PR 1301095797 - Brand Name Justifcation_Redacted.pdf

NSWCCD Sole Source/Brand Name Justification SAT rev 1 Effective September 2021

USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION LESS THAN

SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD MEMO

FROM:

CODE: 7411

SUBJECT: Brand Name Justification for Use of Other than Full & Open Competition for an Acquisition under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT)

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.

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.

3. This memorandum is derived from Enclosure 3, Department of Navy Simplified Acquisition Procedures Guide (April 2018) and is only applicable to acquisitions under the SAT.

II. DESCRIPTION OF ITEM OR SERVICE

The subject of this procurement is for three (3) specialty computer systems. This includes computer system #1 (AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO, WRX80 Chipset, 4-way GPU Tower Workstation PC) which will be used as a networked RDT&E lab computer for complex data analysis and code development. This also includes computer systems #2 & #3 (Dual AMD EPYC 4U Rackmount Workstation PC) which will be used in the lab and deployed on a US Navy vessel for field tests. When Computer systems #2 & #3 are deployed in the field; they will use code developed on Computer system #1. It is critical for systems #1, #2, & #3 to have as close of a system build architecture as possible to minimize any program errors. Systems #2 and #3 must be identical builds in order to meet the field testing requirements.

These computer system builds have been specially designed to meet required hardware and performance needs.

The estimated value of the proposed acquisition is

MANUFACTURER: AMD

ADDRESS: 2485 Augustine Dr., Santa Clara, CA 95054

MANUFACTURER: NVIDIA

ADDRESS: 2788 San Tomas Expy, Santa Clara, CA 95051

III. BASIS FOR DETERMINATION FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL & OPEN COMPETITION

A. BRAND NAME:

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

NSWCCD Sole Source/Brand Name Justification SAT rev 1 Effective September 2021

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.

2. Exclusive Licensing Agreements: The item or service is only available from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).

3. Other Reasons:

GPU brand name Justification: NVIDIA is the only brand with the required CUDA architecture for efficient and industry compatible AI/ML libraries and processes. The NVIDIA RTX A5500 meets minimum design for both the specialized nature and overall load of processing for this project.

Tower (System #1) Peripheral brand name justification: NVLink: NVIDIA NVLink™ is the only available brand with 2 slot spacing for dual RTX A5500 GPUs in the correct form factor and minimum specifications.

Rack Mount (Systems #2 & #3) CPU brand name justification: AMD is the only brand with a line of AI/ML tuned architecture that will also support the form factor and other system processing needs. AMD EPYC 7773X meets minimum design needs for AI/ML specific processing, overall system requirements, and form factor.

1) 64-Cores with 128 threads

2) 128 lanes of PCIe Gen 4.0

3) Capable of handling up to 4096 GB of 8 channel DDR4-3200 MHz RAM

4) AI/ML tuned processing capabilities

5) The following cache sizes available:

a) L1: 4 MB

b) L2: 32 MB

c) L3:768 MB

Tower (System #1) CPU brand name justification: AMD is the only brand with a line of AI/ML tuned architecture that will also support the form factor and other system processing needs. AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX meets minimum design needs for AI/ML specific processing, overall system requirements, and form factor.

1) 64-Cores with 128 threads

2) Base operating frequency of 2.7 Ghz

3) 128 lanes of PCIe Gen 4.0

4) Capable of handling up to 2048 GB of 8 channel DDR4-3200 MHz RAM

5) AI/ML tuned processing capabilities

6) The following cache sizes available:

a) L1: 4 MB

b) L2: 32 MB

c) L3: 256 MB

B. SOLE 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.