Request for Information: NIAID RML/Fishers Lane Tertiary Inter-Site Link

Introduction

This is a Request for Information (RFI). This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this RFI is to obtain knowledge and information for project planning purposes.

Purpose and Objectives

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) primary IT hosting facility is located in Rockville, MD. NIAID operates a remote site in Hamilton, MT, Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML), that requires reliable, high performance network connectivity to the Rockville, MD facility. NIAID currently leases two 10Gbps wave circuits to provide network connectivity between sites; these circuits follow diverse geographic paths to increase resiliency against service disruptions.  NIAID is seeking to add an additional 10Gbps circuit between these sites utilizing Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS) to provide additional overall capacity as well as add an additional circuit with greater resiliency that the current wave circuits provide.

Project Requirements

• 10Gbps VPLS circuit between:
  • 5601 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852
  • 903 S 4th Street, Hamilton, MT 59840
• Minimize latency to greatest extent possible
• Jumbo frame support (~9000 bytes)
• 802.1Q tagged frame support
• As much as feasible, traffic must be dynamically routed to prevent loss of connectivity in the event of a fiber cut, provider equipment failure, scheduled maintenance, or other disruption.

Anticipated Period of Performance

NIAID estimates the period of performance to begin in July 2023 and provide service for a 12-month base period and up to four one-year options.

Capability Statement/Information Sought

NIAID is seeking to determine the feasibility of establishing a 10Gbps VPLS ethernet circuit between the two sites listed above. If your organization offers a solution capable of meeting the project requirements listed above, please provide the following information:

1. Organization name, address, point of contact, email address, website address, telephone number, and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) 
2. Under which NAICS code does your company usually provide the requirements described above. Please provide rationale for your answer if different from NAICS 517112.
3. Identification of any Best-In-Class contract vehicles including Government Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWAC) (e.g., GSA schedule, NITAAC) they may possess or are aware of that would support this possible requirement. If your organization does not provide the products/services under a GWAC, please identify availability as OPEN MARKET ONLY.
4. Please describe any customary commercial contract terms or conditions that you feel would make any resulting contract more effective if applicable.
5. Describe your organization’s technical capabilities and solution that meets the project requirements listed above. Capability document shall be no more than six pages excluding attachments.
6. Pricing models offered by your organization
7. Published price lists for your services. If commercially available list pricing is not available, provide a Rough Order of Magnitude.

Please address the following questions in your response:

1. Do you have a physical fiber optic cable presence connecting the two locations listed above?
2. What is the typical expected latency for a connection between these two locations using a VPLS connection?
3. What is the expected maximum throughput of a 10Gbps VPLS connection between the two sites listed above on your network?
4. What is the expected availability of a 10Gbps VPLS connection between the two sites listed above on your network (measured in percentage of uptime)?
5. How can the performance and stability of this connection be maximized?
6. NIAID has identified VPLS as a likely solution for this need. Are there other technologies, configurations, or capabilities that would be better suited to meet this need?
   1. For other solutions, what is the expected maximum throughput between the two sites listed?
   2. For other solutions, what is the typical expected latency between the two sites listed?
   3. For other solutions, what is the expected availability (measured in percentage of uptime)?
7. Do you expect to offer a new service sometime in the future that might affect this requirement?

Submission Instructions

Interested organization who consider themselves qualified to provide a solution that meets the above requirements are invited to submit a response to this Request for Information by April 17, 2023, at 2:00 PM EST. All responses under this Request for Information shall be emailed to Danielle Tines danielle.tines@nih.gov.

Disclaimer and Important Notes.

This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed. Information provided will be used to assess tradeoffs and alternatives available for the potential requirement and may lead to the development of a solicitation. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted.

Any solicitation resulting from the analysis of information obtained will be announced to the public in Federal Business Opportunities in accordance with the FAR Part 5. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

Confidentiality

No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).