Combined Synopsis Solicitation RFQ 36C25625Q1408 - Nutanix Upgrade.pdf

36C25625Q1408

COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS

General Information:

Document Type: Combined Solicitation/Synopsis

Solicitation Number: 36C25625Q1408

Posted Date: August 25, 2025

Questions Due Date/Time: August 29, 2025/12:00pm (CT)

Response Due Date/Time: September 08, 2025/12:00pm (CT)

Product or Service Code: 7B22

Set Aside: Total SDVOSB

NAICS Code: 334112

Size Standard 1,250 Employees

Point of Contact: Steven A. Berkeley

Email: Steven.berkeley@va.gov

Contracting Office Address

Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 16 Galleria Financial Center 5075 Westheimer Rd., Ste 750 Houston, TX 77056

Description

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 12.6, “Streamlined Procedures for Evaluation and Solicitation for Commercial Items,” in conjunction with FAR Part 13.5 for Certain Commercial Items, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes only solicitation;

quotes are being requested, and a written solicitation document will not be issued.

This solicitation is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular: 2025-05, 08-07-2025. This competitive solicitation is being issued as Total SDVOSB set aside.

The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334112 , with a size standard of 1,250. The FSC/PSC is 7B22

Contractor is required to be active in the System for Award Management (SAM).

Contractor quote may be considered non-compliant and rejected if the Contracting Officer is unable to verify active registration status. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center (MEDVAMC) is requesting Nutanix Upgrade.

mailto:Steven.berkeley@va.gov

SECTION B - CONTINUATION OF SF 1449 BLOCKS

B.1 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

1. Contract Administration: All contract administration matters will be handled by the following individuals:

{Completed by Offeror}

a. CONTRACTOR: POC Name: _________________ Address: ___________________ Phone: _____________________ Email: ______________________ Unique Entity ID: ______________ Tax ID Number: ______________

b. GOVERNMENT: Steven A. Berkeley, Contracting Officer 36C256

Department of Veterans Affairs

Network Contracting Office 16

Galleria Financial Center

5075 Westheimer RD, Ste. 750

Houston TX 77056

Phone: 713-791-1414

E-mail: Steven.berkeley@va.gov

2. CONTRACTOR REMITTANCE ADDRESS: All payments by the Government to the contractor will be made in accordance with:

[X] 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer—System For Award

Management.

3. INVOICES: Invoices shall be submitted in arrears:

a. Other [X] Upon receipt and acceptance by the Government

4. GOVERNMENT INVOICE ADDRESS: All Invoices from the contractor shall be submitted electronically in accordance with VAAR Clause 852.232-72 Electronic

Submission of Payment Requests.

FSC e-Invoice Payment http://www.fsc.va.gov/fsc/einvoice.asp Invoice Setup Information 1-877-489-6135 Invoice must be submitted electronically

5. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS: The offeror acknowledges receipt of amendments to the Solicitation numbered and dated as follows:

AMENDMENT NO DATE

mailto:Steven.berkeley@va.gov http://www.fsc.va.gov/fsc/einvoice.asp

B.2 IT CONTRACT SECURITY

VA INFORMATION AND INFORMATION SECURITY/PRIVACY LANGUAGE

1. GENERAL. This entire section applies to all acquisitions requiring any Information Security and Privacy language. Contractors, contractor personnel, subcontractors and subcontractor personnel will be subject to the same federal laws, regulations, standards, VA directives and handbooks, as VA personnel regarding information and information system security and privacy.

2. VA INFORMATION CUSTODIAL LANGUAGE.

a. The Government shall receive unlimited rights to data/intellectual property first produced and delivered in the performance of this contract or order (hereinafter “contract”) unless expressly stated otherwise in this contract. This includes all rights to source code and all documentation created in support thereof. The primary clause used to define Government and Contractor data rights is FAR 52.227-14 Rights in Data – General. The primary clause used to define computer software license (not data/intellectual property first produced under this contractor or order) is FAR 52.227- 19, Commercial Computer Software License.

b. Information made available to the contractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract will be used only for the purposes specified in the service agreement, SOW, SOO, PWS, PD, and/or contract. The contractor shall not use VA information in any other manner without prior written approval from a VA Contracting Officer (CO). The primary clause used to define Government and Contractor data rights is FAR 52.227-14 Rights in Data – General.

c. VA information will not be co-mingled with any other data on the contractor’s information systems or media storage systems. The contractor shall ensure compliance with Federal and VA requirements related to data protection, data encryption, physical data segregation, logical data segregation, classification requirements and media sanitization.

d. VA reserves the right to conduct scheduled or unscheduled audits, assessments, or investigations of contractor Information Technology (IT) resources to ensure information security is compliant with Federal and VA requirements. The contractor shall provide all necessary access to records (including electronic and documentary materials related to the contracts and subcontracts) and support (including access to contractor and subcontractor staff associated with the contract) to VA, VA's Office Inspector General (OIG), and/or Government Accountability Office (GAO) staff during periodic control assessments, audits, or investigations.

e. The contractor may only use VA information within the terms of the contract and applicable Federal law, regulations, and VA policies. If new Federal information security laws, regulations or VA policies become applicable after execution of the contract, the parties agree to negotiate contract modification and adjustment necessary to implement the new laws, regulations, and/or policies.

f. The contractor shall not make copies of VA information except as specifically authorized and necessary to perform the terms of the contract. If copies are made for restoration purposes, after the restoration is complete, the copies shall be destroyed in accordance with VA Directive 6500, VA Cybersecurity Program and VA Information Security Knowledge Service.

g. If a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) contract is terminated for default or cause with a business associate, the related local Business Associate Agreement (BAA) shall also be terminated and actions taken in accordance with VHA Directive 1605.05, Business Associate Agreements. If there is an executed national BAA associated with the contract, VA will determine what actions are appropriate and notify the contactor.

h. The contractor shall store and transmit VA sensitive information in an encrypted form, using VA-approved encryption tools which are, at a minimum, Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2, Security Requirements for Cryptographic Modules (or its successor) validated and in conformance with VA Information Security Knowledge Service requirements. The contractor shall transmit VA sensitive information using VA approved Transport Layer Security (TLS) configured with FIPS based cipher suites in conformance with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 800- 52, Guidelines for the Selection, Configuration and Use of Transport Layer Security (TLS) Implementations.

i. The contractor’s firewall and web services security controls, as applicable, shall meet or exceed VA’s minimum requirements.

j. Except for uses and disclosures of VA information authorized by this contract for performance of the contract, the contractor may use and disclose VA information only in two situations: (i) in response to a qualifying order of a court of competent jurisdiction after notification to VA CO (ii) with written approval from the VA CO. The contractor shall refer all requests for, demands for production of or inquiries about, VA information and information systems to the VA CO for response.

k. Notwithstanding the provision above, the contractor shall not release VA records protected by Title 38 U.S.C. § 5705, Confidentiality of medical quality assurance records and/or Title 38 U.S.C. § 7332, Confidentiality of certain medical records pertaining to drug addiction, sickle cell anemia, alcoholism or alcohol abuse or infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). If the contractor is in receipt of a court order or other requests for the above-mentioned information, the contractor shall immediately refer such court order or other requests to the VA CO for response.

l. Information made available to the contractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the contractor in performance or administration of the contract will be protected and secured in accordance with VA Directive 6500 and Identity and Access Management (IAM) Security processes specified in the VA Information Security Knowledge Service.

m. Any data destruction done on behalf of VA by a contractor shall be done in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements as outlined in VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management, VA Handbook 6300.1, Records Management Procedures, and applicable VA Records Control Schedules.

n. The contractor shall provide its plan for destruction of all VA data in its possession according to VA Directive 6500 and NIST 800-88, Guidelines for Media Sanitization prior to termination or completion of this contract. If directed by the COR/CO, the contractor shall return all Federal Records to VA for disposition.

o. Any media, such as paper, magnetic tape, magnetic disks, solid state devices or optical discs that is used to store, process, or access VA information that cannot be destroyed shall be returned to VA. The contractor shall hold the appropriate material until otherwise directed by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) or CO. Items shall be returned securely via VA-approved methods. VA sensitive information must be transmitted utilizing VA-approved encryption tools which are validated under FIPS 140-2 (or its successor) and NIST 800-52. If mailed, the contractor shall send via a trackable method (USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc.) and immediately provide the COR/CO with the tracking information. Self-certification by the contractor that the data destruction requirements above have been met shall be sent to the COR/CO within 30 business days of termination of the contract.

p. All electronic storage media (hard drives, optical disks, CDs, back-up tapes, etc.)

used to store, process or access VA information will not be returned to the contractor at the end of lease, loan, or trade-in. Exceptions to this paragraph will only be granted with the written approval of the VA CO.

3. ACCESS TO VA INFORMATION AND VA INFORMATION SYSTEMS.

a. A contractor/subcontractor shall request logical (technical) or physical access to VA information and VA information systems for their employees and subcontractors only to the extent necessary to perform the services specified in the solicitation or contract.

This includes indirect entities, both affiliate of contractor/subcontractor and agent of contractor/subcontractor.

b. Contractors and subcontractors shall sign the VA Information Security Rule of Behavior (ROB) before access is provided to VA information and information systems (see Section 4, Training, below). The ROB contains the minimum user compliance requirements and does not supersede any policies of VA facilities or other agency components which provide higher levels of protection to VA’s information or information systems. Users who require privileged access shall complete the VA elevated privilege access request processes before privileged access is granted.

c. All contractors and subcontractors working with VA information are subject to the same security investigative and clearance requirements as those of VA appointees or employees who have access to the same types of information. The level and process of background security investigations for contractors shall be in accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 0710, Personnel Suitability and Security Program. The Office of Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) is responsible for these policies and procedures. Contract personnel who require access to classified information or information systems shall have an appropriate security clearance. Verification of a Security Clearance shall be processed through the Special Security Officer located in HRA/OSP. Contractors shall conform to all requirements stated in the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual

(NISPOM).

d. All contractors and subcontractors shall comply with conditions specified in VAAR 852.204-71(d); Contractor operations required to be in United States. All contractors and subcontractors working with VA information must be permanently located within a jurisdiction subject to the law of the United States or its Territories to the maximum extent feasible. If services are proposed to be performed abroad the contractor must state where all non-U.S. services are provided. The contractor shall deliver to VA a detailed plan specifically addressing communications, personnel control, data protection and potential legal issues. The plan shall be approved by the COR/CO in writing prior to access being granted.

e. The contractor shall notify the COR/CO in writing immediately (no later than 24 hours) after personnel separation or occurrence of other causes. Causes may include the following:

(1) Contractor/subcontractor personnel no longer has a need for access to VA information or VA information systems.

(2) Contractor/subcontractor personnel are terminated, suspended, or otherwise has their work on a VA project discontinued for any reason.

(3) Contractor believes their own personnel or subcontractor personnel may pose a threat to their company’s working environment or to any company owned property. This includes contractor-owned assets, buildings, confidential data, customers, employees, networks, systems, trade secrets and/or VA data.

(4) Any previously undisclosed changes to contractor/subcontractor background history are brought to light, including but not limited to changes to background investigation or employee record.

(5) Contractor/subcontractor personnel have their authorization to work in the United States revoked.

(6) Agreement by which contractor provides products and services to VA has either been fulfilled or terminated, such that VA can cut off electronic and/or physical access for contractor personnel.

f. In such cases of contract fulfillment, termination, or other causes; the contractor shall take the necessary measures to immediately revoke access to VA network, property, information, and information systems (logical and physical) by contractor/subcontractor personnel. These measures include (but are not limited to): removing and then securing Personal Identity Verification (PIV) badges and PIV – Interoperable (PIV-I) access badges, VA-issued photo badges, credentials for VA facilities and devices, VA-issued laptops, and authentication tokens. Contractors shall notify the appropriate VA COR/CO immediately to initiate access removal.

g. Contractors/subcontractors who no longer require VA accesses will return VA issued property to VA. This property includes (but is not limited to): documents, electronic equipment, keys, and parking passes. PIV and PIV-I access badges shall be returned to the nearest VA PIV Badge Issuance Office. Once they have had access to VA information, information systems, networks and VA property in their possessions removed, contractors shall notify the appropriate VA COR/CO.

4. TRAINING

a. All contractors and subcontractors requiring access to VA information and VA information systems shall successfully complete the following before being granted access to VA information and its systems:

(1) VA Privacy and Information Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior course (Talent Management System (TMS) #10176) initially and annually thereafter.

(2) Sign and acknowledge (electronically through TMS #10176) understanding of and responsibilities for compliance with the Organizational Rules of Behavior, relating to access to VA information and information systems initially and annually thereafter; and

(3) Successfully complete any additional cyber security or privacy training, as required for VA personnel with equivalent information system or information access [to be defined by the VA program official and provided to the VA CO for inclusion in the solicitation document – i.e., any role based information security training].

b. The contractor shall provide to the COR/CO a copy of the training certificates and certification of signing the Organizational Rules of Behavior for each applicable employee within five days of the initiation of the contract and annually thereafter, as required.

c. Failure to complete the mandatory annual training is grounds for suspension or termination of all physical or electronic access privileges and removal from work on the contract until such time as the required training is complete.

5. SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION.

a. The contractor, subcontractor, their employees, or business associates shall immediately (within one hour) report suspected security / privacy incidents to the VA OIT’s Enterprise Service Desk (ESD) by calling (855) 673-4357 (TTY: 711). The ESD is OIT’s 24/7/365 single point of contact for IT-related issues. After reporting to the ESD, the contractor, subcontractor, their employees, or business associates shall, within one hour, provide the COR/CO the incident number received from the ESD.

b. To the extent known by the contractor/subcontractor, the contractor/subcontractor's notice to VA shall identify the information involved and the circumstances surrounding the incident, including the following:

(1) The date and time (or approximation of) the Security Incident occurred.

(2) The names of individuals involved (when applicable).

(3) The physical and logical (if applicable) location of the incident.

(4) Why the Security Incident took place (i.e., catalyst for the failure).

(5) The amount of data belonging to VA believed to have been compromised.

(6) The remediation measures the contractor is taking to ensure no future incidents of a similar nature.

c. After the contractor has provided the initial detailed incident summary to VA, they will continue to provide written updates on any new and relevant circumstances or facts they discover. The contractor, subcontractor, and their employes shall fully cooperate with VA or third-party entity performing an independent risk analysis on behalf of VA.

Failure to cooperate may be deemed a material breach and grounds for contract termination.

d. VA IT contractors shall follow VA Handbook 6500, Risk Management Framework for VA Information Systems VA Information Security Program, and VA Information Security Knowledge Service guidance for implementing an Incident Response Plan or integrating with an existing VA implementation.

e. In instances of theft or break-in or other criminal activity, the contractor/subcontractor must concurrently report the incident to the appropriate law enforcement entity (or entities) of jurisdiction, including the VA OIG, and the VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement. The contractor, its employees, and its subcontractors and their employees shall cooperate with VA and any law enforcement authority responsible for the investigation and prosecution of any possible criminal law violation(s) associated with any incident. The contractor/subcontractor shall cooperate with VA in any civil litigation to recover VA information, obtain monetary or other compensation from a third party for damages arising from any incident, or obtain injunctive relief against any third party arising from, or related to, the incident.

f. The contractor shall comply with VA Handbook 6500.2, Management of Breaches Involving Sensitive Personal Information, which establishes the breach management policies and assigns responsibilities for the oversight, management and reporting procedures associated with managing of breaches.

g. With respect to unsecured Protected Health Information (PHI), the contractor is deemed to have discovered a data breach when the contractor knew or should have known of breach of such information. When a business associate is part of VHA contract, notification to the covered entity (VHA) shall be made in accordance with the executed BAA.

h. If the contractor or any of its agents fails to protect VA sensitive personal information or otherwise engages in conduct which results in a data breach involving any VA sensitive personal information the contractor/subcontractor processes or maintains under the contract; the contractor shall pay liquidated damages to the VA as set forth in clause 852.211-76, Liquidated Damages— Reimbursement for Data Breach Costs.

6. INFORMATION SYSTEM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT – N/A

7. INFORMATION SYSTEM HOSTING, OPERATION, MAINTENANCE OR USE – N/A

8. SECURITY AND PRIVACY CONTROLS COMPLIANCE TESTING, ASSESSMENT

AND AUDITING – N/A

9. PRODUCT INTEGRITY, AUTHENTICITY, PROVENANCE, ANTI-COUNTERFEIT

AND ANTI-TAMPERING

a. The contractor shall comply with Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 15 Part 7, “Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services (ICTS) Supply Chain”, which prohibits ICTS Transactions from foreign adversaries. ICTS Transactions are defined as any acquisition, importation, transfer, installation, dealing in or use of any information and communications technology or service, including ongoing activities, such as managed services, data transmission, software updates, repairs or the platforming or data hosting of applications for consumer download.

b. When contracting terms require the contractor to procure equipment, the contractor shall purchase or acquire the equipment from an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) or an authorized reseller of the OEM. The contractor shall attest that equipment procured from an OEM or authorized reseller or distributor are authentic. If procurement is unavailable from an OEM or authorized reseller, the contractor shall submit in writing, details of the circumstances prohibiting this from happening and procure a product waiver from the VA COR/CO.

c. All contractors shall establish, implement, and provide documentation for risk management practices for supply chain delivery of hardware, software (to include patches) and firmware provided under this agreement. Documentation will include chain of custody practices, inventory management program, information protection practices, integrity management program for sub-supplier provided components, and replacement parts requests. The contractor shall make spare parts available. All contractor(s) shall specify how digital delivery for procured products, including patches, will be validated and monitored to ensure consistent delivery. The contractor shall apply encryption technology to protect procured products throughout the delivery process.

d. If a contractor provides software or patches to VA, the contractor shall publish or provide a hash conforming to the FIPS Security Requirements for Cryptographic Modules (FIPS 140-2 or successor).

e. The contractor shall provide a software bill of materials (SBOM) for procured (to include licensed products) and consist of a list of components and associated metadata which make up the product. SBOMs must be generated in one of the data formats defined in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) report “The Minimum Elements for a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM).”

f. Contractors shall use or arrange for the use of trusted channels to ship procured products, such as U.S. registered mail and/or tamper-evident packaging for physical deliveries.

g. Throughout the delivery process, the contractor shall demonstrate a capability for detecting unauthorized access (tampering).

h. The contractor shall demonstrate chain-of-custody documentation for procured products and require tamper-evident packaging for the delivery of this hardware.

10. VIRUSES, FIRMWARE AND MALWARE

a. The contractor shall execute due diligence to ensure all provided software and patches, including third-party patches, are free of viruses and/or malware before releasing them to or installing them on VA information systems.

b. The contractor warrants it has no knowledge of and did not insert, any malicious virus and/or malware code into any software or patches provided to VA which could potentially harm or disrupt VA information systems. The contractor shall use due diligence, if supplying third-party software or patches, to ensure the third-party has not inserted any malicious code and/or virus which could damage or disrupt VA information systems.

c. The contractor shall provide or arrange for the provision of technical justification as to why any “false positive” hit has taken place to ensure their code’s supply chain has not been compromised. Justification may be required, but is not limited to, when install files, scripts, firmware, or other contractor-delivered software solutions (including third-party install files, scripts, firmware, or other software) are flagged as malicious, infected, or suspicious by an anti-virus vendor.

d. The contractor shall not upload (intentionally or negligently) any virus, worm, malware or any harmful or malicious content, component and/or corrupted data/source code (hereinafter “virus or other malware”) onto VA computer and information systems and/or networks. If introduced (and this clause is violated), upon written request from the VA CO, the contractor shall:

(1) Take all necessary action to correct the incident, to include any and all assistance to VA to eliminate the virus or other malware throughout VA’s information networks, computer systems and information systems; and

(2) Use commercially reasonable efforts to restore operational efficiency and remediate damages due to data loss or data integrity damage, if the virus or other malware causes a loss of operational efficiency, data loss, or damage to data integrity.

11. CRYPTOGRAPHIC REQUIREMENT-N/A

12. PATCHING GOVERNANCE- N/A

13. SPECIALIZED DEVICES/SYSTEMS (MEDICAL DEVICES, SPECIAL PURPOSE

SYSTEMS, RESEARCH SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING).

a. Contractor supplies/delivered Medical Devices, Special Purpose Systems Operational Technology (SPS-OT) and Research Scientific Computing Devices shall comply with all applicable Federal law, regulations, and VA policies. New developments require creation, testing, evaluation, and authorization in compliance with processes specified on the Specialized Device Cybersecurity Department Enterprise Risk Management (SDCD-ERM) Portal, VA Directive 6550, Pre-Procurement Assessment and Implementation of Medical Devices/Systems, VA Handbook 6500, and the VA Information Security Knowledge Service. Deviations from Federal law, regulations, and VA Policy are identified and documented as part of VA Directive 6550 and/or the VA Enterprise Risk Analysis (ERA) processes for Specialized Devices/Systems processes.

b. All contractors and third-party service providers shall address and/or integrate applicable VA Handbook 6500 and Information Security Knowledge Service specifications in delivered IT systems/solutions, products and/or services. If systems/solutions, products and/or services do not directly match VA security requirements, the contractor shall work though the COR/CO for governance or resolution.

c. The contractor shall certify to the COR/CO that devices/systems that have completed the VA Enterprise Risk Analysis (ERA) process for Specialized Devices/Systems are fully functional and operate correctly as intended. Devices/systems must follow the VA ERA authorized configuration prior to acquisition and connection to the VA computing environment. If VA determines a new VA ERA needs to be created, the contractor shall provide required technical support to develop the configuration settings. Major changes to a previously approved device/system will require a new ERA.

d. The contractor shall comply with all practices documented by the Food Drug and Administration (FDA) Premarket Submission for Management of Cybersecurity in Medical Devices and Post market Management of Cybersecurity in Medical Devices.

e. The contractor shall design devices capable of accepting all applicable security patches with or without the support of the contractor personnel. If patching can only be completed by the contractor, the contractor shall commit the resources needed to patch all applicable devices at all VA locations. If unique patching instructions or packaging is needed, the contractor shall provide the necessary information in conjunction with the validation/testing of the patch. The contractor shall apply security patches within 30 business days of the patch release and have a formal tracking process for any security patches not implemented to include explanation when a device cannot be patched.

f. The contractor shall provide devices able to install and maintain VA-approved antivirus capabilities with the capability to quarantine files and be updated as needed in response to incidents. Alternatively, a VA-approved whitelisting application may be used when the contractor cannot install an anti-virus / anti malware application.

g. The contractor shall verify and document all software embedded within the device does not contain any known viruses or malware before delivery to or installation at a VA location.

h. Devices and other equipment or systems containing media (hard drives, optical disks, solid state, and storage via chips/firmware) with VA sensitive information will be returned to the contractor with media removed. When the contract requires return of equipment, the options available to the contractor are the following:

(1) The contractor shall accept the system without the drive, firmware and solid state.

(2) VA’s initial device purchase includes a spare drive or other replacement media which must be installed in place of the original drive at time of turn in; or

(3) Due to the highly specialized and sometimes proprietary hardware and software associated with the device, if it is not possible for VA to retain the hard drive, firmware, and solid state, then:

(a) The equipment contractor shall have an existing BAA if the device being traded in has sensitive information stored on it and hard drive(s) from the system are being returned physically intact.

(b) Any fixed hard drive, Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS), Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), solid state and firmware on the device must be non-destructively sanitized to the greatest extent possible without negatively impacting system operation. Selective clearing down to patient data folder level is recommended using VA approved and validated overwriting technologies/methods/tools. Applicable media sanitization specifications need to be pre-approved and described in the solicitation, contract, or order.

14. DATA CENTER PROVISIONS- N/A

(End of Security/Privacy Language)

B.3 STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES (SOO)

STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES (SOO)

Nutanix Upgrade

Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center

1. Objective

1.1. The contractor shall provide all necessary equipment, labor, tools, materials, hardware, software, licenses, services, installation, user training, and supplies for the upgrade of the Nutanix (NTNX) hyperconverged virtual environment at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center (MEDVAMC) located at the 2002 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030. MEDVAMC biomedical engineering is recommending an expansion of the NTNX to include a set of GPU nodes to run clinical applications that require discreet GPU in the virtual environment. This will result in overall cost savings by allowing further virtualization of these resource intensive clinical applications and remove the necessity of buying costly dedicated servers. This will also help increase compliance with the VA virtual first policy.

MEDVAMC shall provide all power requirements, Rackspace, and network infrastructure.

1.2. MEDVAMC seeks verified contractor to complete the GPU upgrade per the SOO and material requirements in the bill of materials.

1.3. Brand name only required.

1.4. The contractor must have NTNX product line offerings must be fully networkable and offer seamless integration, to offer MEDVAMC the option of mixing and matching product lines depending on building and/or department workflow requirements.

1.5. The contractor must successfully have past performance in installing advance

NTNX.

2. Scope:

2.1. The contractor shall provide, transport, install, and test all equipment.

2.2. All equipment and installation must meet manufacturers and VA specifications.

2.3. The contractor is responsible for any missing parts and components not included in the order to carry out the installation.

2.4. All products must meet all salient characteristics defined in this section:

2.4.1. Complies with all VA security requirements.

2.4.2. The contractor must have designed and manufactured Nutanix expansion solutions within the VA.

2.4.3. The contractor must provide the following:

2.4.3.1. Plan and provide Layer 2 Virtual/Physical network requirements for Nutanix Cluster (see Pre- Requisites); this service does not include configuring customers Ethernet switches.

2.4.3.2. Rack installation and in-rack cabling.

2.4.3.3. Nutanix Cluster deployment & configuration including firmware and

Acropolis.

2.4.3.4. Hypervisor cluster deployment & configuration.

2.4.3.5. Hypervisor vSwitch configuration (up to 2 vSwitches and 5 Port

Groups/VLANs).

2.4.3.6. Prism Central deployment/integration.

2.4.3.7. Integrate vSphere cluster into an existing vCenter or deploy a standalone vCenter Server Appliance with embedded Platform Services Controller, if applicable.

2.4.3.8. Integrate Hyper-V cluster into an existing System Center – Virtual Machine Manager, if applicable.

2.4.3.9. Test & Validation of the deployment.

2.4.3.10. As-built documentation with Architectural diagrams & test results.

2.4.3.11. Knowledge Transfer up-to two hours.

2.4.4. The contractor must provide a NTNX approved solution that must be a 100% software-defined system with no dependencies on proprietary hardware.

2.4.5. Must provide a turn-key NTNX GPU expansion and work with the vendor that deployed the current NTNX Operating System.

2.4.6. The contractor must provide a resiliency factor controlled exclusively at the Cluster level AND the Container level and MUST not require a cluster rebuild to adjust.

2.4.7. The NTNX GPU expansion operating system MUST BE Hypervisor Agnostic, meaning, it must be able to run on multiple hypervisors.

2.4.8. Block, File, and Object storage MUST BE built into the operating system as a Unified Storage Capability

2.4.9. Net Promoter Score MUST be greater than 90 on average.

2.4.10. Solution MUST be able capable of having several containers each with their own Replication Factor and storage efficiency settings

2.4.11. Entire HCI stack MUST be managed by ONE Unified User Interface.

2.4.12. HCI Platform expansion MUST be able compatible with hardware that may not match current hardware, i.e., CPU, DISK.

2.4.13. The contractor must provide the following part numbers and quantities as shown in the schedule.

2.5 Deliverables:

2.5.1 Hardware

2.5.1.1 Delivery to be coordinated.

2.5.2 Software

2.5.2.1 Licenses

2.5.3 Services

2.5.3.1 Provide training required by the COR

2.5.3.2 Access to Nutanix customer portal

2.4 DELIVERY, INSTALLATION, AND IMPLEMENTATION

2.4.1 DELIVERY

2.4.1.1 The contractor shall deliver all equipment to the MEDVAMC, 2002 Holcombe Blvd. Houston, TX 77030. Minimal storage time available in warehouse.

2.4.1.2 Deliver materials to job in manufacturer's original sealed containers with brand name marked thereon.

2.4.1.3 Package to prevent damage or deterioration during shipment, handling, storage, and installation. Maintain protective covering in place and in good repair until removal is necessary.

2.4.1.4 Deliver specified items only when the site is ready for installation work to proceed.

2.4.1.5 Store products in dry condition inside enclosed facilities.

2.4.1.6 Any government requested delayed delivery up to 120 days after initial award delivery date, shall be at no additional cost to the Government.

2.4.1.7 A pre-delivery meeting will be conducted 30 days prior to initial delivery for verification of delivery and installation dates.

2.4.1.8 Delivery and Installation will be coordinated through the COR.

2.4.2 INSTALLATION AND IMPLEMENTATION

2.4.2.1 The contractor shall provide installation.

2.4.2.2 The contractor shall be responsible for all equipment until installed and accepted by the Government.

2.4.2.3 All required equipment shall be fully installed by the Contractor.

2.4.2.4 The Contractor shall remove all related shipping debris and cleanup, any construction associated with delivery and installation of the specified items.

2.4.2.5 The contractor shall remove all packaging from the MEDVAMC premises.

2.4.2.6 The Contractor shall be responsible for any damage to the building that occurs due to Contractor error or neglect.

2.4.2.7 The contractor shall coordinate all deliveries, staging areas, installations, and parking arrangements with the COR.

2.4.2.8 Upon coordination with COR for installation, the contractor shall inform the Contracting Officer of any problems which may be anticipated about installation, or which will affect optimum performance once installation is completed.

3 SITE CONDITIONS

3.1 There shall be no smoking, eating, or drinking inside the hospital at any time unless done so in designated dining areas.

4 Period of Performance (POP):

4.1 The maximum POP for overall project is 1 year after contract award.

4.2 The anticipated POP for support services from the warranty is at a minimum 1 year from acceptance. Support services begin when physical installation and final implementation of all buildings are complete.

5 INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

5.1 The Contractor shall conduct a joint inspection with the COR once all equipment had been delivered and installed. The COR shall inspect all phases of delivery and installation and provide a punch list of any and all missing or damaged products.

5.2 The contractor shall provide dates of completion of punch list items and replacement parts and/or short ship items from the manufacturer(s).

5.3 The COR shall ensure all work is completed satisfactorily prior to acceptance.

Disputes shall be resolved by the Contracting Officer.

6 DELIVERABLES

6.1 User and Service Manuals

6.1.1 The Contractor shall provide, at no charge, two (2) complete and unabridged printed copies and one (1) electronic version (CD) of operator manuals, service manuals, electronic schematics, troubleshooting guides and parts lists for each model of equipment purchased to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) with delivery of equipment. Additionally, the Contractor free of charge shall provide any upgrades to these documents. These manuals will include all components and subassemblies, including those not manufactured by the Contractor.

These manuals and documentation shall contain the diagnostic codes, commands, and passwords utilized in maintenance, repair and calibration of the equipment.

7 PROTECTION OF PROPERTY

7.1 The contractor shall protect all items from damage. The Contractor shall take precaution against damage to the building(s), grounds and furnishings. The Contractor shall repair or replace any items related to building(s) or grounds damaged accidentally or on purpose due to actions by the Contractor.

7.2 The Contractor shall perform an inspection of the building(s) and grounds with the COR prior to commencing work. To ensure that the Contractor shall be able to repair or replace any items, components, building(s) or grounds damaged due to negligence and/or actions taken by the Contractor. The source of all repairs beyond simple surface cleaning is the facility construction contractor (or appropriate subcontractor), so that building warranty is maintained. Concurrence from the VA Facilities Management POC and COR is required before the Contractor may perform any significant repair work. In all cases, repairs shall utilize materials of the same quality, size, texture, grade, and color to match adjacent existing work.

7.3 The Contractor shall be responsible for security of the areas in which the work is being performed prior to completion.

7.4 Contractor shall provide floor protection while working in all VA facilities if needed. All material handling equipment shall have rubber wheels.

8 SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

8.1 The contractor is responsible for notifying COR for escorting duties prior to arriving at the facility. Contractor personnel shall check in with Facilities management upon arrival and departure each day. All contractor personnel must provide one form of valid picture identification at the time of check-in to receive a visitor’s badge. Badges must be always worn above the waist and visible while on the jobsite. All contractor personnel will be always accompanied by a cleared member of the contractor (PIV cardholder) or MEDVAMC representative while on the jobsite. All contractor personnel must turn-in their badges at the end of each day.

8.2 Contractor is responsible for notifying COR for vehicle parking prior to arriving at the facility. All contractor personnel must provide vehicle insurance, registration, and valid driver’s license at the time of check-in to receive a vehicle-parking pass. Vehicle parking passes must be always displayed on the front dashboard of the registered vehicle while on MEDVAMC property. The contractor personnel will be allowed to register up to five (5) vehicles only. All contractor personal vehicles will be allowed to park in the designated vehicle parking spaces in the parking lot as advised by the VA Police upon registering the vehicle. All contractor personnel must turn-in their vehicle parking passes at the end of each day.

8.3 If the vendor requires a key, a $100 deposit will be required per key.

8.4 Information System Security/Privacy Language: See Below:

No data, on any type of storage device will be removed from this VA location.

Information technology security requirements: The contractor, their personnel, and their subcontractors shall be subject to the Federal laws, regulations, standards, and VA Directives and Handbooks regarding information and information system security as delineated in this contract. The contractor shall comply with all Federal laws and regulations the VA has developed when VA sensitive information is accessed, used, stored, generated, transmitted, or exchanged by and between VA and a contractor. The information made available to the contractor by VA for the performance of this contract will be used only for the purposes of performance under this contract. The certification and accreditation requirements do not apply to this requirement and a security accreditation package is not required.

SECURITY STATEMENT: Sensitive VA information is not contained within the systems covered by this contract. Biomedical Engineering shall perform virus scans on all removable media prior to use on VA medical equipment. This includes all types of removable media, including media (e.g., USB devices, CDs, dongles, etc.) that has been issued by VA, media not issued by VA, and media brought in by vendors or independent service organizations. Within accordance of VA Directive 6500, Information Security Program, September 2007.The Vendor will not transfer any VA information to a location outside the VA and only to VA locations determined by the VA System Administrator. The information in these systems may be covered by the Privacy Act 1974 which contains criminal penalties of abuse of information. During onsite service, the Vendor shall be chaperoned by VA Personnel. However, the vendor shall not be issued a UserID/Password. Non-volatile memory devices, working or non-working, shall NOT be removed from the VA facility until the ISO has certified that the data has been destroyed. For magnetic devices and media, data destruction will be by degaussing. Other forms of cleansing will be used for non-magnetic media. The vendor will not have remote access to complete the repair(s) and preventive maintenance. The vendor shall sign a Business Associate Agreement with the VA. The COR or designee is responsible for the actions of the vendor during the repair.

9 RECORDS MANAGEMENT STATEMENT

9.1 All records (administrative and program specific) created during the period of the contract belong to MEDVAMC and must be returned to MEDVAMC at the end of the contract or destroyed in accordance with the VHA Record Control Schedule

(RCS)10-1.

9.2 Citations to pertinent laws, codes and regulations such as 44 U.S.C Chapter 21 , 29, 31 and 33; Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552); Privacy Act (5 U.S.C.

552a); 36 CFR Part 1222 and Part 1228.

9.3 Contractor shall treat all deliverables under the contract as the property of the U.S. Government for which the Government Agency shall have unlimited rights to use, dispose of, or disclose such data contained therein as it determines to be in the public interest.

9.4 Contractor shall not create or maintain any records that are not specifically tied to or authorized by the contract using Government ‘IT’ equipment and/or Government records.

9.5 Contractor shall not retain, use, sell, or disseminate copies of any deliverable that contains information covered by the Privacy Act of 1974 or that which is generally protected by the Freedom of Information Act.

9.6 Contractor shall not create or maintain any records containing any Government Agency records that are not specifically tied to or authorized by the contract or identified in the RCS 10-1.

9.7 The Government Agency owns the rights to all data/records produced as part of this contract.

9.8 The Government Agency owns the rights to all electronic information (electronic data, electronic information systems, electronic databases, etc.) and all supporting documentation created as part of this contract. Contractor must deliver sufficient technical documentation with all data deliverables to permit the agency to use the data.

9.9 The contractor agrees to comply with Federal and Agency records management policies, including those policies associated with the safeguarding of records covered by the Privacy Act of 1974. These policies include the preservation of all records created or received regardless of format [paper, electronic, etc.] or mode of transmission [e-mail, fax, etc.] or state of completion [draft, final, etc.].

9.10 No disposition of documents will be allowed without the prior written consent of the Contracting Officer. The Agency and its contractors are responsible for preventing the alienation or unauthorized destruction of records, including all forms of mutilation. Willful and unlawful destruction, damage or alienation of Federal records is subject to the fines and penalties imposed by 18 U.S.C.

2701. Records may not be removed from the legal custody of the Agency or destroyed without regard to the provisions of the agency records schedules.

9.11 Contractor is required to obtain the Contracting Officer's approval prior to engaging in any contractual relationship (sub-contractor) in support of this contract requiring the disclosure of information, documentary material and/or records generated under or relating to this contract. The Contractor (and any sub-contractor) is required to abide by Government and Agency guidance for protecting sensitive and proprietary information.

(End of SOO)

B.4 PRICE/COST SCHEDULE

ITEM INFORMATION

{Completed by Offeror}

ITEM

NUMBER

DESCRIPTION OF

SUPPLIES/SERVICES QUANTITY UNIT UNIT PRICE AMOUNT

3.00 EA __________________ __________________

NX-3460-G9, 4 Node; 2x Intel Xeon-Silver 4410Y processor (2.0

GHz/ 12- core/ 150W, Sapphire Rapids) per node Nutanix - NX-

3460-G9-4410Y-CM

Contract Period: Base

POP Begin: To Be Determined (TBD)

POP End: TBD

PRINCIPAL NAICS CODE: 334112 - Computer Storage Device

Manufacturing

PRODUCT/SERVICE CODE: 7B22 - IT and Telecom - Compute:

Servers (Hardware and Perpetual License Software)

LOCAL STOCK NUMBER: NX-3460-G9- 4410Y-CM

96.00 EA __________________ __________________

64GB Memory Module (4800MHz DDR5 RDM) Nutanix – C

MEM64GB-4800-CM

POP Begin: TBD

POP End: TBD

PRINCIPAL NAICS CODE: 334112 - Computer Storage Device

Manufacturing

PRODUCT/SERVICE CODE: 7B22 - IT and Telecom - Compute:

LOCAL STOCK NUMBER: C-MEM-64GB4800-CM

3.00 EA __________________ __________________

No HDD Included. Nutanix - C-HDD-NONE-CM

POP End: TBD

PRINCIPAL NAICS CODE: 334112 - Computer Storage Device

Manufacturing

PRODUCT/SERVICE CODE: 7B22 - IT and Telecom - Compute:

Servers (Hardware and Perpetual License Software)

LOCAL STOCK NUMBER: C-HDD-NONE-CM

72.00 EA __________________ __________________

3.84 TB SSD Nutanix - C-SSD-3.84TB-B-CM

POP End: TBD

PRINCIPAL NAICS CODE: 334112 - Computer Storage Device

Manufacturing

PRODUCT/SERVICE CODE: 7B22 - IT and Telecom - Compute:

LOCAL STOCK NUMBER: C-SSD03.84TB-B-CM

12.00 EA __________________ __________________

LOM Module: SMC 10GbE, 2-port Base-T & 2-port SFP+ NIC (Intel

X710) Nutanix - C-LOM-10G2B1BT-CM

POP End: TBD

PRINCIPAL NAICS CODE: 334112 - Computer Storage Device

Manufacturing

PRODUCT/SERVICE CODE: 7B22 - IT and Telecom - Compute:

LOCAL STOCK NUMBER: C-LOM-10G2B1BT-CM

SMC 25/10GbE, 2-port, NIC(Intel E810);…