Request for Proposal: ALCF HPSS Disk Cache

UChicago Argonne, LLC, operator of Argonne National Laboratory on behalf of the Department of Energy Office of Science, seeks a firm fixed price proposal for HPSS disk cache hardware, software/licensing, installation, and five years of maintenance and support services, with proposals due June 5, 2026 (extended via Addendum No. 1 issued May 19, 2026) and clarification questions due May 13, 2026.

Place of performance is the Building 240 data center at Argonne's Lemont, Illinois campus (9400 S. Cass Ave.). The procurement carries no set-aside. NAICS code is 334112, Computer Storage Device Manufacturing; PSC is 7K20, IT and Telecom—Storage Products.

The storage system must deliver minimum 10 PiB usable capacity with block-level device presentation to Linux hosts. Performance specifications vary by architecture: SSD-based systems require minimum 140 GB/s aggregate throughput with 5 million IOPS; HDD-based systems require 90 GB/s throughput with 105,000 IOPS and approximately 200 MB/s per block device. The system must support 16 parallel data mover hosts connected via Ethernet, InfiniBand, Fibre Channel, or SAS; support up to 88 block devices; and integrate with monitoring via LDMS, Check_mk/Nagios, TimescaleDB, and ElasticSearch. Critical reliability requirements include fault tolerance for double failures of the same component type, hot-swappable field-replaceable units, silent data corruption protection, and scheduled availability of at least 99.5%. The solution must operate within a 600 kW power budget in the Theory and Computing Sciences Building data center with 480 Vac three-phase power under-floor air cooling and compliance with IEEE STD 519-2014 harmonic current standards.

Argonne intends a single award to one entity (VAR or OEM); no separate contracts with multiple vendors are planned. Latest acceptable delivery date is September 1, 2026. Support includes 9x5 Next Business Day with one-hour remote response time (optional 12x7 upgradeable). Contractors must maintain $2 million general liability, $1 million auto liability, $10 million umbrella liability, statutory workers' compensation, and $100,000 professional liability insurance. On-site work requires Job Safety Analysis submission, Contractor Safety Orientation, and compliance with 10 CFR 851. Evaluation follows best value tradeoff methodology weighted toward technical merit over price, with Technical Proposal rated Outstanding/Good/Acceptable/Marginal/Unacceptable across Overall Technical Requirements, Maintenance and Support, and Installation Services; Business/Management Proposal evaluated pass/fail for contractor responsibility; and Price Proposal as a significant cost factor. Proposals remain firm for 120 days post-closing and must be submitted in three separate email attachments (Technical, Business/Management, Cost/Price) to atkinson@anl.gov by 4:30 PM CST on June 5.