Questions 191NLE25Q0017.xlsx
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- INACIF Ballistic Lab Microscope
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- 191NLE25P0017
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This is a Question and Answer (Q&A) document containing multiple technical, administrative, and cost-related inquiries regarding an RFQ for IT equipment delivery and installation. The questions primarily focus on clarifying power requirements, networking specifications, and hardware configurations for a server rack setup to be delivered to Doral, FL. Key technical questions address power specifications (voltage requirements), networking optics requirements, and VM configurations for a failover cluster. Administrative questions seek clarification on INL/CICANG policies, the structure of 30 support hours, and requirements for business registration in Guatemala.
Several questions highlight potential inconsistencies in the RFQ, including shipping/export documentation requirements for a U.S. delivery, concerns about the server specifications (CPU cores, RAM, and Windows licensing), and suggestions for optimizing the rack configuration. The questions also point out technical specifications that may need revision, such as the 25GbE switching fabric paired with 10K RPM disks, and the need for additional network transceivers for iDRAC connections. The document does not contain government responses to these questions.
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| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| 191NLE25P0017 Sow INACIF Ballistic Lab Microscope.pdf |
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Questions and Clarifications
| Identifier | Technical, Cost, or Admin | RFP Section and Page Reference | Question or Clarification Request | Offeror Recommendation (if any) | Government Response to Question | |
| *Note: Answers must be complete, well-written, and address all aspects of the question or clarification request. The goal is to provide adequate information so an additional round of Q&A results in few or no follow-up questions. | Change to RFQ? If so, where? | |||||
| Admin | Section 3.3 | |||||
| "Provider shall be responsible for complying with INL and CICANG policies and procedures. " | Can you please advise on these specific policies and procedures? | |||||
| Admin | Section 3.3 | |||||
| "At the end of the installation period, vendor shall provide 30 hours of onsite/ in- person support services for any IT activity request not included in the proposal similar but not limited to configurations request such as software installation. These 30 hours of support may be required to the vendor by the institution in a period of 12 months." | Is the intent that these hours are used in a single 30 hour traunche or piece meal? | Requesting the hours must be used in a single 30 hour time block as it will be cost and resource prohibitive do otherwise. | ||||
| Admin | Section 3.4 |
The equipment shall be delivered to the following address:
ORDER NO. / GUATE
11380 NW 34TH ST
SUVI Global Services
| Doral, FL 33178 | The RFQ states "Contractor must provide/file all required shipping/export declaration documentation" yet shipping is to Doral, FL. | shipping and expot delcaration do not apply as the contractor will be delivering the equipment with in the continental U.S.A. | |
| Admin | Section 3.7 |
The Contractor shall be registered to do business in the host country or an existing partner with a host country registered business, this is required to provide maintenance, repairs, and spare parts
| for this type of equipment. | Is this a firm requirement? If so, can you please provide documentation and details on registering to do business in Guatemala. | Requesting this section does not apply to the RFQ and that it be removed | |
| Admin | Section 3.8 |
The Contractor’s must include and arrange all local, port handling and other fees associated with delivery to the destination. delivery on this rfq is to the following address:
ORDER NO. / GUATE
11380 NW 34TH ST
SUVI Global Services Doral, FL 33178
| Requesting this section does not apply to the RFQ and that it be removed | ||||
| Cost | Section 3.2 | The Bill of Materials (BOM) does not include line items for Installation Services or the 30 hours of support outlined in section 3.3 | requesting line items be added for installation on support hours. | |
| Technical | Section 3.2 | Powerr to Rack |
What is the voltage of the power coming into the rack? 208 or 120?
If 208v, is single phase or 3 phase?
What is the physical plug of the receptacle for powering the rack? Please specify amp rating/breaker
Technical Section 3.2 Power Within Rack What is the total number of receptacles needed on the PDU Will all equipment be 15 amp receptacle (Nema 5-15) Will there be any need for 208 power or 20 Amp 120V power? If so, how many connections of each?
Technical Section 3.2 Additonal Equipment What is all the equipment that is anticipated will be placed in this rack?
Is the equipment on this on this RFQ the only equipment that will be connected to the UPS/PDU? If not, how many additional pieces of equipment will be added and how many additional receptacles will be required? Will this additional equipment be exclusively 120v or will it have different power requirements? If different, what are those power requirements?
Technical Section 3.2 Networking Questions:
What mode of optics are needed? Single Mode or Multi-mode What waveform is needed for network transceivers?
Will all fiber optic cable be provided by the site/3rd party?
Dell iDrac uses an RJ45 connection. No network transceivers were included for this type of connection. Is the desire to not connect iDrac to the accompanying switch or should an appropriate 1000Bate-T SFP copper transceiver be included for each server?
Technical Section 3.2 Technical Specifications, Pages 5-8 Will quotations with a revised list of hardware/software be acceptable if justification is included?
How many VMs are intended to run in the failover cluster?
What is the primary purpose of the VM(s), SQL?
How many vCPUs are intended to be assigned to the VM(s)/SQL Server VM?
How much RAM is planned for the VM(s) / SQL?
Is the end-user's data center AC cooled?
What electrical receptacles are available at the end user's data center for the UPS to plug into? L5-30R 110/120/125VAC 30A? L6-30R 220/240/250VAC 30A? other? The Technical Specifications as currently outlined in Section 3.2 present several conflicting technical requirements which are less than optimal and negatively impact the ROI and could cause the system to not be in-compliance with licensing requirements.
As currently specified in Section 3.2, each server has two (2) CPUs, each CPU has 16 Cores; The servers will run in a 2-node Hyper-V failover cluster, which by definition, would require each node to be capable of running the entire virtual load of the cluster in case of a failover. Given that the amount of RAM allocated to the server is only 128GB, this would only be sufficient RAM to run a very limited number of VMs depending on their intended use. Therefore it is recommended to reconsider the requirement for dual CPUs (consider single CPU), the CPU selection (8 cores vs 16 cores), Windows Server Datacenter licenses (unlimited VMs but significant increased cost) vs Windows Server Standard or increasing RAM for each server to allow running a quantity of VMs that would justify the CPUs and Windows Datacenter Licenses. Additionally, the SQL Enterprise minimum license count per VM/Container is 4 licenses ( meaning a quantity of two (2) 2 Core Packs are required; not qty 1 as specified in Section 3.2 item No. 7)
The switching fabric is currently configured for 25GbE, however the SAN only has 10K RPM disks. On 10k RPM HDD-based RAID arrays, 10GbE is sufficient for most workloads. Upgrading to 25GbE is only justified if the SAN incorporates SSDs or NVMe drives for caching or as a tier. Reconsider the use of the 25GbE fabric or adjust the SAN to include SSDs/NVMe drives.
The switches are half U and do not account for the required additional and separate dual tray.
The switches do not provide 1GbE ports and no 1GbE RJ45 transceivers are listed for the server's iDRACs.
Rack is 42U but system as currently designed is only utilizing a maximum of 15Us, leaving 27 rack units empty; large gaps in rack can cause airflow issues, consider the following: add blankplates to cover empty rack units or consider using a smaller rack such as a 24U which would still provide 9Us for future expansion and minimize transportation costs and may allow for rack to be eligible for air transportation as opposed to having to use maritime transportation due to size of rack.
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .