Laptop Brand Name Justification.pdf

Subj: USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION FOR AN

ACQUISITION UNDER THE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

I. BACKGROUND:

1. FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i) states for purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, Contracting Officers may solicit from one source if the Contracting Officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand-name or industrial mobilization).

2. As required by FAR 13.106-3(b)(3)(i), this memorandum explains the absence of competition for this acquisition, as only one source will be solicited for this requirement (or for a portion of the requirement) and the requirement is not expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold.

II. DESCRIPTION OF ITEM OR SERVICE:

This purchase request is for supporting Non-MCEN laptop tech refresh requirements as they apply to test, engineering and all technical support functions provided by MCTSSA. MCTSSA requires robust, high capacity machines that are Windows 10 compliant with sufficient CPU computing power, RAM memory, high-speed Graphics processors, fast access storage and resources to support MAGTF data collection and analysis; process large network packet captures and data sets; support Modeling/SIM/STIM; support Interoperability testing; host Virtual Machine (VM) servers, and multiple Virtual Machines simultaneously; perform Air C2/TDL data collection; Host MC NDF Lab systems and VM Client workstations during Link 16 Network events; and support MIDS terminal, JTRS Terminal, SFF Terminal, SRP Terminal testing and Link 16 IDL Validation events. Additionally, these platforms are required to support scripting, and programming for DEVOPS, development of AI, Machine Learning, and Natural Language processing programs, and provide advanced cyber adversarial capability where and whenever necessary. In addition, the system must provide larger heat-sinks and cooling fans than business class machines as these systems will be running under stress conditions.

The systems required are what we are calling medium & high-end laptops. With a distinction being 32GB RAM for the medium and 64GB RAM for the high-end system. However, the systems are both essentially high-end laptops. Other minimum common requirements are:

• CPU: i9-9900K(8-Cores, 3.6GHz; 16MB Cache)

• RAM: DDR4 2400MHz

• Internal Storage: M.2 Solid State Drive (SDD) PCIe NVMe 1 TB

• Dedicated GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPU 6GB GDDR6

• Display: 17 inch IPS class or greater

• Internal Wireless Card: Wireless 802.11ac 2x2

• Operating System: Windows 10 Professional

The required Brand Name is Alienware model Area-51m (Alienware is a high-end division of

DELL).

III. THE DETERMINATION FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN

COMPETITION IS BASED ON THE FOLLOWING (select all that apply):

A. ONLY ONE RESPONSIBLE SOURCE (select all that apply):

1. RESTRICTIVE RIGHTS. The source has established proprietary rights,limited rights in data, patent rights, copyrights or secret processes in the item or service required.

Not Applicable for the J&A

2. EXCLUSIVE LICENSING AGREEMENTS. The item or service is only available from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), or there is only one authorized distributor or technical representative for the OEM.

3. OTHER REASONS.

B. _X BRAND NAME. Item required must be a brand name product, or feature of a product, particular to one manufacturer.

High end computing systems especially laptops require substantial skill in development and manufacturing. The higher temperatures generated by large core, high speed CPUs, graphics processing units and power supplies require designing and building systems with highly efficient heat sink, cooling, and ventilation. Using the latest motherboard technologies, processors, and supporting chips requires proven engineering skills to produce a reliable product. Alienware is a proven reliable brand for high-end laptops.

Note the brand mentioned is not the general purpose machine produced by mass manufacturers for business or home computing, but instead it is a manufacturer or division of special purpose high-end machines built with the leading edge CPUs, GPUs, motherboards and supporting components.

Another reason for buying a machine with high-end components is that they will last for several years before becoming obsolete.

C. _X UNUSUAL AND COMPELLING URGENCY. The supplies or services are of such unusual and compelling urgency that the Government would be seriously injured, unless the agency is permitted to limit the number of sources from which it solicits bids or proposals.

Urgent requirements are supplies or services that will result in a work stoppage, or are mission critical and the routine processing time would result in injury to the Government. The determination that the procurement for the above item/service is an urgent and compelling requirement is based on the following:

1. Date on which the requirement was first identified:

The Government requires computing resources to develop the AI, Machine Learning, data reduction/analysis, and cybersecurity tools to meet evolving requirements.

In January 2017, Directive-type Memorandum (DTM) 17-001, C4 Acquisition Programs was issued requiring the performance of adversarial developmental testing (DT), and MCTSSA is the leading developmental tester of C4I systems for the Marine Corps. In order to satisfy the adversarial DT requirement, MCTSSA established a cybersecurity team to perform penetration testing and other adversarial DT services. This team requires mobile high-end systems to host virtual servers and multiple virtual machines running simultaneously in order to plan, prepare and execute cybersecurity adversarial testing. Classified and unclassified machines are utilized in the lab setting.

In June 2018 guidance was issued to retire current in-use lab computing systems. . In order to comply, and mitigate impacts to the mission, high-end replacements are required. This will ensure the quality of data collection and analysis is improved (which will save time and money), and will also expand MCTSSA’s capabilities of supporting multiple capture events in parallel, improve accuracy and quality of reports data, and provide a longer service life before replacement equipment is required. .

2. Required delivery date/period ofperformance:

30 August 2020.

3. Explanation of why delivery/commencement of services by the date mentioned aboveis required: Explain the impact to the mission if the date above is not met, any special circumstances or conditions that exist which validate the requirement as “urgent,” estimated production lead time for the item, etc.

As explained in paragraphs B and C of this document, MCTSSA requires adequate computing resources to efficiently and effectively perform required research, DevOps, Data Collection, Analysis, tool development and cybersecurity functions to meet the mission. .Acquiring the identified resources will ensure personnel can meet the needs of on-going operations, and successfully support the MCTSSA mission.

SIMPSON.K Digitally signed by

ATHERINE.K. E.K.1240340786

SIMPSON.KATHERIN

1240340786 Date: 2020.08.05 09:33:29 -07'00'

4. If appropriate, include any additional pertinent information.

IV. CERTIFICATIONS/APPROVALS:

A. Technical / Requirements Certification: I certify that the facts and representation under my cognizance which are included in this justification are complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

David Yergensen 760.763.0323 7/30/2020

Signature Technical Representative Date

B. Certification/Approval. See FAR 13.501

Jimmy Clevenger (760) 725-9731 7/30/2020

Signature Requesting official Date

Signature Contracting Officer Date

CLEVENGER.JIMM Digitally signed by

CLEVENGER.JIMMY.M.1131133380

Y.M.1131133380 Date: 2020.07.30 10:57:28 -07'00'

YERGENSEN.DAV Digitally signed by

YERGENSEN.DAVID

.A.1231976260

ID.A.1231976260 Date: 2020.07.30 10:49:54 -07'00

Katherine Simpson