Border Information Analysis and Targeting Unit (BIATU)-Panama

This is not a solicitation or request for proposal announcement. This request for information (RFI)/Sources Sought is an exploratory document to gather information from qualified IT equipment vendors and resellers regarding their capabilities to supply, deliver, and support brand-name technology. This is for market research purposes and is not a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a commitment to purchase. The information gathered will be used to better understand the market, vendor capabilities, and to enhance our strategy for a future procurement process.  The U.S. Department of State (DOS), Bureau of Arms Control and Nonproliferation (ACN) / Office of Nonproliferation and Disarmament Fund (NDF) is seeking interested parties in modernizing Panama’s network IT infrastructure to guarantee redundancy, performance, scalability and future support. Respondents are advised that the Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI or the site visit. All costs associated with responding to this RFI are solely at the expense of the interested vendor. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future request for proposal (RFP), if any is issued. Any information submitted by respondents to this RFI is strictly voluntary. All responses to this RFI will remain in the possession of the Government and will not be returned.

NDF and Panama IT Team have a strong preference for DELL Technologies brand however, interested parties are welcome to provide information on functionally equivalent alternatives from other reputable brands. The Bill of Materials (BOM) is attached for detailed description of the technical requirements. (See attachments)

I. Project Goals: The primary goal is to replace aging server hardware with modern, scalable, and energy-efficient solutions. 

• Improve performance for business-critical applications
• Enhancing system reliability and redundancy
• Increase energy efficiency and reduce cooling costs
• Enable easier maintenance and remote management
• Optimize server and storage consolidation through virtualization

II. Current IT Infrastructure:

• Cisco UCS 5108 Solution

Model: Cisco UCS C240 M5 Database Server (csb-b200-m5) CPU: 2x Intel Xeon Gold 6134 @ 3.20GHz

RAM: 1TB

Storage: RAID1 SSD 480GB (OS)

Data: Hitachi VSP F350 external storage (90TB, 20TB in use)

• Redundant Database Server Configuration similar to the Cisco UCS C240 M5 main server
• Redundant Application Servers CPU: 2x Intel Xeon Silver 4114 @ 2.20GHz

RAM: 512GB

Storage: RAID1 SSD 480GB

• Redundant Domain Controllers CPU: 1x Intel Xeon Bronze 3104 @ 1.70GHz

RAM: 64GB

Storage: RAID1 SSD 240GB

The current infrastructure is past generation with low performance per watt, limited scalability, low energy efficiency, and limited storage dependency with partial redundancy.

III. Proposed IT Infrastructure:

• Dell PowerEdge R860 Servers (Database) CPU: 4x Xeon Platinum 8460Y or Gold 6448Y

RAM: 2TB DDR5

Disco: RAID1 SSD NVMe 960GB (SO + buffer) Red: Dual 25/100GbE

* External storage: Integration with existing SAN or modernization

• Dell PowerEdge R760 Servers (Application) CPU: 2x Xeon Gold 6430

RAM: 1TB DDR5

Disk: RAID10 NVMe SSD (local I/O intensive) Red: 25GbE dual

Balancing: Active-Active or Active-Passive Cluster

• Dell PowerEdge R760 Servers (Domain) CPU: 1x Xeon Silver 4416+

RAM: 128GB DDR5 Disco: RAID1 SSD 480GB

System: Windows Server Core o GUI

The proposed IT solutions are to use Dell Technologies specifically Dell R860 rack servers and R760 platform. NDF Team believes that this solution will overcome current limitations, increase the resilience of critical services, prepare the infrastructure for future technological demands, and ensure operational continuity with better support, security, and efficiency.  (Attachment A - BOM 1 & Attachment B - BOM 2)

IV. Sample Illustration (Attachment C):

1. Existing architecture Diagram

2. Detailed technical specifications by current equipment

3. Proposed architecture diagram

4.Proposed model structure

5.Proposed storage systems

6. Performance, power consumption and support comparison

7. Veeam Back-up based, back-up system with immutability

8. Power Backup System

9. Cabinet

10. PDU

V. INSTRUCTION TO RESPONDENTS: Interested parties who desire to participate in this RFI/Sources Sought are encouraged to submit responses that have the CAPABILITIES and QUALIFICATIONS to provide the proposed IT solutions or comparable alternatives as described above. Responses to this RFI shall be submitted in the form of a vendor (or respondent) white paper which the Government will utilize for market research and in preparation of an acquisition strategy. Additional details are below regarding submission of the white paper. Responses shall also include the following information:

1. Company/Corporate Name:

    Address:

    Point of Contact: (phone number & email address)

    CAGE:

    Web Page URL:

2. State whether the company is domestically or foreign-owned (if foreign, indicate the country of ownership).

3. State whether the respondent is interested in being a prime or subcontractor for this requirement.

4. Response: Responses shall demonstrate or describe ideas, concepts, and best practices, and recommendations on how the key capabilities requirement might best be executed by a contractor. The responses should not contain superfluous pictures, charts, and “filler” information about your individual company.

5. Describe any risks associated with the fulfillment of this projected requirement. This can include technical, or schedule risks associated with development, key performance parameters, etc.

6. Responses shall not exceed 10 pages (including cover page) and is limited to one (1) per vendor. Papers should be submitted with Times New Roman, 12 Point Font, single spaced with 1-inch margins and single page.

7. Indicate whether the company is currently performing this type of work/whether the capability can be obtained under an existing Government contract. Provide the contract number(s) and Government points of contact accordingly.

8. Indicate whether the company currently provides this type of work as a commercial solution. In this instance, “commercial item” means an item that is of a type customarily used by the general public or non-Governmental entities for purposes other than Governmental purposes. Please indicate if this item has been sold, leased, or licensed to the general public; or has been offered for sale, lease, or license to the general public. Indicate whether all materials used follow the Buy American Act or Berry Amendment (10 U.S.C. 2533a), as applicable.