FAR Part 16 JEFO Network Appliances _Redacted.pdf

CUI//SP-PROCURE//FEDCON

Control No.: Dugway Proving Ground 2025-7

Small Business Professional:

Date: See digital signature

Legal Counsel:

Director, MICC-DPG

Assistant Director, Small Business Program:

MICC Office of Counsel:

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION

TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY UNDER FAR PART 16.

1. Contracting Activity: Mission & Installation Contracting Command – Dugway Proving Ground (MICC-DPG)

2. Description of Action: U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC), West Desert Test Center (WDTC), Data Sciences Division (DSD), Dugway Proving Ground (DPG) requests a firm-fixed-price delivery order via Army CHESS. The Government projects award for September 2025 and fiscal year 2025, funds will be used.

☒ An acquisition plan is not required because this procurement does not meet the threshold at Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 207.103(d)(i)(B).

3. Description of Supplies/Services: This network equipment purchase is to enable a Life Cycle Replacement (LCR) of Cisco network appliances critical to the operation of the DPG Test Network. This includes switches and firewalls required to maintain the Test Network's data backbone, while also supporting the Open Architecture Data Management System (OADMS) used for field and lab testing of DPG's range workload.

Manufacturer Part # Description QTY

Cisco C9300L-48UXG-4X-A Catalyst 9300L 48p, 12mGig, Network Adv 31

Cisco C9300L-DNA-A-48 C9300L Cisco DNA Advantage 48-port license 31

Cisco C9300L-DNA-A-48-3Y C9300L Cisco DNA Advantage, 48-port (Covered by DoD GEMSS contract)

Cisco TE-EMBEDDED-T Cisco ThousandEyes Enterprise Agent IBN Embedded

Cisco TE-EMBEDDED-T-3Y ThousandEyes - Enterprise Agents 31

Cisco D-DNAS-EXT-S-T Cisco DNA Spaces Extend Term License for Catalyst Switches

Cisco D-DNAS-EXT-S-3Y Cisco DNA Spaces Extend for Catalyst Switching - 3Year 31

Cisco S9300LUK9-1712 CAT9300/9400/9500/9600

UNIVERSAL 31

Cisco C9300L-NW-A-48 C9300L Network Advantage 48-port license 31

Cisco C9300L-STACK-BLANK Catalyst 9300L Blank Stack Module 62

Cisco TE-C9K-SW TE agent for IOSXE on C9K 31

Cisco FAN-T2 Cisco Type 2 Fan Module 93

Cisco PWR-C1-1100WAC-P 1100W AC 80+ platinum Config 1 Power Supply 31

Cisco CAB-TA-NA North America AC Type A Power Cable 62

Cisco C9300L-SSD-NONE No SSD Card Selected 31

Cisco C9K-ACC-RBFT RUBBER FEET FOR TABLE TOP SETUP 9200 and 9300 31

Cisco C9K-ACC-SCR-4 12-24 and 10-32 SCREWS

FOR RACK INSTALLATION

QTY 4

Cisco CAB-GUIDE-1RU 1RU CABLE MANAGEMENT GUIDES 9200 and 9300 31

Cisco NETWORK-PNP-LIC Network Plug-n-Play License for zero-touch device deployment

Cisco PWR-C1-1100WAC-P/2 1100W AC 80+ platinum Config 1 Secondary 31

Cisco C9200CX-8UXG-2X-A Catalyst 9000 Compact Switch 8 port UPoE 27

Cisco C9200CX-DNA-A-8 C9200CX Cisco DNA Advantage 8-Port Term Licenses

Cisco C9200CX-DNAA8-3Y

C9200CX Cisco DNA Advantage, 3Y Term Lic (Covered by DoD GEMSS contract)

Cisco C9200CX-NW-A-8 C9200CX Network Advantage 8-port license 27

Cisco CAB-TA-NA North America AC Type A Power Cable 27

Cisco SCAT9200CXUK9-1712 Cisco Catalyst 9200CX XE

17.12 UNIVERSAL 27

Cisco NETWORK-PNP-LIC Network Plug-n-Play License for zero-touch device deployment

Cisco FPR3100-FTD-HA-BUN Cisco Secure Firewall 3K Threat Defense Chss,Subs HA Bundle

Cisco FPR3105-NGFW-K9 Cisco Secure Firewall 3105 NGFW Applianc 2

Cisco FPR3K-PWR-AC-400 Cisco Secure Firewall 3K Series 400W AC 2

Cisco FPR3K-PWR-AC-400 Cisco Secure Firewall 3K Series 400W AC 2

Cisco CAB-AC AC Power Cord (North America) C13 NEMA 5-15P 2.1m

Cisco SF-F3K-TD7.3.1-K9 Cisco Secure Firewall TD

7.3.1 SW for 3105 series

appliances

Cisco FPR3K-SSD900 Cisco Secure Firewall 3K Series 900GB 2

Cisco FPR3K-SLIDE-RAILS Cisco Secure Firewall 3100 Slide Rail Kit 2

Cisco FPR3105-BSE Cisco Secure Firewall 3105 Base Lic 2

Cisco FPR3K-FAN Cisco Secure Firewall 3K Series Fan Tray 4

Cisco FPR3K-NM-BLANK Firepower 3100 Series Network Module Blank Slot Cover

Cisco FPR3K-PSU-BLANK Firepower 3100 Series Chassis Power Supply Blank Slot Cover

Cisco CAB-CONS-RJ45-DB9 Console Cable 6ft with RJ45 and DB9F 2

Cisco L-FPR3105T-TM= Cisco Secure Firewall 3105 Threat Defence and AMP License

Cisco L-FPR3105T-TM-1Y Cisco Secure Firewall 3105 Threat Defenc 2

Axiom AXG92287

10GBASE-LR SFP+

Transceiver for Cisco - SFP- 10G-LR - TAA Compliant

Axiom AXG92084

10GBASE-SR SFP+

Transceiver for Cisco - SFP- 10G-SR - TAA Compliant

Axiom AXG93211

10GBASE-ZR SFP+

Transceiver for Cisco - SFP- 10G-ZR - TAA Compliant

Cisco C9300L-STACK-KIT2= Cisco Catalyst 9300L and 9300LM Stacking 13

Cisco C9300L-STACK-A Catalyst 9300L & 9300LM Stack Module 26

Cisco STACK-T3A-50CM 50CM Type 3 Stacking Cable for C9300L & C9300LM 13

Cisco C9300L-STACK-KIT2= Cisco Catalyst 9300L and 9300LM Stacking 4

Cisco C9300L-STACK-A Catalyst 9300L & 9300LM Stack Module 8

Cisco STACK-T3A-1M 1M Type 3 Stacking Cable, spare for C930 4

Total Value:

4. Authority Cited: FAR 16.505(a)(4) – Restricting consideration to an item peculiar to one manufacturer (e.g., a particular brand-name, product, or a feature of a product that is peculiar to one manufacturer).

5. Reason for Authority Cited:

The purchase of licensed Cisco networking hardware is essential to meet the Government's requirements for robust and secure network infrastructure. Specifically, this purchase will enable the replacement of aging firewall systems with current generation Cisco firewalls featuring advanced the ability to defend against sophisticated cyberattacks. Cisco's security solutions integrate a comprehensive portfolio of advanced threat protection technologies, providing a layered defense against evolving cyber threats. Cisco certified equipment requires registration for licensing, ensuring ongoing support and access to critical security updates. Furthermore, Cisco's products and services align with and support compliance with key NIST frameworks, including NIST SP 800-53 (Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations) and NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF), helping meet stringent government security mandates.

Maintaining a consistent Cisco environment is crucial for several reasons. All existing monitoring and management tools, as well as network access controls, are currently based on Cisco platforms. Utilizing licensed and certified Cisco equipment for upgrades ensures seamless integration, optimal performance, and consistent security posture across the entire network. Critically, the new equipment must integrate seamlessly with DPG’s existing Cisco DNA Center platform. Cisco DNA Center provides centralized management, automation, and security policy enforcement across the existing network.

Introducing non-Cisco hardware would not be compatible with Cisco DNA Center, negating the existing investment and requiring significant effort to find alternative solutions. Introducing non-Cisco hardware would necessitate significant investment in new training, configuration, and management tools, diverting resources from critical mission objectives.

Utilizing hardware from other manufacturers would create a heterogeneous networking environment, significantly deviating from the existing production and development environments. This introduces a substantial potential for technical incompatibility, increased security vulnerabilities, and schedule delays due to the need for extensive testing and integration efforts. The complexity of managing a mixed-vendor environment would also increase operational costs and reduce overall network reliability.

For the reasons listed above, the Data Sciences Division requests a brand name Only purchase of Cisco Certified Licensed Equipment to ensure a secure, reliable, and consistent networking environment that meets critical Government requirements.

Impact if justification not approved: Failure to replace this equipment will result in degraded Test Network functionality and potential disruption to critical DPG testing activities and the operation of the Test Network's data backbone. In addition, the cost impact considering hardware replacement, software and licensing, labor and services, integration & interoperability, and potential downtime & disruption, transitioning to non-compatible data center equipment is estimated to cost between 1.7 to 2.4 times the original investment in current Cisco infrastructure.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: This requirement is an IT-related supply purchase with several potential suppliers. It is a DoD requirement to post all IT related supplies/services/software on Army-CHESS. Efforts to obtain competition are limited to identifying potential for at least one supplier that may supply the product.

a. Effective competition: There are a minimum of 5 potential providers of CISCO network appliances on Army-CHESS. Zivaro, Affigent, and Microtech have been identified as potential small business providers for

b. Subcontracting competition. N/A – Supply Requirement

7. Actions to Increase Competition: N/A. Once offerors are identified on Army- CHESS, there is no other option but to compete on Army-CHESS.

8. Market Research: The requiring activity posted a request for information via Army- CHESS and received four responses from vendors indicating they can supply the requested equipment. Two other vendors expressed interest but stated that they had insufficient time to respond.

9. Other Facts: Discuss other facts supporting the use of limited competition, such as:

a. Procurement History: The Contract Specialist searched for “Cisco” supply purchases in Procurement Contract Files (PCF). Several instances were identified where Cisco equipment was purchased, with the vast majority being procured via Army-CHESS. Specific orders for Cisco network appliance purchases: W911S622F0051, W911S620F0037, W911S622F0013, W911S624F0016. Many of the identified actions were brand name with 16.505(b)(2) listed as the authority (FAR Part 16 ordering, exception to fair opportunity, over the SAT.