GenNET Backup Equipment

The Genesee Intermediate School District (GISD) in Flint, Michigan, on behalf of GenNET—a consortium of 21 Genesee County school districts—is soliciting sealed bids for backup hardware equipment to support its GenNET Data Center operations. The procurement seeks server backup storage hardware to replace existing infrastructure and increase retention capacity, specifically including two rack-mount servers (1U preferred), four 16-bay 3.5-inch JBOD storage enclosures, 60 total 8TB RAID-ready hard drives, one 42U server rack, fiber optic cabling in various configurations, SFP+ transceivers, and associated networking components. The deliverables must establish a two-site backup environment with one backup landing zone at the GISD Data Center and one long-term retention zone at an offsite location connected via GenNET's private fiber optic network spanning over 450 miles and connecting more than 200 buildings throughout the county. All equipment must be newly manufactured and delivered to 2413 West Maple Avenue, Flint, Michigan 48507-3493, with vendors responsible for hardware supply and assembly while GISD assumes responsibility for server operating system installation and Veeam configuration. Vendors must submit a primary bid meeting all Section 5 requirements and completed Attachment B with hardware models and quantities; the District will accept alternative solutions and appliances provided vendors submit a qualifying initial bid, with a preference for customer expandable commodity storage hardware. The non-mandatory pre-bid meeting was held on July 16, 2019 at 11:30 A.M., with sealed bids due July 25, 2019 at 2:00 P.M., followed by bid opening at 2:00 P.M. the same day and a board award decision scheduled for August 6, 2019.

All bids must be submitted on the District's official Bid Form in one original and two copies plus one electronic copy on a flash drive or CD/DVD, with bid prices firm for 90 days from opening and inclusive of all costs, labor, materials, shipping, and insurance. Vendors must submit a certified check or bid bond equal to 5 percent of the total bid or one month's estimated service cost (whichever is greater), and the awarded bidder must provide a Performance, Labor, and Materials Bond equal to the final contract amount; warranty must include 8x5 next business day service. All vendors must certify compliance with the Iran Economic Sanctions Act (Public Act 517 of 2012) via notarized Attachment D and provide a notarized Public Act 232 of 2004 Familial Relationship Disclosure Statement (Attachment C), with all persons working on District property required to complete fingerprinting and criminal background checks. The District is exempt from Michigan Sales and Use Taxes and will not pay any sales or use taxes; vendors are responsible for all costs related to patents, copyrights, and intellectual property, must indemnify the District against patent infringement claims, and must ensure materials are asbestos-free and lead-free with compliance to federal, state, and local regulations including OSHA requirements. The GISD currently operates two identical 36-bay SuperMicro SuperServers with Windows Server 2012R2 supporting approximately 101TB of usable storage configured with RAID 60, and the new environment will utilize Windows Server 2016 with existing Veeam B&R 9.5 Enterprise Plus backup software (not required to be included in proposals per Addendum 1) configured with RAID 6 sets and ReFS formatting. The District reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids, waive informalities, award to other than the lowest bidder, and serve as the sole determining factor for qualifying bids, with no specific budget range or award value disclosed in the available documentation.