DELL R450 Servers Name Brand Justification_Redacted.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE

OKLAHOMA CITY AIR LOGISTICS COMPLEX (AFMC)

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, OKLAHOMA

7 May 2024

MEMORANDUM FOR AFSC/PZIM Contracting Officer

FROM: OC-ALC OBCA

SUBJECT: Brand Name Justification for S24-039 Dell R450 Servers

1. 76 SWEG/555 SWES/MXDPA requests the purchase of two (2) DELL R450 Servers to support its Universal Regional NAVAID Monitoring System (URNMS) is the modernization of how maintainers and operators at different Air bases communicate with Instrumentation Landing Systems (ILSs) at those bases. A major part of the modernization effort upgrades the current computers that run the RCSU application (an application used to remotely monitor and maintain a set of ILSs at one Air base) to a newer server that can host multiple applications and services needed to operate and maintain the new URNMS system at that base. The URNMS program will be replacing RCSUs at over 100 different Air Bases in CONUS and OCONUS, therefore it is crucial that a consistent baseline is maintained.

2. Several different brand products have been researched or tested as potential replacements for the RCSU. It was determined that the Dell R450 servers were the most effective product to use in the URNMS baseline due to the following reasons:

a. How they are managed using iDRAC

b. The form factor and hardware capacity of the PowerEdge R400 and R300 series servers and their low power consumption.

c. URNMS Team’s familiarity with Dell products.

3. Any deviation from the established baseline will require the URNMS teams to delay installs by a minimum of 6 months to allow adequate time to test the change and evaluate how it will affect all other systems, applications, and services that interface with that hardware. Doing so adds an estimated cost of around in man hours to test, evaluate, and integrate the new system with the URNMS baseline. Some of the tasks involved in this process are:

a. Evaluating STIG requirements for the new hardware

b. Test connectivity with existing hardware

c. Modify existing processes to manage/update applications and firmware

d. Learn and implement new remote management features for new hardware

e. Update URNMS internal documentation

f. Update O&M manual

g. Update ATO with newly added hardware

h. Evaluate power consumption and physical space required by new hardware”

4. Dell Servers are needed due to the configuration requirements with the URNMS. The capabilities of the Dell R450 Servers will allow a seamless integration required to run URNMS applications with minimal downtime for the warfighter.

5. 76 SWEG/555 SWES/MXDPA request to purchase the brand name Dell R450 Servers for Universal Remote Control and Status System (URCSS) should be procured to meet all the requirements of the program office and subsequently the warfighters.

6. Market research was conducted to find potential vendors that could provide DELL R450 Servers. The following websites and data bases were used, using the North American Industry Classification System Codes 336413. FSC code 7B22 IT and Telecom – Compute: Servers.

DoD ESI Hardware Agreements refers user to the CCS-3 (See screenshot below). CCS-3 does not list any servers in the catalog (see Table of Contents below). A request for sources was issued to 179 Vendors on 2GIT via GSA eBuy out of the 179 vendors only three vendors responded with quotes and TAA statements. The Three Vendor are also Dell Federal Authorized resellers/dealers.

7. Point of contact for this memorandum is

8. I have determined, in accordance with FAR 13, that the circumstances of this contract action deem a specific brand name to be required.

OC-ALC OBCA

Contracting Officer Program Management Specialist