DTL Brand Name JA - Redacted.pdf

DTL Traffic Generator

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JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

UNDER FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) SUBPART 16.5

ACQUISITIONS BRAND-NAME

Multiple Award Schedule/Multiple Award Contract (MAC)

Orders under MAC/Fair Opportunity, FAR 16.505

Purchase Request Number:

HC10902500204698

Contract Number: TBD Task/Delivery Order Number: TBD Procurement Title: Defense Telephone Link (DTL) Traffic Generator Estimated Value:

Statutory and Regulatory Authority: 10 U.S.C. 3406(c)(5) and FAR 16.505(a)(4)

BRAND-NAME JUSTIFICATION Number: N/A

Upon the basis of the following justification, I, as Contracting Officer, hereby approve this brand-name justification for the proposed contractual action pursuant to the authority of FAR 16.505(a)(4) as the particular brand-name, product, or feature is essential to the Government’s requirements; and market research indicates other companies’ similar products, or products lacking the particular feature, do not meet, or cannot be modified to meet, the agency’s needs.

1. REQUIRING AGENCY AND CONTRACTING ACTIVITY:

Requiring Agency:

Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)/Senior National Leadership Communications

(SNLC)/IE8

6910 Cooper Avenue Fort Meade, Maryland 20755

Contracting Activity:

DISA/Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DITCO)/PS8322 2300 East Drive, Building 3600 Scott Air Force Base, Illinois 62225

2. NATURE/DESCRIPTION OF ACTION(S): The purpose of this action is to procure brand-name, commercial off-the-shelf, Trade Agreements Act (TAA) Compliant Keysight (formerly IXIA) Traffic Generator for the DTL Program. This procurement will be awarded as a firm-fixed-price (FFP) delivery order to an authorized reseller of Keysight/IXIA, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), utilizing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise-wide Procurement (SEWP) contract. The estimated delivery date is 30 days after receipt of order. Fiscal year 2025 Operation and Maintenance funds will be provided via Military Interdepartmental Purchase Request. The

Page 1 of 5 Pages Controlled By: DISA Controlled By: SNLC/IE8 CUI Category: PROCURE Distribution/Dissemination Control: FEDCON POC: Linnie McClellan, linnie.j.mcclellan.civ@mail.mil

Template updated March 2024

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applicable North American Industry Classification System code is 541519, Other Computer Related Services (Information Technology (IT) Value Added Resellers), with a size standard of 150 employees. The total estimated price for the proposed acquisition is .

3. DESCRIPTION OF THE SUPPLIES OR SERVICES: DISA/IE8 requires the acquisition of brand-name Keysight Traffic Generator for compatibility with the current infrastructure.

This requirement for brand-name servers within the DTL Program is to maintain the highest levels of security and operational readiness for this critical national security infrastructure by leveraging brand-name servers' and workstations' pre-existing security certifications and compatibility with our existing security protocols, which significantly reduces the time and cost associated with obtaining and maintaining Authority to Operate (ATO), while ensuring seamless integration with the current DTL environment, minimizing the risk of introducing new security vulnerabilities or management complexities.

4. SUPPORTING RATIONALE FOR BRAND-NAME JUSTIFICATION: The DTL Program is of critical importance to National Security, and the ability to provide and maintain a stable, robust, and secure, global communications system that reaches the U.S. Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) and/or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the primary objective of the DTL Program. The Transport Services Directorate (IE) Communications Engineering Division (IE5) and specifically, the Developmental Lab Operations Division, has requested network test equipment that will ensure the infrastructure continues to operate optimally under heavy loads that test network performance and device behavior. The Keysight hardware, specifically traffic generation products, is the industry-leading hardware for performing the full range of required testing in the multi-user environment of the DTL Program. Keysight features per-port ownership to facilitate simultaneous testing of several environments and a low-profile/high-density installation that fits within the existing test rack (the 2-slot tabletop model). It also offers field replaceable components and simplified management and operations through the IxOS operating system; features that are considered crucial to DTL global operations. Utilizing the Keysight traffic generator and associated capabilities within the DTL program minimizes costs and maximizes efficiency as it greatly reduces the time required to train new users, reduces the time to test the environment under load, and reduces the time for to analyze the test results. This leads to significant savings in both time and resources and ensures the Developmental Lab Operations Division has the equipment that uniquely meets its requirements for the rich feature set necessary to validate the stability and resiliency of the DTL enclave under varying load and operational conditions.

5. COST/PRICE FAIR AND REASONABLE DETERMINATION: Quotes will be solicited from NASA SEWP-authorized resellers of the required hardware through fair opportunity.

Prices have been established within the basic NASA SEWP indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts. All prices set forth in the NASA SEWP contracts and used on individual orders were based on full and open competition, and a price analysis was accomplished.

Proposed delivery order prices will be compared with the basic contract prices and verified as fair and reasonable. The contracting officer will make a determination of a fair and reasonable price, based on the comparison of solicited quotes received, negotiated prices for similar hardware, SEWP price lists, and the independent Government cost estimate. In addition, a determination will be made that the order represents the best value to the Government and results in the lowest overall price. Although NASA SEWP has already

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determined the SEWP contract prices to be fair and reasonable, the contracting officer will seek additional discounts prior to placing an order.

6. MARKET RESEARCH:

a. DISA IE8 conducted market research in May 2025 to determine product availability and potential sources. The Government gathered information from a variety of sources, to include internet searches, reviewing manufacturers’ technical publications, exchanges with knowledgeable individuals in industry/Government (to include the OEM and authorized resellers), publication of a market research request, conducting internal discussions, and reviewing existing DISA-wide contract vehicles and other Government-wide acquisition contracts.

b. NASA SEWP MRR #350939 was posted from July 10, 2025 to July 15, 2025 and received seven (7) market research responses from 6 small businesses and one large business. Only five of these vendors were verified as a Cisco authorized reseller. The market research conducted on SEWP V was issued to Groups: B-SDVOSB, B- HUBZone, C, and D as unrestricted for all contract holders (small and large businesses).

Using GSA Advantage, the search tool returned results for Keysight (formerly IXIA) Traffic Generator, TAA Compliant, XGS2-HSL chassis bundles (942-0102-T) from multiple sources. As a result of the market research conducted via NASA SEWP, there is a reasonable expectation that two or more small businesses will submit quotes if the procurement is set aside for small businesses on NASA SEWP. It is recommended that this procurement be set-aside for small business authorized resellers on NASA SEWP for groups B, C, and D.

7. ANY OTHER SUPPORTING FACTS: N/A

8. ACTIONS THE AGENCY MAY TAKE TO OVERCOME BARRIERS THAT LED TO

THE UTILIZATION OF A BRAND-NAME PRODUCT: It has been determined that only the aforementioned brand-name product provided by Dell, can fully meet the Government’s need. This requirement is for proprietary products and/or product support and no competitor functional replacement products exist in the market at this time to meet the Government's need. The Government will continue to conduct market research to determine if there are changes in the marketplace that would enable future competitive actions; i.e., there are similar products and/or product support in the marketplace that provides the same functionality, the original equipment manufacturer releases ownership rights of the product, or it is economically feasible to procure a new system.