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Identification of the agency and the contracting activity. The Office of Acquisition Management proposes to a delivery order of Server Hardware, Storage Systems, and Networking with exception to fair ... Identification of the agency and the contracting activity. The Office of Acquisition Management proposes to a delivery order of Server Hardware, Storage Systems, and Networking with exception to fair opportunity for hardware and software to enhance the Virtual Infrastructure on behalf of Information Resources Management /Operations/Systems Integration Office (IRM/OPS/SIO). The total estimated cost is $XXX 2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved. The Department intends to issue a new delivery order for commercial IT hardware on a limited source basis for Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) hardware for the Enterprise Server Operations Center (ESOC). This acquisition is for server, storage, and networking infrastructure to support the requirement for State Department end users. Awards History: Date of Order Award Number 3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the Department’s needs. The requirement is to provide virtual infrastructure and networking hardware at the three Enterprise Server Operations Centers in Washington, D.C., Beltsville, MD, and Denver, CO at a total cost of about $XXX. This will allow IRM/OPS/SIO to accomplish its mission objective of virtualizing mission critical Department applications and provides the required availability, data storage, and disaster recovery to ensure those applications function continuously. NSX CLUSTER EXPANSION (DOS) - NSX Cluster Expansion VxRail P570F; 2 x Intel Xeon Gold 6240R 2.4G, 24C/48T; 24 x 32GB RDIMM, 3200MT/s, Dual Rank; 8 x 3.84TB SSD SAS Read Intensive 12Gbps 2.5in Hot-plug AG Drive, 1 DWPD; 2 x 800GB SSD SAS Write Intensive 12Gbps 2.5in Hot-plug AG Drive, 10 DWPD; 3 Years ProSupport Plus Mission Critical Hardware/Software CLUSTER UPGRADES (DOS) - Cluster Upgrades VxRail After Point of Sale: 120 x 3.84TB SSD SAS Read Intensive 12Gbps 2.5in Hot-plug AG Drive, 1 DWPD; 60 x 800GB SSD SAS Write Intensive 12Gbps 2.5in Hot-plug AG Drive, 10 DWPD; 90 x VxRail QLogic 2692 HBA; 1080 x VxRail Dell Memory Upg - 32GB - 2RX4 DD4 RDIMM; 3 Years ProSupport Plus Mission Critical Hardware/Software HST SPLUNK (DOS) - HST Splunk VxRail P570F; 2 x Intel Xeon Gold 6240R 2.4G, 24C/48T; 12 x 32GB RDIMM, 3200MT/s, Dual Rank; 2 x 3.84TB SSD SAS Read Intensive 12Gbps 2.5in Hot-plug AG Drive, 1 DWPD; 1 x 800GB SSD SAS Write Intensive 12Gbps 2.5in Hot-plug AG Drive, 10 DWPD; 3 Years ProSupport Plus Mission Critical Hardware/Software EW OBO (DOS) - EW OBO VxRail E560F; 2 x Intel Xeon Gold 6230 2.1G, 20C/40T; 12 x 64GB RDIMM, 3200MT/s, Dual Rank; 8 x 3.84TB SSD SAS Read Intensive 12Gbps 2.5in Hot-plug AG Drive, 1 DWPD; 2 x 800GB SSD SAS Write Intensive 12Gbps 2.5in Hot-plug AG Drive, 10 DWPD; 3 Years ProSupport Plus Mission Critical Hardware/Software MDC TWD (DOS) - MDC TWD VxRail E560F; 1 x Intel Xeon Silver 4216 2.1G, 16C/32T; 6 x 32GB RDIMM, 3200MT/s, Dual Rank; 3 x 3.84TB SSD SAS Read Intensive 12Gbps 2.5in Hot-plug AG Drive, 1 DWPD; 1 x 800GB SSD SAS Write Intensive 12Gbps 2.5in Hot-plug AG Drive, 10 DWPD; 3 Years ProSupport Plus Mission Critical Hardware/Software HST TWD (DOS) - HST TWD VxRail E560F; 1 x Intel Xeon Silver 4216 2.1G, 16C/32T; 6 x 32GB RDIMM, 3200MT/s, Dual Rank; 3 x 1.92TB SSD SAS Read Intensive 12Gbps 2.5in Hot-plug AG Drive, 1 DWPD; 1 x 800GB SSD SAS Write Intensive 12Gbps 2.5in Hot-plug AG Drive, 10 DWPD; 3 Years ProSupport Plus Mission Critical Hardware/Software MDC MGMT (DOS) - MDC Mgmt VxRail E560F; 1 x Intel Xeon Gold 5218 2.3G, 16C/32T; 6 x 64GB RDIMM, 3200MT/s, Dual Rank; 3 x 3.84TB SSD SAS Read Intensive 12Gbps 2.5in Hot-plug AG Drive, 1 DWPD; 1 x 800GB SSD SAS Write Intensive 12Gbps 2.5in Hot-plug AG Drive, 10 DWPD; 3 Years ProSupport Plus Mission Critical Hardware/Software EW MGMT (DOS) - EW Mgmt VxRail E560F; 1 x Intel Xeon Gold 5218 2.3G, 16C/32T; 6 x 64GB RDIMM, 3200MT/s, Dual Rank; 3 x 3.84TB SSD SAS Read Intensive 12Gbps 2.5in Hot-plug AG Drive, 1 DWPD; 1 x 800GB SSD SAS Write Intensive 12Gbps 2.5in Hot-plug AG Drive, 10 DWPD; 3 Years ProSupport Plus Mission Critical Hardware/Software HST EXCHANGE (DOS) - HST Exchange VxRail P570F; 1 x Intel Xeon Gold 6230 2.1G, 20C/40T; 6 x 32GB RDIMM, 3200MT/s, Dual Rank; 20 x 3.84TB SSD SAS Read Intensive 12Gbps 2.5in Hot-plug AG Drive, 1 DWPD; 4 x 800GB SSD SAS Write Intensive 12Gbps 2.5in Hot-plug AG Drive, 10 DWPD 9.00; 3 Years ProSupport Plus Mission Critical Hardware/Software EW EXCHANGE (DOS) - EW Exchange VxRail P570F; 1 x Intel Xeon Gold 6230 2.1G, 20C/40T; 6 x 64GB RDIMM, 3200MT/s, Dual Rank; 20 x 3.84TB SSD SAS Read Intensive 12Gbps 2.5in Hot-plug AG Drive, 1 DWPD; 4 x 800GB SSD SAS Write Intensive 12Gbps 2.5in Hot-plug AG Drive, 10 DWPD; 3 Years ProSupport Plus Mission Critical Hardware/Software MDC EXCHANGE (DOS) - MDC Exchange VxRail P570F; 1 x Intel Xeon Gold 6230 2.1G, 20C/40T; 6 x 64GB RDIMM, 3200MT/s, Dual Rank; 20 x 3.84TB SSD SAS Read Intensive 12Gbps 2.5in Hot-plug AG Drive, 1 DWPD; 4 x 800GB SSD SAS Write Intensive 12Gbps 2.5in Hot-plug AG Drive, 10 DWPD; 3 Years ProSupport Plus Mission Critical Hardware/Software TOR SWITCHES AND CABLING (DOS) - ToR Switches and Cabling 2 x Cisco Nexus 93180YC-EX with 48p 10/25G SFP+ and 6p 100G QSFP28; 12 x SFP-H25G-CU2M; 28 x SFP-H25G-CU3M; 4 x SFPH25G- CU5M; 36 x SFP-25G-AOC7M; 2 x QSFP-H40G-CU1M; 8 x QSFP-H40G- CU5M; SFP-25G-SR-S; On-Site Network Implementation Services 1.00 *THALES/VORMETRIC KMIP LIC (DOS) - Thales/Vormetric KMIP Licenses VKMIP - KMIP Client Connection License; VKMIP - KMIP Client Connection Vormetric Maintenance PLUS (3 years) *End User License Agreement (EULA) submitted with supporting documentation. The PoP for licenses/maintenance starts from the date of shipment to/for 3 years. 4. Authority permitting a Fair Opportunity Exception and the supporting rationale. This acquisition is conducted pursuant to 41 U.S.C. 4103 and 4106 as implemented by FAR 16.505(b)(2) and substantiated by the following: ? FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B) – Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized. This procurement will increase memory and hard disk capacity on the existing Dell VxRail Virtual Infrastructure Hardware currently in use by the ESOC. Only Dell branded components can be used to expand the memory and disk space capacity on the Dell VxRail HCI systems. The HCI systems being procured must seamlessly integrate with the existing virtual infrastructure of Dell vBlock, VxRail, and EMC storage system hardware and Cisco networking already in use in the ESOC. If an alternate brand is selected, it may not be compatible with the existing infrastructure and features would be lost. Switching to a new technology in this critical time may cause significant delays in meeting the Department’s needs. Any delay in fully provisioning the new systems is not acceptable under these circumstances. 5. A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. The Contracting Office determines that the anticipated price(s) will be fair and reasonable based on FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B) which states that open market has already determined the prices for supplies and fixed-price services under schedule contracts to be fair and reasonable. By signing the justification, the Contracting Officer makes a determination that the cost/price to the Government is expected to be fair and reasonable. 6. Any other facts supporting the justification. To ensure the fulfillment of Department requirements and initiatives, there is an urgency to enhance the Department’s IT systems supporting critical IT infrastructure. This will require a rapid acquisition of the technology that the Department has in use and for which it is familiar. This initiative requires that the contractor provide the associated installation and configuration services to support this project. Any delay in fully provisioning the new HCI systems is not acceptable under these circumstances. Therefore, the technologies acquired must be familiar to the ESOC workforce allowing them to deploy and maintain the systems without the need to be trained on new technology and tools. With the urgent need to continue social-distancing the Federal Workforce by at Home Telework due to COVID-19, the Department has no time to test new solutions and must move forward with similar hardware already in use by the Department’s IT systems. The hardware in question must be implemented immediately and without delay which is why we must go with a solution that is known to be interoperable with existing IT systems. New or different hardware and/or configurations will spawn off additional delays with IT change control, security testing, operational documentation, etc., which in a normal IT installation could take up to a year to perform. With the limitations placed upon the staff due to the virus and the relocation of staff from Government Facilities, we will be unable to even match the expected timeframe during normal operations. This is a non-starter. 7. Actions the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to increase fair opportunity before any subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services is made. Market Research IRM/SIO/ESOC has a requirement to purchase Dell/EMC VxRail Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) that must integrate directly into the existing legacy Dell/EMC vBlock Converged Infrastructure and other VxRail nodes currently in use to deploy VMWare Virtual Servers to Department Bureaus. The primary reason for this integration requirement is that the ESOC is required to move over 4,000 virtual servers currently residing on the legacy Dell/EMC vBlock infrastructure onto a new HCI solution. Additional Dell/EMC VxRail nodes are required to maintain the ongoing operation of the ESOC Virtual Infrastructure at three ESOC Sites (D.C., Beltsville, MD, and Denver, CO.) This Infrastructure is used to support the Department's CONUS and OCONUS operations. The VxRail nodes being procured have been thoroughly tested in the ESOC’s Development environment. The VxRail nodes can be added directly into the existing production hardware infrastructure by utilizing the current ESOC staff’s knowledge and expertise of Dell/EMC systems. This eliminates the need to train staff on another vendor’s solution. VxRail nodes can also be seamlessly added to existing infrastructure without additional configurations or Department investment. The use of the Dell/EMC VxRail brand-name product is essential to meeting system security requirements. The Dell/EMC VxRail devices are a key component of the operational and security capabilities for the existing ESOC infrastructure and are the only devices that would work in the current DOS environment without any degradation of functionality. VxRail provides a single upgrade package for both hardware (firmware, BIOS, drivers) and software. VxRail also provides an automated once click update of the entire stack hardware (firmware, BIOS, drivers) and software (vCenter, vSphere). These automated and streamlined upgrade capabilities native to VxRail, help to strengthen the Departments security posture. Not having these specific VxRail devices would require introduction of a new and untested system that could jeopardize the production capabilities of the ESOC Virtual Infrastructure. Any change would require additional time, staff training, and financial investments in order to implement another solution. Migration of existing production services onto an alternative solution could also be disruptive to Department operations and may impact server availability for Department users. Because of the factors noted above, the ESOC has determined that procuring Dell/EMC VxRail nodes is the best path forward for the Department. Market Research Effort for the Current HCI Solution: IRM/SIO/ESOC frequently consults with IT manufacturers regarding their future product roadmaps. The ESOC entertains on-site visits by vendor representatives to discuss in-person, new and emerging virtual infrastructure, and networking technologies. Under normal circumstances, ESOC staff would attend conferences, trade shows, and workshops where vendors showcase their new products. However, these events were cancelled due to the pandemic. Due to the cancelation of the conferences, trade shows, workshops, and vendor site visits, due diligence was performed instead, via telephone conversations with vendors, reviewing technical publications, searching vendor web sites, and reading product white papers. If and when the ESOC determines that a product has been developed that is superior to the existing hardware currently in use, then IRM/SIO/ESOC will perform a technical assessment, including a benefit/cost analysis, to determine whether to retain the existing product or to transition to a new, more cost-efficient product. At no time during the due diligence did the ESOC determine that a product was available that outperformed the VxRail nodes currently in use. VxRail nodes are in use at all three ESOC data centers. VxRail nodes have failover capabilities to allow for business continuity of Department operations if one or more nodes go offline. VxRail nodes have automated security hardening scripts to comply with DISA STIG requirements. VxRail nodes have datastore and or VM level encryption without requiring self-encrypting drives. VxRail nodes have cluster capacity to be shared across other clusters and support external storage arrays. VxRail solution natively integrates with VMware vCenter and enables the HCI system (both hardware and software) to be managed directly from the vCenter Server. Through the ESOC’s working knowledge of the VxRail systems already in use, we have determined that VxRail nodes have capabilities that no single vendor can replicate. Given the time and resources required to deploy an enterprise hardware solution, we do not perform market research every year. Changing a hardware platform is not simply uninstalling the existing servers and installing the new system. Deploying a multi-site enterprise hardware platform is a complex process requiring design and engineering expertise from ESOC engineers and engineers from the hardware platform vendor. The ESOC plans on performing market research for a new HCI solution in the next 18-24 months, when current hardware nears its EOSL. The planned market research process will likely take over a year to complete. After testing in our lab, we would do a side-by-side comparison of the best-value products in live environments to ensure the platform can perform in real-world situations. If the ESOC decides to go with another product, the entire server architecture would need to be reengineered to integrate with the existing infrastructure. New administrative and monitoring programs would need to be implemented to secure and maintain the integrity of the hardware infrastructure. These solutions are carefully tested and analyzed by our engineering staff, since once a hardware solution is chosen, it stays in place for quite some time. This is not just a HCI solution for one program, rather, it’s the solution for server infrastructure that supports the missions of many Department Bureaus. The ESOC has been extremely satisfied with Dell/EMC VxRail performance and would recommend the product to any agency or program that would ask us about our user experience. Market Research - Requirements Considered: The solution shall be a hyper-converged system that leverages VMware vSphere as the hypervisor and VMware VSAN for software defined storage. The hyper converged system must not use a virtual storage appliance (VSA) or storage controller VM (CVM). The solution should provide automated security hardening scripts to comply with DISA STIG requirements. The solution shall allow the cluster capacity to be shared across other clusters and support external storage arrays. The solution shall natively integrate with VMware vCenter and enable the HCI system (both hardware and software) to be managed directly from the vCenter Server. The solution shall provide an automated once click update of the entire stack hardware (firmware, BIOS, drivers) and software (vCenter, vSphere). The Market Research conducted concluded that the Dell EMC VxRail platform is the best solution available to meet the Department’s requirements. Other vendor’s solutions only met some, not all of the requirements. At no time during the due diligence did the ESOC determine that a product was available that was superior in functionality than the Dell EMC VxRail. If and when the ESOC determines that a product has been developed that outperforms the hardware currently in use, then IRM/SIO/ESOC will perform a technical assessment, including a benefit/cost analysis, to determine whether to retain the existing product or to transition to a new, more cost-efficient product.