16R2034_Linux_Cluster_-_Digitally_Signed_J A_Redacted.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

NAVAL SURFACE WARFARE CENTER

DAHLGREN DIVISION

6149 WELSH ROAD SUITE 203

DAHLGREN VIRGINIA 22448-5130

IN REPLY REFER TO

DL#13590

N00178-16-R-2034

4 April 2016

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

JUSTIFICATION

1. Contracting Activity

The Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD), Contracts Division.

2. Description of the Action Being Approved

Award of a firm fixed priced contract on a brand name basis for Linux Cluster Computing System required to run computational physics software in support of physics-based Modeling and Simulation (M&S) for a wide range of Navy and Joint sponsors.

The H Department M&S consists of shock physics, structural mechanics, computational fluid dynamics, computational electromagnetics and heat transfer as well as lethality, vulnerability and effectiveness analysis.

3. Description of Supplies/Services

An authorized Linux reseller will be providing a High Performance Computing Cluster for performing physics-based computation. This system will be a distributed memory Linux cluster, tailored to meet the requirements for highly parallel numerical computations of large problems with computational fluid dynamics, finite element and hydrocode software. The system will also run visualization software for the large data sets produced by the numerical computations as well as mesh generation software to produce large computational meshes for complex geometries. Software to be run on the system includes computational software such as the CTH and ALE3D hydrocodes, Sierra Mechanics multiphysics suite, LSDYNA finite element software and the CRAFT flow solver, as well as VISIT and PARAVIEW visualization software.

The Government's minimum needs have been verified by the certifying technical and requirements personnel.

DL#13590

NCH 53.6-2 (MAR 2013)

. Fiscal Year 2016 Capital Improvement Project (CIP) funding will be provided.

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition

10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) – Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. Rationale Justifying Use of Cited Statutory Authority

Continued expansions of the SGI Linux resources are required in order to provide the required M&S support to our sponsors.

Computer source codes, developed by the Department of Energy (DOE), are the primary analysis tools used by H30 for physics-based M&S. These codes consist of several programs and software libraries which collaborate with the computer notes that communicate through the high-speed interconnected hardware. The proprietary modifications made by SGI to the Linux operating system significantly increase the speed of the M&S software and is necessary to successfully process our computations.

Significant investments of approximately $3.3M of CIP funds have been made in the SGI computer architectures to support M&S requirements since FY07. These investments do not include the costs incurred to develop or convert current source codes or data, retrain the engineers on new equipment, or lost production costs. The SGI brand will guarantee interoperability, compatibility and integration with current systems already operating in this computing environment.

Additionally, changing from SGI to another manufacturer’s equipment would require specialized knowledge to diagnose hardware problems as well as to set up the complex computer codes used to run massively parallel calculations. Past experience with lesser known Linux cluster manufacturers has demonstrated that there is no guarantee the DOE software will run correctly on other architectures. NSWCDD will not recoup the prior investments if forced to compete this requirement through full and open competition. Additionally, brand-name specific hardware and software is required as follows for compatibility with the existing cluster: Intel Xeon E5v2 CPUs; PBS Professional queuing system software; Intel Fortran Compiler for Linux; Intel C++ Compiler for Linux; and Intel MPI Runtime Environment. Full details are provided in the technical requirements document. It is estimated that standing up a new

High Performance Linux computing cluster manufactured by another vendor would cost at least $400k more than purchasing one manufactured by SGI due to software and hardware incompatibilities with our existing infrastructure.

6. Description of Efforts Made to Solicit Offers from as Many

Offerors as Practicable

Market research has shown that Linux clusters are available domestically from a variety of corporations. The operating systems around which the clusters are built vary significantly from manufacturer to manufacturer. Some systems run on a Linux distribution and cluster management tools that are completely open source. Other manufacturers use operating systems derived from open source software but with a significant amount of proprietary changes as well as proprietary sophisticated resource managers for managing multiple users and jobs. Over the past several years, SGI cluster computer architectures, purchased either through SGI or reputable added-value resellers, have proven extremely reliable and compatible with DOE software.

In order to maintain compatibility with DOE systems, no other brand name system will fulfill the government’s requirements.

Two market research quotes were obtained demonstrating the availability of this brand name from multiple vendors.

In addition, the proposed contract will be posted as a Combined Synopsis/Solicitation on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website for authorized Linus resellers to provide proposals based off the posted requirement. No further market research was conducted because it is not practicable, for the reasons discussed in paragraph 5 above, for any company other than authorized resellers to provide the required equipment.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Costs

The Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the Government for the equipment covered by the J&A will be fair and reasonable.

8. Actions to Remove Barriers to Competition

If a requirement to procure these items in the future occurs, we will perform market research to ensure additional sources are identified.

CERTIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL

TECHNICAL/REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION (FAR 6.303-2(b))

I certify that the facts and representations under my cognizance, which are included in this justification and its supporting data, are complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

LEGAL SUFFICIENCY REVIEW (NMCARS 5206.303(90))

I have determined this justification is legally sufficient.

CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION (FAR 6.303-2(a)(12))

I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Angela Bowling, Contracting Officer, 026, Phone No. Date

Digitally signed by BOWLING.ANGELA.M.1291555400 DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=DoD, ou=PKI, ou=USN, cn=BOWLING.ANGELA.M.1291555400 Date: 2016.04.09 17:11:50 -04'00'