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Subject to FAR Clause 52.215-3, entitled "Solicitation for Information of Planning Purpose," this announcement constitutes a Sources Sought for information and planning purposes to identify potential ... Subject to FAR Clause 52.215-3, entitled "Solicitation for Information of Planning Purpose," this announcement constitutes a Sources Sought for information and planning purposes to identify potential sources to acquire a fully operational replacement for the Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) correlator in support of the United States Naval Observatory (USNO). This is not a solicitation announcement for proposals and no contract will be awarded from this announcement. It is not to be construed in any way as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government pay for the information submitted in response. BACKGROUND: USNO is the sole organization in the Department of Defense (DOD) dedicated to rapid processing of VLBI observations to produce earth orientation measurements in a time-frame necessary for Navy and DOD operations. The mission of the USNO is to determine time, both atomic and astronomical, to determine and predict the positions of celestial objects and Earth Orientation and to provide this data to the Department of Defense (DoD). VLBI observations are used by the USNO to determine and predict the variable orientation of the Earth in three-dimensional space as well as to maintain the positions of the extragalactic radio sources which form the basis for the quasi-inertial celestial reference frame, within which the Earth Orientation Parameters (EOP) are determined. The objectives of this procurement are, 1) implement a state-of-the-art software based VLBI capability to take advantage of advances in the electronic transmission of observational VLBI data over the Internet to enable near real-time operations; 2) develop a software based VLBI correlator capability to take advantage of advances in high-performance computing needed to process higher volumes of VLBI data from VGOS and next generation VLBA systems; and 3) as a new requirement, procure and deliver hardware and software needed for this correlator consistent with new and updated Greenfield requirements. V3 Production Correlator The contractor shall deliver to USNO a fully operational replacement for the existing VLBI correlator hardware meeting the specifications of this updated PWS. The new correlator hardware shall consist of the compute nodes, data storage, interconnecting switches and software integration that meet specified Greenfield requirements necessary to replace the current USNO correlator system. The new correlator system shall be capable of processing in real time recorded data streams recorded at up to 16.384 Gbps from up to sixteen (16) VLBI stations simultaneously. That requires at least 5.8 THz aggregate clock cycles (for example 20 compute processing nodes with 128 cores each at 2.25 GHz each, or the equivalent). Compute processing nodes must each have at least 250 GHz aggregate clock rate (for example 128 cores each at 2.25 GHz, or 96 cores each at 2.6 GHz, etc.). Data shall be transferred to the correlator via high speed interconnects (100 Gbps) from disk based storage and existing USNO VLBI data acquisition units. The correlator system shall contain at least twenty (20) processing nodes that will be connected through high-speed (25 Gbps) interconnects. The operating system and correlator software shall consist of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux running the DiFX software package. A system for distributing OS updates and allowing local DiFX package upgrades to all nodes within the cluster shall be put in place. The system architecture shall be fully expandable in order to meet future USNO mission requirements. The contractor shall provide all necessary documentation regarding the correlator system hardware and software. The contractor shall also provide the system software integration necessary to make the correlator capable of processing current VLBI data loads. V3 Prototype Correlator Third Generation Software Correlator Test Environment: The contractor shall deliver to USNO a functionally operational prototype for the planned VLBI correlator hardware scalable to meet the specifications of this PWS. The prototype is for the replacement of existing hardware with new hardware and expansion of the existing capability in response to planned changes in the observing programs. The new correlator hardware shall consist of the compute nodes, data storage, interconnecting switches and software integration necessary to test the applicability of an expanded version to replace the current USNO correlator system and to serve as a test bed for the anticipated hardware refresh. The prototype system shall be capable of processing data streams recorded at up to 16.384 Gbps each from up to sixteen (16) VLBI stations simultaneously and store at least approximately 1.5 PB of these data at a time. Compute processing nodes must each have at least 250 GHz aggregate clock rate (for example 128 cores each at 2.25 GHz, or 96 cores each at 2.6 GHz, etc.). Note that the test correlator is to demonstrate scalability, but itself will necessarily need to achieve these storage requirements. Data shall be transferred to the correlator via high-speed interconnects (at least 100 Gbps) from disk-based storage and existing USNO VLBI data acquisition units. The test correlator system shall contain at least two (2) processing hosts, each with at least 128 CPU cores using the Rome or later EPYC architecture. These servers will be connected through high-speed interconnects of at least 25 Gbps each. The operating system and correlator software shall consist of either Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 92 (or later if required by IA mandates), and shall run the DiFX software package. The RHEL 9 operating system (OS) and applications must be updated on a weekly schedule, unless exceptions are granted by USNO ISSM or VLBI Division Chief. The DiFX software package will be installed in a portable way, such that multiple versions of DiFX may be installed and maintained, including by USNO staff. The complete system shall be designed and optimized to maximize processing throughput while minimizing power consumption. (Total system power is required to produce no more than 46.0 kW heat to the room where this updated correlator will reside.) The system will be designed in a scalable way to meet future USNO mission requirements. The system and its components shall comply with US Navy security and Greenfield policies. The contractor shall provide all necessary documentation regarding the correlator test system hardware and software to include at least performance results showing scalability to production levels, hardware (make/model/serial) inventory, software inventory, network topology, and a final design. The contractor shall also provide the system software integration necessary to demonstrate DiFX and HOPS operation on S/X and VGOS data, and performance scalable to the above workload in the production correlator. Note that “scalable” in the above paragraphs means that the test correlator’s performance increases with additional hardware by a scale factor which would enable the full workload described in the first paragraph of this section in the final production version without substantial changes from the test correlator design. E.g. increasing node counts would be considered “scaling”, but switching network technologies would not be considered “scaling” for the purposes of this document. RMF Process: The contractor shall provide a hardened system to the standards of and artifacts to support RMF for up to a Moderate Confidentiality / Moderate Integrity / Moderate Availability categorization The RMF process will be for the production correlator Hardware, internal connections, Operating System, software, and other configurations needed. Security Set Rule: The contractor shall deliver all artifacts required for a full Navy authorization based on the Navy Risk Management Framework Guidelines. All artifacts shall comply with NIST 800-53 Rev 5. The contractor shall use only approved methods for data and code ingress These approved methods must reasonably support correlator build, configuration, and maintenance (See section 9 above) TAA Security Requirement All hosts, network switches, network interface cards, storage devices (including internal drives), and active network interconnect delivered to USNO as part of the production correlator must be fully TAA compliant All the above-listed TAA compliant items must also come with a written certification from the original vendor that they are TAA compliant and meet with standard US DoD procurement practices and are free from significant supply chain vulnerabilities The above vendor certification of TAA compliance and US DoD procurement practices shall respectively be considered adequate due diligence on the part of the contractor to ensure the same Note that test hardware (e.g. test correlator hardware) not used in the production build do not have these TAA requirements; test hardware only needs to be analogous to production hardware in function and performance characteristics “Air Gap” Procedures Production correlator hardware shall not ever be connected to any network besides the intended “greenfield” network at USNO DC Further, no media (e.g. CDs, DVDs, USB drives, or internal drives) may be used to transfer data to these production hardware components (e.g. for the purpose of loading or configuring software or data) Write-only removable media may be used to output data only (e.g. burning logs to a CD), but may not be re-inserted or re-used in the production hardware components after removal These requirements take effect immediately upon shipment or receipt from the original hardware vendor Note that test hardware (e.g. test correlator hardware) not used in the production build do not have this air gap limitation The proposed procurement is a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract. NAICS CODE: The NAICS Code for this requirement is 541512, Computer Systems Design Services, and the Size Standard is $34 Million. RFI SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: Interested parties shall submit responses to this RFI. Responses should reference the RFI and shall include the following information in this format: 1. Company name, address, Point of Contact name, phone number, and email address. 2. Contractor and Government Entity (CAGE) Code and DUNS Number. 3. Business size under NAICS. 4. Describe your ability to support the scope of the requirement listed in this notice and applicable attachments. 5. Describe any past performance efforts with a similar scope to the proposed requirement. Provide contract numbers, dollar value, and the period of performance for each contract referenced in the response to this sources sought notice. 6. Indicate if your company can be a prime contractor for this effort or, if not, whether your company can be a subcontractor. If subcontractors are to be used, provide the anticipated percentage of effort to be subcontracted and if a small or large businesses will be used. This announcement is NOT a contract, request for proposal, a promise to contract, or a commitment of any kind on the part of the U.S. Government. The Navy will not assume liability for costs incurred in response to this RFI. Documentation of technical expertise, experience, and required security clearance must be presented in sufficient detail for the U.S. Government to determine that your company possesses the necessary functional area expertise and experience to compete for this acquisition. Standard company brochures will not be reviewed. Submissions are not to exceed five (5) typewritten pages in no less than 12 font. All technical questions and inquiries may be submitted within the response. Responses should be emailed to Caitlin.d.king2.civ@us.navy.mil by 12:00 PM eastern standard time (EST) on 22 SEPT 2025. Again, this is not a request for a proposal. Respondents will not be notified of the results and the U.S. Government is not required to answer any questions submitted in regards to this RFI. Please note the information within this pre-solicitation synopsis will be updated and/or may change prior to an official synopsis/solicitation, if any.