Data Center Gear Refresh

The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services is requesting bids on data center network gear refresh—Cisco Nexus 9300 series switches, components, and three years of licensing—under IFB Q00P6601348/BPM053547, with bids due December 16, 2025 at 2 p.m. local time. This is a Small Business Reserve procurement restricted to businesses certified by the Office of Small, Minority & Women Business Affairs (OSBA).

Bidders must be authorized Cisco Systems resellers and must provide a Letter of Authorization with their bids. The scope includes two Nexus 9348GC-FX3 switches (one with Data Center Networking Advantage support, one with Essentials tier licensing), eight Nexus 93180YC-FX3 switches with Essentials tier licensing, and accompanying components including fans, power supplies, memory upgrades, NX-OS 10.5.2F software, and three-year CX Level 1 support contracts. The procurement replaces end-of-life Nexus 5K devices and migrates SAN infrastructure from unsupported FCoE to iSCSI. Amendment 1 (issued December 4, 2025) reduced specified quantities across multiple line items from the original IFB.

Place of performance is DPSCS ITCD at 7122 Ambassador Road, Windsor Mill, Maryland. The contract is firm fixed-price, awarded by lot (all line items or none), and runs three years from Notice to Proceed with no renewal options. Award will be based on lowest Total Bid Price using Competitive Sealed Bidding. Questions are due December 6, 2025 at 3 p.m. local time. No pre-bid conference or site visit is scheduled.

Bidders must be registered with the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation before award and carry Commercial General Liability insurance of $1 million combined single limit per occurrence and $3 million annual aggregate, plus Worker's Compensation. All products must be mercury-free, verified by completion of the Mercury Affidavit (Attachment J).