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RFP No. 6-B162-P-00066-00
Enclosure No. 4 Evaluation Criteria January 8, 2026
The Offeror MUST provide a detailed response to each of the evaluation criteria in the order prescribed below:
Introduction This document describes the Evaluation Criteria for the provider’s Proposal as it relates to the Statement of Work (SOW) for ALCF 400G Fabric, dated September 23, 2025.
Argonne will award the contract based on the principles of Best Value. Best Value is expected to result from selecting the highest rated Technical Proposal with the lowest proposed cost.
II. Overall Relative Importance of Proposal Parts The Technical Proposal is of greater importance to the Cost/Price and Business/Management Proposal. While the Cost/Price may not be the controlling factor for award, it will be a significant part of the Laboratory's selection decision. The Laboratory shall make selection for award based on the principles of best value. Best Value means the expected outcome of an acquisition that, in the Laboratory’s estimation, provides the greatest overall benefit in response to this requirement.
The Technical Proposal will receive an adjective rating of Outstanding, Good, Acceptable, Marginal, or Unacceptable in accordance with the technical criteria described below.
The Cost/Price will not be adjectivally rated. The Cost/Price Proposal will be judged on realistic cost/prices and the evaluated probable cost to the Laboratory, all factors considered. The Laboratory may include in the evaluation information acquired from Government and/or commercially available sources
III. Evaluation Criteria
1. Preliminary Evaluation
The Contractor Responsibility Determination criteria will be reviewed by the Laboratory to conduct a general business review of the Offeror’s proposal and make a determination based on a pass/fail decision.
1. Final Evaluation
If proposal passes the Contractor Responsibility Determination (to be submitted within the Business/Management Proposal), it will be further evaluated in two (2) areas: 1) Technical Criteria and 2) Price Criteria, as outlined below.
IV. Proposal Parts
The proposal shall be submitted in three (3) parts: Part I – Technical Proposal, Part II – Business/Management Proposal, and Part III – Price Proposal. Each of the parts shall be separate and complete in itself such that evaluation of one may be accomplished independently of and concurrently with evaluation of the other.
Part I shall consist of the Technical Criteria. Part II shall consist of the Business/Management or “Contractor Responsibility Determination” criteria. Part III shall consist of the Price Criteria.
V. Technical Criteria
The technical proposal shall contain responses for all of the requirements referenced within the Statement of Work (SOW). This should be written in the form of an integrated narrative within the SOW and/or include a point-by-point response to the requirements and options contained in the RFP. The responses should provide the technical details of how the Offeror will meet the proposed requirements and not provide simple "Offer complies" with no details unless appropriate to the requirement. Items that will be evaluated and therefore require a response include the following, listed in order of importance:
1. Overall Technical Requirements (to include hardware, software, and licensing) Maintenance and Support Cybersecurity Requirements Installation Services
The technical proposal shall contain responses for the following criteria provided that the proposal meets the minimum mandatory described in the Statement of Work (SOW):
| 3.1 |
| Overall Technical Requirements |
| Required |
| 3.1 |
| Product supports or Roadmap commits to 800 Gigabit Ethernet (IEEE 802.3df) Forward-Compatibility and Extensibility |
| Required |
| 3.1 |
| Product includes 800 Gigabit Ethernet at time of offer |
| Desired |
| 3.1 |
| Product supports or Roadmap commits to 1.6 Terabit Ethernet (IEEE 802.3dj) Forward-Compatibility and Extensibility |
| Required |
| 3.1 |
| Product includes 1.6 Terabit Ethernet at time of offer |
| Desired |
| 3.1 |
| Product supports or Roadmap commits to Ultra Ethernet Specification v1.0.1 Forward-Compatibility and Extensibility |
| Required |
| 3.1 |
| Product includes Ultra Ethernet v1.0.1 functionality at time of offer |
| Desired |
| 3.1 |
| Product supports 100 Gigabit Ethernet backward-compatibility |
| Required |
| 3.1 |
| Product supports 802.3ad and 802.1ax-2020 Link Aggregation |
| Required |
| 3.1 |
| Product supports NVMe over Fabrics Revision 1.1a |
| Required |
| 3.1 |
| Product supports RoCEv2 |
| Required |
| 3.1 |
| Product supports GPU to Fabric Technologies |
| Required |
| 3.1 |
| Product supports Data Center Bridging: Priority-based Flow Control |
| Required |
| 3.1 |
| Product supports Data Center Bridging: Enhanced Transmission Selection |
| Required |
| 3.1 |
| Product supports Data Center Bridging: Congestion Notification |
| Required |
| 3.1 |
| Product supports Data Center Bridging: LLDP with DCBX |
| Required |
| 3.1 |
| Product supports Multi-Chassis Link Aggregation |
| Required |
| 3.1.1 |
| Fabric Design Requirements |
| Required |
| 3.1.1 |
| Product is currently-shipping, General Availability hardware and software |
| Required |
| 3.1.1 |
| Fabric is non-blocking |
| Required |
| 3.1.1 |
| Fabric self-discovery process is described |
| Required |
| 3.1.1 |
| Fabric self-healing process is described |
| Required |
| 3.1.1 |
| Fabric component redundancy is described |
| Required |
| 3.1.1 |
| Fabric identification and aggregation of parallel links is described |
| Required |
| 3.1.1 |
| Fabric must not require software dev for Move/Add/Change/Delete order processing |
| Required |
| 3.1.1 |
| If external management hardware is required, hardware has been described and included in Hardware quote |
| Required |
| 3.1.1 |
| If external management software is required, software has been described and included in Software quote |
| Required |
| 3.1.1 |
| If external management is required, on-site training and education has been described and included in Training quote |
| Required |
| 3.1.1 |
| Fabric control plane is self-hosted within fabric devices and requires no external hardware or software |
| Desired |
| 3.1.1 |
| If fabric has ongoing license requirements, all licenses for 8192 Edge Ports are included |
| Required |
| 3.1.1 |
| If fabric has ongoing license requirements, all licenses are perpetual |
| Required |
| 3.1.1 |
| If fabric has ongoing license requirements, all license costs are itemized in the quote |
| Required |
| 3.1.1 |
| Fabric has no ongoing license maintenance requirements |
| Desired |
| 3.1.2 |
| Fabric Configuration Requirements |
| Required |
| 3.1.2 |
| All configuration is line-oriented human-readable plaintext |
| Required |
| 3.1.2 |
| All configuration may be copied directly into the control plane |
| Required |
| 3.1.2 |
| Fabric devices provide an RS-232 and TIA-232-F (R2012) compliant local console |
| Required |
| 3.1.2 |
| Fabric devices provide an SSH V2 (RFC 4251) compliant remote console |
| Required |
| 3.1.2 |
| Fabric configuration may be retrieved using either local or remote consoles |
| Required |
| 3.1.2 |
| Fabric configuration may be imported using either local or remote consoles |
| Required |
| 3.1.2 |
| Fabric configuration may be exported using OpenSSH Secure File Copy (scp) |
| Required |
| 3.1.2 |
| Automatic configuration backup is provided |
| Desired |
| 3.1.3 |
| Port Requirements |
| Required |
| 3.1.3 |
| System uses modular backplanes to minimize cabling requirements |
| Desired |
| 3.1.3 |
| System uses largest available modular components with maximum open expansion slots |
| Desired |
| 3.1.3 |
| System uses 2 or more fully redundant modular units |
| Desired |
| 3.1.3.3 |
| Fabric must be capable of growing to a minimum of 8192 non-blocking Edge Ports |
| Required |
| 3.1.3.3 |
| Fabric is capable of growing beyond 8192 non-blocking Edge Ports |
| Desired |
| 3.1.3.3 |
| System, if modular chassis, will be delivered with sufficient room to grow to 8192 Edge Ports |
| Required |
| 3.1.3.3 |
| System, if not modular chassis, is described with itemized details of all components required for each growth increment |
| Required |
| 3.1.3.3 |
| Offeror described fabric growth mechanism |
| Required |
| 3.1.3.3 |
| Offeror described minimum Edge Port growth increment |
| Required |
| 3.1.3.3 |
| Offeror described minimum Fabric Port growth increment |
| Required |
| 3.1.3.4 |
| System uses QSFP-DD MSA ports |
| Desired |
| 3.1.3.4 |
| System provides Edge Port termination with duplex Type LC IEC 61754-20 PC OS2 Single-Mode Fiber |
| Required |
| 3.1.3.4 |
| If MPO optical transceivers are the only option, all ancillary hardware included in quote to expose Type LC Edge Ports |
| Required |
| 3.1.3.4 |
| Edge Ports must support installation of 100G Lambda MSA 400GBASE-FR4 Transceivers |
| Required |
| 3.1.3.4 |
| Edge Ports must support installation of CWDM4 MSA 100GBASE-CWDM4 Transceivers |
| Required |
| 3.1.3.4 |
| Fabric must support any generally available MSA-compliant transceivers from any manufacturer |
| Required |
| 3.1.3.5.1 |
| Fabric supports 4096 simultaneous Link Aggregation Groups |
| Required |
| 3.1.3.5.1 |
| Fabric supports 8192 or more simultaneous Link Aggregation Groups |
| Desired |
| 3.1.3.5.1 |
| Fabric supports 16 Edge Ports in a single Link Aggregation Group |
| Required |
| 3.1.3.5.1 |
| Fabric supports 64 or more Edge Ports in a single Link Aggregation Group |
| Desired |
| 3.1.3.5.2 |
| Fabric must be fully functional with no software requirements on edge systems |
| Required |
| 3.1.3.5.2 |
| Fabric must be fully functional with no hardware requirements beyond a standard IEEE 400G Eth PHY, on edge systems |
| Required |
| 3.1.3.5.3 |
| Product must seamlessly support low-latency and high-latency devices on the same fabric |
| Required |
| 3.1.3.5.3 |
| Fabric provides a maximum longest-path Edge to Edge latency of less than 32 microseconds |
| Required |
| 3.1.3.5.3 |
| Fabric provides a maximum longest-path Edge to Edge latency of less than 16 microseconds |
| Desired |
| 3.1.3.5.3 |
| Fabric has ports with a minimum of 32GB of packet buffer available |
| Required |
| 3.1.3.5.3 |
| Preference for larger buffers available on a single switch ASIC |
| Desired |
| 3.1.3.5.3 |
| If the fabric contains a mixture of shallow and deep buffer hardware, Offeror has explained how to differentiate |
| Required |
| 3.1.3.5.3 |
| If the fabric contains a mixture of low-latency and high-latency hardware, Offeror has explained how to differentiate |
| Required |
| 3.1.3.5.3 |
| Systems has no constraints on latency or buffer depth that require differentiation in configuration |
| Desired |
| 3.1.3.6 |
| Offeror has described the fabric port interconnect |
| Required |
| 3.1.4 |
| Fabric Monitoring Requirements |
| Required |
| 3.1.4 |
| Port counters are available via SNMP |
| Required |
| 3.1.4 |
| Environmental Status available via SNMP |
| Required |
| 3.1.4 |
| Offeror has described any counters unsupported using SNMP |
| Required |
| 3.1.4 |
| Offeror has included advanced monitoring software with all licenses and subscriptions |
| Desired |
| 3.1.4 |
| Offeror has demonstrated monitoring software with automated Root Cause Analysis of outages |
| Desired |
| 3.1.5 |
| Fabric Cabling Requirements |
| Required |
| 3.1.5 |
| Offeror agrees to label all cables and receive ALCF approval of all labeling prior to delivery |
| Required |
| 3.1.5 |
| Install personnel trained and certified in standardized cabling techniques |
| Desired |
| 3.2 |
| Installation |
| Required |
| 3.2 |
| Offeror provides on-premise installation of fabric in pre-existing cabinet |
| Required |
| 3.3 |
| Maintenance and Support |
| Required |
| 3.3 |
| Five years of maintenance and support quoted from date of acceptance as described in SOW |
| Required |
| 3.3 |
| Product lifecycle timeline is provided and support capabilities will continue for minimum of 10 years from date of acceptance |
| Required |
| 3.3 |
| Product lifecycle timeline is provided and support capabilities will continue for 15 years from date of acceptance |
| Desired |
| 3.3 |
| For any non-redundant FRU, Offeror has included a minimum of 2 spares to be kept on-site for the life of the fabric |
| Required |
| 3.3 |
| Support offering includes 24-hour Support Engineer availability |
| Required |
| 3.3 |
| Support offering includes next-business-day advance hardware replacement |
| Required |
| 3.3 |
| Support offering bypasses first-level triage and directly accesses knowledgeable engineers |
| Desired |
| 3.3 |
| Support offering has a first-response SLA of 1 hour or less from ticket creation |
| Desired |
| 3.3 |
| Support offering ships next-business-day advance hardware replacements in 24 hours or less from ticket creation |
| Desired |
| 3.3 |
| Documented ticket creation and escalation process |
| Required |
| 3.3 |
| Documented ticket process flow |
| Required |
| 3.3 |
| Offeror permits all hardware and software maintenance to be performed by the customer |
| Required |
| 6.0 |
| Cybersecurity Requirements |
| Required |
| 6.0 |
| Offeror has described the process for identifying and remediating security vulnerabilities |
| Required |
| 6.0 |
| Offeror has described practices sufficient to meet compliance with applicable CISA Binding Operational Directives |
| Required |
| 6.0 |
| Proposal meets all Cybersecurity requirements as identified in section 6.0 of the Statement of Work |
| Required |
VI. Business/Management Proposal
A. Financial Condition and Capability
The Offeror’s financial condition and adequacy of working capital will be evaluated to determine if adequate resources are available and committed to allow for successful performance. Contractor shall provide their most recently completed quarterly or yearly financial statements, inclusive of notes to the consolidated financial statements, in addition to any other supporting documentation that demonstrates the financial health or viability of Offeror’s organization. Financial statements should contain prior period(s) information. Audited Financial Statements are preferred, but not required. Unaudited financial statements may result in additional inquiry and/or required supporting evidence. Preference will be given to Offerors that demonstrate minimal financial risk in ability to successfully execute the agreement.
B. Acceptance Period of Proposal
Offeror shall provide a statement that the proposal will remain valid for acceptance for a minimum period of one hundred and twenty (120) days after the closing date set for receipt of proposals.
C. Authorized Representatives
Offeror shall provide the names, titles, email address, and telephone numbers of the person(s) authorized to negotiate on behalf of the Offeror with the Laboratory.
D. Pre-Award Information
Include a fully completed and signed “ANL-70B Representations and Certifications” with your proposal. A copy of the required Representations and Certifications is included as Enclosure No. 5 to this RFP. In addition, the Offeror is encouraged to register in the System for Award Management (https://www.sam.gov/) prior to submitting a proposal.
E. Exceptions and Deviations
Offeror shall provide comments describing whether or not they accept proposed agreement, its schedule articles, statement of work and general/specific terms and conditions. The exceptions, deviations, or conditional assumptions taken must contain sufficient amplification and justification to permit evaluation(s). Such exceptions, deviations or conditional assumptions will not of themselves automatically cause a proposal to be deemed unacceptable to the Laboratory. However, a large number of exceptions or one or more significant exceptions not providing benefit to the Laboratory may result in rejection of your proposal(s) as unacceptable.
VII. Price Criteria
The Offeror is expected to complete Enclosure No. 3 – Pricing Proposal Form of the Request for Proposal.
The cost proposal will be evaluated on the most advantageous probable cost to the Laboratory.
The computed total prices will be weighed against the apparent advantages of individual technical proposals to determine if technically superior proposals warrant payment of any additional cost/price.
VIII. Basis for Award
The Laboratory intends to award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible Offeror whose proposal conforms to this RFP and represents the best value after evaluation in accordance with the evaluation criteria in the solicitation.
Department of Energy Office of Science