Sources Sought for Brocade MLXE-4 or Equivalent In accordance with FAR 10.001(a)(2) the Social Security Administration (SSA) is conducting market research before developing requirements for possible acquisition of Brocade MLXE-4 or equivalent. This is a Sources Sought announcement, a market survey for electronic/written information. This is not a solicitation announcement for proposals. No contract will be awarded. This is a request for information only. SSA in conjunction with its customer, The Division of Network Engineering (DNE) is currently performing market research to determine the availability of sources that can provide the Brocade MLXE-4 or equivalent. The objective of this investment is to ensure the continued viability of SSA's data center infrastructure by migrating all IT services from the existing National Computer Center (NCC) to the new National Support Center (NSC). The equipment is needed in order to build the core infrastructure that is essential to support numerous network connections required by other divisions to begin the NCC to NSC migration. Minimum Requirements: Switches Brand name or equivalent: Brocade MLXE-4 - Brocade part number BR-MLXE-4-MR-M-AC Technical Specifications: Can be deployed as a traditional Ethernet switch. High-performance 1/10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) fixed port switch with LAN and native Fiber Channel ports for Top-of-Rack (ToR) switch deployments. Must operate on either 110 or 220 volt power. Top-of-Rack (ToR) that can be deployed as a traditional Ethernet switches in the access and aggregation layers and can be connected to switches. Connect to Fibre Channel Storage Area Networks (SANs) in addition to Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), iSCSI, and NAS storage, providing unified Ethernet storage connectivity options. Ultra-low latency through wire-speed ports with nanosecond port-to-port latency and hardware-based Inter-Switch Link (ISL) trunking. Network switch ports must be dynamically configured to ensure that the VM traffic experiences consistent policies and configurations. Load Balancing across Trunk group able to use packet based load balancing scheme. Plug and Play Fabric formation that allows a new switch that joins the fabric to automatically become a member. Consistent L2 and L3 across all Fabric switches including access switches VM-aware network automation provides secure connectivity and full visibility to virtualized server resources with dynamic learning and activation of port profiles. Protect existing investments by bridging Fibre Channel SANs and Ethernet fabrics. IPv4/ IPv6 ready Minimum of eight 8Gig Fibre Channel ports per enclosure that can be supported on any interface Required to support max number of VLANs 4096 Required to support at least 32000 MAC addresses Required to support at least 16 Spanning Tree instances Required to support at least 10 ports per LAG group with any port eligible to be in LAG group Support jumbo frames Virtual Link Aggregation Group (vLAG) spanning multiple physical switches Fibre Channel features; • Name Server-based zoning • FC authentication • Bridging to Fibre Channel SANs Quality of Service (QoS) • Eight priority levels for QoS • Class of Service (CoS) IEEE 802.1p • Per-port QoS configuration • Scheduling: Strict Priority (SP), Shaped Deficit Weighted Round-Robin (SDWRR) Any firm that feels they have the capability of providing an equivalent product must respond, in writing, within eight days of this notice. Responses must be specific as to the alternate product proposed and must include detailed specifications to support claims of equivalency to Brocade MLXE detailed in this synopsis. Vendors that believe they can offer a technically compliant product should submit information concerning their product's capabilities. Detailed responses to each of the above requirements (with substantiating documentation) are required. SSA will not consider simple marketing information or incomplete responses. SSA will not consider reference to vendor web sites as a valid response. Respondents should indicate whether their software is available on GSA Federal Supply Schedules or any other Government-wide Agency Contract (GWAC). Information received will be considered solely to make informed decisions regarding a potential procurement. Responses from industry MUST be submitted via email (compatible with MS Office 2003) to
[email protected] no later than May 11, 2012 by 2:00 pm EST. Please reference SSA-RFI-12-6536 in the subject line. Faxed information will not be considered. The file size limitation for e-mail attachments is 5 megabytes. No phone calls will be accepted. Questions concerning this notice must be received in writing via email to
[email protected] no later than May 8, 2012 EST.