DRAFT PWS.docx

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

Ruckus Warranty Service

Department of Defense Education Activity 4800 Mark Center Drive Alexandria, VA 22350

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

FOR

Ruckus Warranty Service for Network Infrastructure

1. General Information and Scope of Work.

The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) serves the educational needs of the dependents of military and civilian employees by providing PK-12 instruction to approximately 70,000 students in seven states, twelve foreign countries, Guam, and Puerto Rico. The number of students varies based on the deployment of military troops worldwide. DoDEA's curriculum, resources, and student achievement scores on standardized assessments compare favorably to high-performing U.S. public schools.

DoDEA Information Technology Division delivers reliable, safe, high-performing, cost-effective networks and services to students, teachers, and staff. DoDEA is divided into eight districts that administer 159 brick-and-mortar schools. The 'Americas Southeast and Mid-Atlantic districts have 50 schools in seven states, Puerto Rico, and for administrative purposes, Cuba, Europe's South, East, and West districts have 64 schools in England, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, and Bahrain. The 'Pacific's West, East, and South districts have 45 schools in Korea, Japan, and, for administrative purposes, Guam. In addition, DoDEA operates a fully accredited Virtual High School with its main office in Virginia and teaching hubs in Germany and Okinawa.

1.1 Background

The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a field activity of the Office of the Secretary of Defense that operates a worldwide network of schools to educate children of military and Department of Defense personnel. DoDEA's mission is to provide exemplary educational programs that inspire and prepare students to be successful in a dynamic, global environment. To achieve this, DoDEA relies heavily on robust, secure, and reliable network infrastructure to support digital learning, communication, and administrative functions.

As DoDEA schools are located both domestically and internationally, maintaining consistent, high-quality network connectivity is essential to support online learning platforms, secure communication channels, and administrative operations. Ruckus CommScope networking solutions, including high-performance wireless access points, Ethernet switches, and network management systems, are integral to the technological infrastructure within DoDEA schools.

To ensure continuous and reliable network performance, DoDEA requires comprehensive management of Ruckus CommScope warranties and technical support. This includes registering products, monitoring warranty status, handling warranty claims, and coordinating repairs and replacements when hardware failures occur. Efficient management of these warranties and technical support ensures minimal disruption to educational activities and sustains DoDEA's mission of delivering high-quality education to students worldwide.

1.2 Scope of work:

The contractor will provide DoDEA with fundamental support, which is the basic base level support that the government receives from the vendor, combined with dedicated Operational and Technical expertise. Contractor Support deliverables are designed to assist DoDEA customers to meet their user demands, reliably and economically. This program will allow DoDEA to dedicate operations staff to concentrate on high priority tasks that drive business value while obtaining network stability and efficiency. It will leverage expert guidance to evaluate the functional readiness of the network to meet operational needs, as well as monitor and identify incidents that are reported in real time, allowing for rapid intervention and response. Furthermore, it will reduce the Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) – the time needed for problem identification, troubleshooting, and repair.

The contractors’ support will provide a Customer Success Manager (CMS) and access to a pool of Technical Support Engineers (TSE) dedicated to Support Program to deliver the expertise, understanding and experience that DoDEA needs.

The contractor shall maintain a sufficient and qualified workforce to support the Program. This workforce shall include, at a minimum, a dedicated Customer Success Manager (CSM) and a team of Technical Support Engineers (TSEs) with the expertise necessary to meet the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA)’s operational requirements.

The contractor’s personnel shall be responsible for delivering technical expertise, a deep understanding of DoDEA’s network environment, and the experience necessary to ensure continuity and high-quality support. To enhance the effectiveness of support services, the contractor shall coordinate with Ruckus to engage FED Engineers who possess institutional knowledge of DoDEA’s existing infrastructure. These FED Engineers provide critical insight and continuity, enabling more efficient issue resolution and proactive support.

The contractor shall ensure that all personnel assigned to this effort are adequately trained, certified, and capable of supporting the full scope of work.

2. Requirements (Objectives)

2.1 Objectives

This Performance Work Statement (PWS) outlines the requirements for acquiring and managing a comprehensive support program that includes 24x7 technical assistance, electronic support, online learning resources, software updates and upgrades, hardware replacement, and service automation.

The contractor shall ensure all services are fully compatible with the existing infrastructure of DoDEA.

This Performance Work Statement defines the requirements for acquiring and managing a technical support program that delivers 24x7 assistance, electronic support, online training resources, software updates and upgrades, hardware replacement, and service automation. The contractor is responsible for ensuring that all services are fully compatible with the existing infrastructure of the Department of Defense Education Activity. To maintain operational readiness, the contractor shall adhere to the following service level response and resolution times.

· Critical Priority: Response within 1 hour, resolution within 4 hours

· High Priority: Response within 4 hours, resolution within 1 business day

· Medium Priority: Response within 1 business day, resolution within 4 business days

· Low Priority: Response within 2 business days, resolution within 5 business days The contractor shall provide 24/7 support with an established escalation process and ensure access to an Account Manager capable of facilitating urgent issue resolution. The contractor is expected to maintain sufficient staffing and technical resources to meet these service levels across all DoDEA sites.

It is acknowledged that certain geographically remote or restricted locations—such as Cuba, Bahrain, and Turkey may present challenges in meeting 24/7 or sub-24-hour service level agreements (SLAs). In such cases, the contractor shall proactively communicate limitations and propose alternative support strategies to minimize operational impact.

Failure to meet the defined response and resolution times may result in performance deductions, subject to DoDEA’s evaluation of the severity and frequency of non-compliance. Consideration will be given to the availability of escalation paths and the contractor’s demonstrated efforts to resolve issues in a timely and effective manner.

Remote Support will be provided for the following existing equipment:

· Ruckus ICX 7150 switch series (407)

· Ruckus ICX 7450 switch series (175)

· Ruckus ICX 7750 switch series (10)

Next Business Day Parts Support will be provided for the following existing equipment

· Ruckus ICX 7750 series network switches (4115)

2.2 Requirements

2.2.1 Compatibility and Support

The Contractor shall offer services that consist of a series of formal, structured deliverables that provide insight into the health and operations of a network. The contractor shall facilitate access to technical support, including:

· Assisting with Ruckus support contract management to ensure continuous coverage.

· Coordinating with Ruckus for hardware replacements, including advanced replacements for mission-critical equipment.

2.2.2 Warranty Management

The contractor shall manage warranty registration and tracking for all Ruckus CommScope products, ensuring that coverage periods are accurately recorded. This includes:

· Registering products immediately after purchase.

· Tracking warranty expirations and initiating renewals when needed.

· Ensuring products are covered by appropriate warranty types as outlined by Ruckus (e.g., Limited Lifetime Hardware Warranty, One-Year Limited Warranty, 90-Day Software Warranty).

2.2.3 Technical Support and Maintenance

The contractor shall facilitate access to technical support, including:

· Assisting with Ruckus support contract management to ensure continuous coverage.

· Coordinating with Ruckus for hardware replacements, including advanced replacements for mission-critical equipment.

2.2.4 Performance Standards

The Contractor shall provide Return to Factory (RTF), Next Business Day (NBD) and 4-Hr Replacement (4HR) support.

The Contractor shall provide Return to Factory (RTF), Next Business Day (NBD), and 4-Hour Replacement (4HR) support services for covered equipment. These services are essential, as the devices requiring maintenance are critical Layer 3 network components, and their failure may result in site-wide outages.

Due to the critical nature of these devices, 4-Hour Replacement support is preferred wherever feasible. However, it is acknowledged that 4HR support may not be available in certain geographically remote or restricted locations, including Cuba, Bahrain, and Turkey. In such cases, the Contractor shall notify DoDEA in advance and propose alternative support measures to minimize downtime and maintain operational continuity.

· All returns must be authorized and assigned Return Materials Authorization (RMA) numbers in advance by a Ruckus Technical Support Engineer.

· Advance replacement units will be shipped within one (1) business day Monday through Friday via overnight shipment.

3 Government- Furnished Resources.

DoDEA will provide access to relevant Ruckus product documentation, purchase records, and existing support contracts to facilitate the management of warranty services.

DoDEA will provide the Contractor with access to relevant Ruckus product documentation, such as (inventory asset records of devices currently active on the network), purchase records, and existing support contracts. This documentation will support the effective management of warranty services and ensure accurate identification and tracking of covered equipment.

4 Contract Deliverables.

The contractor shall submit a bi-monthly status report detailing warranty registration updates, claim status, and any issues encountered. Additionally, a final summary report will be required at the end of the contract period.

The contractor shall participate in the Quarterly Ruckus Strategic Business Review (SBR) meetings, during which a status report will be submitted detailing warranty registration updates, the status of submitted claims, the number of support tickets initiated, and any issues encountered. The report shall also include vendor recommendations on applicable software or firmware updates to maintain optimal system performance.

In lieu of bi-monthly reporting, these quarterly reviews will serve as the primary mechanism for performance tracking and issue resolution. Additionally, the contractor shall provide a final summary report at the conclusion of the contract period. To support transition planning and contract closeout, the contractor shall issue a 30- to 45-day countdown notification prior to the contract end date, summarizing remaining open items and any final recommendations.

5 Constraints.

All warranty management activities must comply with Ruckus CommScope policies and DoDEA regulations. Any deviation from warranty terms must be documented and justified.

All warranty management activities must comply with Ruckus CommScope policies and applicable Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) regulations. This includes adherence to Department of Defense (DoD) Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs) and requirements for the Approved Products List Integrated Tracking System (APLITS). Devices need to be on the APLITS in order to get connected.

These standards are mandatory for ensuring that all hardware devices are authorized for use on the DoD enterprise network.

Any deviation from standard warranty terms must be fully documented and justified, with supporting rationale provided to DoDEA for review and approval.