Server for Forensics

The City of Madison Police Department, in collaboration with the Dane County Sheriff's Office through the Computer Forensics Shared Resources Partnership (C.F.S.R.P.), is seeking bids for a forensic network evidence server to replace their existing Digital Intelligence FREDC Datacenter from 2013. The procurement involves acquiring a specialized server system capable of analyzing and storing digital device contents, with specific technical requirements including 360TB of usable storage configured with RAID 6 arrays, 128GB of RAM, 7200RPM drive speeds, hot-swappable disk drives, an integrated forensic workstation with hardware write-blocking, and centralized dongle management capabilities. Bidders must provide installation, configuration, and technical support services, and respond to detailed technical and business requirements questionnaires covering server specifications, support capabilities, and company qualifications. The solicitation requires vendors to have a minimum of 10 years in business, 10 employees, and provide first-party hardware and support. Key dates include March 19, 2018 for question submissions, March 21, 2018 for question responses, and a bid deadline of April 2, 2018 at 2:00 PM CST, with an anticipated contract award in May 2018 and installation planned for summer 2018.

The contract opportunity has several organizational requirements and restrictions, including local vendor preference for registered suppliers and specific compliance mandates for larger businesses. Contractors employing 15 or more employees with annual business exceeding $25,000 must submit an Affirmative Action Plan within 30 days of contract award. Insurance requirements include Commercial General Liability ($1,000,000 per occurrence), Professional Liability ($1,000,000), and Workers' Compensation. The project has a defined budget of $75,000, which must include five years of hardware support, and the selected vendor must provide references from three comparable projects. The server will operate on a Suse Linux Enterprise Server v11 SP2 or compatible Linux-based system, supporting up to four forensics personnel simultaneously. The City of Madison is exempt from federal excise and Wisconsin sales taxes, and bidders must comply with city ordinances regarding non-discrimination, living wage, equal benefits, and weapons prohibition. The procurement is open to qualified vendors who can meet the comprehensive technical and operational specifications outlined in the solicitation documents.