports

Vendor must be doing business in the United States.

Bids must include costs from bidder’s door to port of destination and local delivery charges. Custom Charges/Fees should be itemized on the Itemized Bid List (Attachment C). Custom Charges/ Fees will be included in the cost for the purpose of determining the lowest cost bid. The University reserves the right to compare the quoted Custom Charges/Fees with those from a University contracted customs broker and select whichever option is judged to be in the best interest of the University.

If the University is selecting the customs broker and paying the Custom Charges/Fees directly to them, the awarded Contractor must use the University's contracted customs broker identified on the purchase order.

5.5 Requirements for Criminal Background Checks

Background Checks of Contractors:

This contract is contingent upon, Contractor supplying workers who have passed a criminal background check that includes a national criminal background check database demonstrating the worker has no convictions or pending criminal charges that are substantially related to the contracted-for activities or services, including but not limited to, those that would render the worker unsuitable for regular contact with children. Disqualifying convictions or charges include, but are not limited to, sexual offenses, violent offenses, and drug offenses.

If, in the course of providing services to the UW, Contractor (or its employee) observes an incident or threat of child abuse or neglect, or learns of an incident or threat of child abuse or neglect, and the Contractor (or its employee) has reasonable cause to believe that child abuse or neglect has occurred or will occur, Contractor must make a report of that abuse or neglect to law enforcement or to a county social service agency as provided in UW’s Policy on Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect (“the Policy”). If the suspected child abuse or neglect involves an allegation against a UW employee or agent (e.g. student, volunteer, Contractor, etc.), or the incident or threat of child abuse or neglect occurred on the UW campus or during a UW-sponsored activity, the Contractor shall also report to the UW Police Department or UW’s Office for Equity and Diversity.

5.6 Timeliness of Delivery

Delivery is desired as soon as possible after receipt of an order with installation and testing to be completed by 05/18/2020. State on the Bidder Response Sheet when delivery can be made. Timeliness of delivery may be used in evaluation for bid award.

The Contractor is required to notify the ordering department of any back order, discontinuation of item(s) or other delays in shipping within five (5) working days of receipt of order or release against existing order(s).

Once awarded, failure to meet this delivery date may result in cancellation of order (award). The University reserves the right to contract with a second vendor/contractor to receive the items/services per delivery requests.

5.7 Item Return Policy

Contractor should provide for return of items ordered in error for up to thirty (30) calendar days from receipt with the University paying only the return shipping costs. Bidder should indicate in detail on the Bidder Response Sheet their company’s return policy.

5.8 Acceptance and Testing (Post Award)

Acceptance testing will occur within ten (10) days after the item/service has been installed. Acceptance testing will be performed by the University and will consist of verification of the specifications and performance requirements.

The vendor shall include measured peak performance results (in FLOPS) from the latest LINPACK benchmarks.

The LINPACK test shall exclude GPU cards. VASP shall run at speeds similar to the measured peak performance.

If the item/service does not meet specification or performance requirements, the Contractor will have 5 days to meet requirements. If after this time period the item/service still does not meet specifications or performance requirements, the Contractor agrees to remove the item and return any payments that may have been made.

The Purchasing Director, or his/her designee, is the only authorized person who can sign an acceptance form. The warranty period will begin following the successful acceptance testing.

5.9 Invoicing Requirements

Contractor must agree that all invoices and purchasing card charges shall reflect the discounts and net prices established for the items/services on this contract for all orders placed even though the contract number and/or correct prices may not be referenced on each order or at time of purchasing card order.

The University must meet a statutory mandate to pay or reject invoices within thirty (30) days of receipt of properly submitted invoices by University Accounts Payable. Before payment is made, Accounts Payable must verify that all invoiced charges are correct per this Contract. Only properly submitted invoices will be officially processed for payment.

The Prompt Payment Policy requires that your invoices be clear and complete and in conformity with the list below and must be itemized showing:

Contractor name Remit to address Purchase order number Release number if given Date of order/release Item manufacturer’s name or abbreviation (if applicable) Complete item description including catalog, model and/or stock number(s) match those stated in bid Prices per the Contract

At the discretion of Purchasing, invoices not reflecting the correct discount or net prices may be short paid or disputed.

The original invoice must be sent to ACTPAY50@UWEC.EDU.

5.10 Payment Terms

Payment will not be made until the item/service is determined to meet all specifications and has been accepted by the University. The University will pay the Contractor Net 30 days as accepted by the University.

5.11 Shipments, Duplicates and Over Shipments

Upon notification by the University of a duplicated order or over shipment, the items identified must be removed at the Contractor's expense. If the duplicated or over shipment items are not removed within 30 days of written notification, the University reserves the right to dispose of them as its own property and shall not be held liable for any cost for the items.

5.12 Training

If requested, Contractor must provide personnel with instructions on set-up and operation of the items at no charge to the customer. Training requirements will be negotiated with the Contractor if not specified in the bid specifications.

5.13 Insurance

The Contractor shall maintain insurance levels as required in Standard Terms and Conditions, Section 22.0. A certificate of insurance must be provided upon award, and on an annual basis throughout the term of the Contract.

The Contractor shall add: “The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, its officers, employees and agents” as an ‘additional insured’ under the commercial general, automobile liability policies.

The certificate holder shall be listed as the University of Wisconsin-System Administration or System campus for their respective purchases.

Additional insurance requirements for this bid are as follows and a Certificate of Liability with appropriate coverage levels must be provided prior to beginning work.

Coverage Type Minimum Limit

A. Worker’s Compensation ......................................................................................................... Statutory Limits B. Commercial General Liability Each Occurrence ........................................................................... $1,000,000 Gen. Aggr. Incl. Prdts/CO ............................................................................................................. $2,000,000 C. Automobile Liability Combined Single Limit .................................................................................. $1,000,000 D. Additional Insured Provision:

The contractor shall add the “Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, its officers, employees, and agents” as an additional insured under the commercial general liability policy.

In addition to these coverages the contract must contain all the clauses listed under the Special Terms and Conditions for the UW System.

5.14 Performance Meetings

The Account Representative and/or Contract Administrator must be available to meet as requested with the University's Contract Administrator to evaluate contract implementation and performance and to identify continuous improvement.

5.15 Subcontracting

5.16.1 Any Contract resulting from this bid shall not be, in whole or in part, subcontracted, assigned, or otherwise transferred to any Subcontractor without prior written approval by Purchasing. Upon request Contractor must provide Subcontractor’s complete contact information including EIN# (TIN#, SS#) and signed W-9 form.

5.16.2 The Contractor shall be directly responsible for any subcontractor's performance and work quality when used by the Contractor to carry out the scope of the job. University reserves the right to assess Contractor damages in excess of the contract amount for Subcontractor’s failure to perform or inability to complete required project milestones.

5.16.3 Subcontractors must abide by all terms and conditions under this Contract.

5.16.4 Subcontractors are to be used, the Contractor must clearly explain their participation, deliverables, and project milestones prior to commencing work.

5.16 Contract Termination

5.17.1 The University may terminate the Contract at any time, without cause, by providing 30 days written notice to the Contractor. If the Contract is so terminated, the University is liable only for payments for products provided or services performed, to the extent that any actual direct costs have been incurred by the Contractor pursuant to fulfilling the contract. The University will be obligated to pay such expenses up to the date of the termination.

5.17.2 Shall either party fail to perform under the terms of this Contract; the aggrieved party may notify the other party in writing of such failure and demand that the same be remedied within 30 calendar days. Should the defaulting party fail to remedy the same within said period, the other party shall then have the right to terminate this Contract immediately. Performance failure can be defined as but not limited to failure to provide any of the Terms, Conditions or Specifications.

5.17.3 If at any time the Contractor performance threatens the health and/or safety of the University, its staff, students or others who may be on campus, the University has the right to cancel and terminate the Contract without notice.

5.17.4 Failure to maintain the required Certificates of Insurance, Permits and Licenses shall be cause for Contract termination. If the Contractor fails to maintain and keep in force the insurance as provided in Standard Terms and Conditions, Section 22.0, the University has the right to cancel and terminate the Contract without notice.

5.17.5 If at any time a petition in bankruptcy shall be filed against the Contractor and such petition is not dismissed within 90 calendar days, or if a receiver or trustee of Contractor's property is appointed and such appointment is not vacated within 90 calendar days, the University has the right, in addition to any other rights of whatsoever nature that it may have at law or in equity, to terminate this contract by giving 10 calendar days’ notice in writing of such termination.

5.17.6 All notices of performance failure must be submitted in writing to Purchasing, 105 Garfield Ave, Eau Claire, WI 54701. Purchasing shall be final authority for all performance failure determinations not resolved through the ordering department

5.17 Other Eligible Purchasers

U.W. System campuses, State of Wisconsin agencies and Wisconsin municipalities shall be eligible to purchase off this contract.

A Wisconsin municipality is defined by Wisconsin Statute 16.70(8) to include counties, cities, villages, towns, school boards, sewage, drainage, vocational, technical and adult education districts, and other bodies with the power to award public contracts.

5.18 Record and Audit

The Contractor shall establish, maintain, report as needed, and submit upon request records of all transactions conducted under the contract. All records must be kept in accordance with generally accepted accounting procedures. All procedures must be in accordance with federal, State of Wisconsin and local ordinances.

The University shall have the right to audit, review, examine, copy, and transcribe any pertinent records or documents held by the Contractor related to this contract. The Contractor shall retain all applicable documents for a period of not less than five years after the final contract payment is made. The University reserves the right to inspect any facilities used to support this Contract.

5.19 Entire Contract

A contract will be awarded based on the criteria established in this Request for Bid, including attachments and any amendments issued. The BID, the bid response, and written communications incorporated into the contract constitute the entire contract between the parties. The hierarchy of documents in descending order for resolution is as follows:

A. Contract Award Letter

B. Original Request Bid Number CF-204100, dated 02/14/2020 including amendments/attachments

C. Bidder response to BID.

D. Official Purchase Order (when applicable)

Any other terms and conditions provided by the Bidder with the bid or for future transactions against this contract, including but not limited to click on agreements accepted by the Customer; shrink wrapped agreements; or terms submitted with quotations, order acknowledgements, or invoices; will be considered null and void and will not be enforceable by the Contractor unless agreed to in a written amendment signed by the University Purchasing Department. Any exceptions to this BID should be submitted with your response and alternative language proposed.

Deviations and exceptions from original text, terms, conditions, or specifications shall be described fully, on the bidder's letterhead, signed, and attached to the bid response as an attachment. Each deviation and exception must be identified by the section, page and paragraph to which it applies. In the absence of such statement, the bid/proposal shall be accepted as in strict compliance with all terms, conditions, and specifications and the bidder shall be held liable.

Submitting a standard Bidder contract or term and condition as a complete substitute or alternative for the language in this solicitation will not be accepted and may result in rejection of the bid.

The University reserves the right to negotiate contractual terms and conditions or reject the Bidder‘s response and proceed to the next qualified bidder.

A Word copy of this exceptions document must be submitted with your electronic bid response.

5.20 Travel Per Diems

All of the Contractor’s travel and per diem expenses shall be the Contractor’s sole responsibility. Payment to the Contractor by the University shall not include an additional amount for this purpose.

6 SPECIFICATIONS

UW Specifications may not be revised without an official written amendment issued by Purchasing.

List of itemized specifications:

Cluster cannot consume over 15kVA of power

Cluster must be installed in our provided APC rack Model NETSHELTER SX 42U 750MM WIDE X 1070MM DEEP ENCLOSURE

Cluster must fit in one rack

Cluster must come with a five (5) year parts warranty

CPU model and number should be the same on the GPU, compute, and high-memory nodes.

CPUs Must be Intel

GPU nodes

Minimum for each node

Two Intel Xeon Skylake CPUs or better, each with a minimum clock speed of 2.4 GHz and twenty or more cores

Four NVIDIA EDU Tesla Volta V100 16GB CoWoS HBM2, PCIe 3.0 x16 Passive Computing Accelerator

6 GB of DDR4 RAM per core

240GB Solid State Drive (SSD)

Mellanox, ConnectX-6 adapter card with 4-year extended warranty for a total of 5 years

5-yr System Advanced Parts Replacement Hardware Warranty

Compute Nodes

Minimum for each node

Two Intel Xeon Skylake CPUs or better, each with a minimum clock speed of 2.4 GHz and twenty or more cores

240GB Solid State Drive (SSD)

6 GB of DDR4 RAM per core

Mellanox, ConnectX-6 adapter card with 4-year extended warranty for a total of 5 years

5-yr System Advanced Parts Replacement Hardware Warranty

High memory Node

Minimum

Two Intel Xeon Skylake CPUs or better, each with a minimum clock speed of 2.4 GHz and twenty or more cores

240GB Solid State Drive (SSD)

16 GB of DDR4 RAM per core

Mellanox, ConnectX-6 adapter card with 4-year extended warranty for a total of 5 years

5-yr System Advanced Parts Replacement Hardware Warranty

Head and Login Node

Minimum

Two Intel Xeon Skylake CPUs or better

6 Gb of DDR4 RAM per core

Two 240 GB Solid State Drives (SSD)

Software Install - configure RAID 1

Software Install - Cluster Stack with Deployment, Monitoring, other tools

Software Install – CENTOS8.x Operating System

Software Install - SLURM Scheduler

Mellanox, ConnectX-6 adapter card with 4-year extended warranty for a total of 5 years

5-yr System Advanced Parts Replacement Hardware Warranty

Storage File Server Node

Minimum

Intel Xeon Skylake CPUs or better

8 GB of DDR4 RAM per core

Two 240 GB Solid State Drives (SSD)

Mellanox, ConnectX-6 adapter card with 4-year extended warranty for a total of 5 years

SATA 6 Gb/s, 7200 RPM, 256 MB cache internal hard drive, 100 terabytes of usable disk (in RAID6 or comparable)

File system software installation and setup. File system that support high read/write speed is preferred

HDR IB and Ethernet Networks o Mellanox Quantum Externally Managed InfiniBand switch system with a non-blocking switching capacity to connect all nodes o Mellanox passive copper hybrid cable as needed o Mellanox 4 Year Extended Warranty for a total of 5 years o Edgecore networks 10/100/1000 switch and cables as needed

Onsite installation and testing to confirm cluster runs acceptably

Parallel performance benchmark results that are acceptable to users for the following software package:

VASP

Gaussian

MedeA

6.1 Specification One

The Bidder’s response must be clearly identified by manufacturer and catalog/model/stock number and/or appropriate identification as requested on the Itemized Bid List. Adequate detailed specifications of the items/services being offered or bid should be included with your bid to ensure that the items/services being bid can be compared to determine if the items/services meet all specifications.

If you are bidding alternate items/services, provide complete specifications, documents and materials showing performance features and details for the items/services you propose to furnish for the items/services being bid.

These will be used to establish equivalency. The University will be the sole judge of equivalent acceptability between Bidders responses.

6.2 Warranty

6.2.1 Contractor must provide a minimum warranty of five (5) year(s) on items and/or parts purchased under this contract.

6.2.2 Contractor must use only manufacturer trained personnel with a minimum of three (3) year(s) of experience for this contract.

6.3 Labor and Travel Time

Bid must include set-up and testing time during stated service hours. University service hours shall be defined as 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Bidders must identify if travel time charge per hour is the same as labor time per hour and if all employees will be charged at the same rate.

6.4 Emergency Situation

In the event of an emergency situation (pandemic, snowstorm, etc.), Contractor must be required to provide the University with the items/services on this bid as required. An emergency preparedness plan to serve the University and the items/services that are available to meet emergency needs must be provided be provided if requested.

Minimally, this plan should include emergency contact information, product and service level availability, staffing, equipment, and logistics plan. Replacement parts must be provided within 48 hours.

6.5 Reconditioned, Refurbished or Remanufactured Items

Reconditioned, refurbished, or remanufactured items shall not be considered for this Contract.

6.6 Used Equipment

Used, rebuilt or reconditioned equipment shall not be considered.

6.7 Demonstration Equipment

Demonstrator product (not reconditioned, refurbished or remanufactured models) shall not be acceptable for this bid if full new product warranties are offered.

6.8 Employee Identification

All Contractor’s employees, while working on University property, must wear a clearly displayed photo identification badge or uniform showing name of employee and/or company represented. Any identification must be provided by the Contractor at the Contractor’s cost. Badges must be available but will not be required to be worn when protective clothing and respiratory protection is required. Contractor must meet with representative of University’s Learning + Technology Services department for access to the server room.

6.9 Cables

Any alternate product bid must be compatible with an capable of…