SOLICITATION NOTICE
70 -- Workstations w/SATA cables and Firewire Cards
- Notice Date
- 12/18/2007
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- 1701 North Fort Myer Dr, Rosslyn, VA 22219
- ZIP Code
- 22219
- Solicitation Number
- 1045847040
- Response Due
- 12/21/2007
- Archive Date
- 6/18/2008
- Point of Contact
- Name: Harry Lundy, Title: Contract Specialist, Phone: 7038756014, Fax:
- E-Mail Address
-
lundyhe@state.gov;
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Bids are being solicited under solicitation number 1045847040. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; bids are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation is issued as an invitation for bids (IFB), unless otherwise indicated herein. If your company can provide the product/services listed on the solicitation and comply with all of the solicitation instructions, please respond to this notice. To view the specifications, please go to www.FedBid.com and reference Buy No. 60342. GSA Schedule Bids Only: Sellers bidding on this opportunity MUST have the items requested on an existing GSA Schedule. The Schedule must either be in the Seller's name or the Seller must be able to document its ability to act as an agent of a partner's Schedule. Sellers may offer Open Market items only in accordance with the approved Terms and Conditions of their respective GSA Schedule AND upon approval from the soliciting Contracting Officer. Information regarding GSA Schedules can be found at www.GSA.gov. This requirement is unrestricted and only qualified sellers may submit bids. The solicitation pricing on www.FedBid.com will start on the date this solicitation is posted and will end on 2007-12-21 17:00:00.0 Eastern Time or as otherwise displayed at www.FedBid.com. FOB Destination shall be Washington, DC 20520 The Department of State requires the following items, Purchase Description Determined by Line Item, to the following: LI 001, HP DC 7700P---or---DELL OptiPlex 745 Small Form Factor(See Attached Specs for each) No other brand/manufacturer is acceptable. Must include SATA cables and Firewire cards as specified in attachments., 500, EA; For this solicitation, Department of State intends to conduct an online competitive reverse auction to be facilitated by the third-party reverse auction provider, FedBid, Inc. FedBid has developed an online, anonymous, browser based application to conduct the reverse auction. A Seller may submit a series of pricing bids, which descend in price during the specified period of time for the aforementioned reverse auction. Department of State is taking this action in an effort to improve both seller access and awareness of requests and the agency's ability to gather multiple, completed, real-time bids. All responsible Sellers that respond to this solicitation MUST submit the pricing portion of their bid using the online exchange located at www.FedBid.com. There is no cost to register, review procurement data or make a bid on www.FedBid.com. Sellers that are not currently registered to use www.FedBid.com should proceed to www.FedBid.com to complete their free registration. Sellers that require special considerations or assistance may contact the FedBid Helpdesk at 877-9FEDBID (877-933-3243) or via email at clientservices@fedbid.com. Sellers may not artificially manipulate the price of a transaction on www.FedBid.com by any means. It is unacceptable to place bad faith bids, to use decoys in the www.FedBid.com process or to collude with the intent or effect of hampering the competitive www.FedBid.com process. Should Sellers require additional clarification, contact FedBid at 877-9FEDBID (877-933-3243) or clientservices@fedbid.com. Use of FedBid: Buyers and Sellers agree to conduct this transaction through FedBid in compliance with the FedBid Terms of Use. Buyers and Sellers understand that FedBid ranks all bids by price; however, pursuant to applicable acquisition regulations and/or departmental guidelines, Buyers may use criteria other than price to evaluate offers. Accordingly, please note that, unless otherwise specified herein below, to the extent required by applicable regulations and/or guidelines, award will be made to the responsible Seller whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Buyer on the basis of price, technical capability, delivery, and past performance. Agencies may require registration with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) prior to receipt of order. Information can be found at www.ccr.gov FOB DESTINATION CONUS ALL BOXES AND CONTAINERS MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED WITH THE REQUISITION REFERENCE NUMBER FOUND IN BLOCK 4, OF 347 ORDER FOR SUPPLIERS AND SERVICSE. SHIPPING DOCUMENTS WILL CELARLY LIST EACH ITEM AND THE QUANTITY SHIPPED AS CONTAINED WITHIN BOXES OR CONTAINERS. IF SINGLE LINE ITEMS HAVE BEEN ASSEMBLED INTO MAJOR COMPONENT, SHIPPING DOCUMENTS MUST ACCOUNT FOR THE INDIVIDUAL ITEMS SHIPPED WITHIN THE MAJOR COMPONENT Agencies may require registration with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) prior to receipt of order. Information can be found at www.ccr.gov New equipment ONLY, NO remanufactured products, and NO "gray market" BIDS MUST BE VALID FOR 30 DAYS. NO EXCEPTIONS OR QUALIFICATIONS. NEW ONLY. NO REFURBISHED. NO RECONDITIONED ITEMS ARE ACCEPTABLE. A) The offeror shall provide the government, with its offer submission, written verification from the GSA schedule holder that an agreement exists that validates the offeror's right to offer the GSA schedule items on behalf of the GSA schedule holder, if other than the offeror; and, B) By proactively complying with this offer term, sellers accept that the government will make award to the GSA schedule holder only, as the sole awardee. Further, the sole awardee and only the sole awardee shall submit its invoice to the government and receive payment from the government. **ONLY FOR BRAND NAME OR EQUAL & MEET OR EXCEED BUYS, TO HAVE A BID CONSIDERED FOR AWARD, ALL VENDORS MUST PROVIDE MANUFACTURER, PART # AND EXTENDED SPECIFICATIONS OF THE EXACT MODEL BEING PROPOSED FOR ALL LINE ITEMS. NO EXCEPTIONS. FAILURE TO PROVIDE THIS INFORMATION WILL RESULT IN A 'NON RESPONSIVE' BID AND REMOVAL FROM AWARD CONSIDERATION (a) The provider of information technology shall certify applications are fully functional and operate correctly as intended on systems using the Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC). This includes Internet Explorer 7 configured to operate on Windows XP and Vista (in Protected Mode on Vista). For the Windows XP settings, see http://csrc.nist.gov/itsec/guidance_WinXP.html and for the Windows Vista settings, see: http://csrc.nist.gov/itsec/guidance_vista.html. (b) The standard installation, operation, maintenance, update, and/or patching of software shall not alter the configuration settings from the approved FDCC configuration. The information technology should also use the Windows Installer Service for installation to the default ?program files? directory and should be able to silently install and uninstall. (c) Applications designed for normal end users shall run in the standard user context without elevated system administration privileges. (d) The Department of State currently intends to use Vista in Protected Mode in the future when all devices at all worldwide locations have sufficient capacity to permit an upgrade from the XP operating system. Summary CA is standardizing on one workstation type (small form factor NTE H: 17? x W: 6? x D: 15?) to meet our needs at our consular windows (where space and power supply issues are a concern) and on the desktop. The workstations must have FireWire capability in order to support our 10-print fingerprint scanners. The scanners require 1.5 amps at 12 volts which not all FireWire cards can provide. The HP SFF machines require customized wiring integration from the power source of the PC to the FireWire card. While the required power can be technically provided within the computer or external to the computer, we have determined that external power solutions are not desired due to cable disconnection issues, breakage, space, clutter, an additional point of failure, need for dual voltage and the need for additional power sockets. Internal solutions are therefore necessary. For support purposes (workstation imaging, troubleshooting, installation and training) we need to limit the variety of PC models in the field. We need to stay with proven manufacturers such as Dell and HP that offer some worldwide support and assistance. Minimum workstation requirements: ? DVD-ROM ? Small Form Factor (H: 17? x W: 6? x D: 15?) ? One analog 15-pin video or DVI video connection with analog adapter ? One serial port ? Six USB 2.0 ports after connecting mouse and keyboard ? One expansion slot ? One Unibrain FireWire card custom wired to the PC power supply ? Integrated NIC 10/100/1000 with full ASF 2.0 and PXE support ? Minimum of 2 GG of Dual Channel DRR2 shared memory ? Windows XP Professional ? Dual core processor or better ? Integrated graphic card with minimum of 128 MB video RAM ? Energy Star compliant. Prefer 110/220 auto switchable ? SATA II 80 GB Hard drive minimum ? 2.6 GHz, Dual core processor or better ? Integrated sound card with minimum 1 stereo in, 2 stereo out ports: one for head phone and one for desktop speakers FireWire card: We investigated a few of the popular FireWire cards on the market (Adaptec, Siig and Unibrain) and chose the Unibrain Fireboard Blue card (Part No. 1203) with the low profile bracket (Part No 1222). Two distinct requirements for the FireWire card are that it cannot pull power from the PCI bus (this is an issue with the small form factor machines) and it must have a 6-pin connection that allows for 1.5 amps at 12 volts of direct current. Adaptec is completely dropping their FireWire line of products and Siig confirmed that all their FireWire cards are fused at 1 amp, which cannot support our needs. Workstation-specific issues Investigation of workstations revealed that the 12 volt line on the PCI bus (Peripheral Component Interconnect - An extremely common and widely used computer bus) is insufficiently rated to supply power to the scanners. This means that additional power must be available from a source able to supply sufficient current. This can be achieved by a properly designed embedded Firewire port, but no systems were made available with embedded Firewire while meeting all other applicable requirements as defined above. This, in effect, means a direct connection to the system power supply is required. Normally this is achieved by standard connectors found in the computer, but the units meeting the small form factor requirements do not have appropriate available connectors. The HP dc7700 SFF workstation has two available power connectors, one SATA (serial advanced technology attachment) connection and one floppy disk drive power connection. The floppy disk drive power connection is the appropriate choice to connect to the FireWire card, but the wires are too short to reach. No standard peripheral power connectors are present in this workstation. Custom integration wiring: The HP solution is an HP dc7700 PC meeting all applicable specifications which has been modified by the addition and installation of a Startech connector and a low-profile UniBrain Fireboard Blue. Startech Part No.: LP4SP4SATAFM UniBrain Fireboard Blue Part No.: 1203 UniBrain Low Profile adapter Part No: 1222 Design modifications were made by Startech and a custom part No. LP4SP4SATAFM was produced, which was accepted as a solution to this issue. The SATA power connector on the Startech part needs to be connected to the available Sata power connector on the HP 7700. The floppy drive power connector on the Startech part must be attached to the Unibrain firewire card. As this is a brand name only justification, no one contractor?s unique qualifications are cited as the basis for this justification. Rather, the products identified by brand name herein have been determined to be the most cost effective means to meet our biometrics collection requirement. CA is standardizing on one workstation type (small form factor (NTE H: 17? x W: 6? x D: 15?) to meet our needs at our consular windows (where space and power supply issues are a concern) and on the desktop. The workstations must have FireWire capability in order to support our 10-print fingerprint scanners. The scanners require 1.5 amps at 12 volts which not all FireWire cards can provide. The Dell SFF machines require customized wiring integration from the power source of the PC to the FireWire card. While the required power can be technically provided within the computer or external to the computer, we have determined that external power solutions are not desired due to cable disconnection issues, breakage, space, clutter, an additional point of failure, need for dual voltage and the need for additional power sockets. Internal solutions are therefore necessary. For support purposes (workstation imaging, troubleshooting, installation and training) we need to limit the variety of PC models in the field. We need to stay with proven manufacturers such as Dell and HP that offer some worldwide support and assistance. Minimum workstation requirements: ? DVD-ROM ? Small Form Factor (H: 17? x W: 6? x D: 15?) ? One analog 15-pin video or DVI video connection with analog adapter ? One serial port ? Six USB 2.0 ports after connecting mouse and keyboard ? One expansion slot ? One Unibrain FireWire card custom wired to the PC power supply ? Integrated NIC 10/100/1000 with full ASF 2.0 and PXE support ? Minimum of 2 GG of Dual Channel DRR2 shared memory ? Windows XP Professional ? Dual core processor or better ? Integrated graphic card with minimum of 128 MB video RAM ? Energy Star compliant. Prefer 110/220 auto switchable ? SATA II 80 GB Hard drive minimum ? 2.6 GHz, Dual core processor or better ? Integrated sound card with minimum 1 stereo in, 2 stereo out ports: one for head phone and one for desktop speakers FireWire card: We investigated a few of the popular FireWire cards on the market (Adaptec, Siig and Unibrain) and chose the Unibrain Fireboard Blue card (Part No. 1203) with the low profile bracket (Part No 1222). Two distinct requirements for the FireWire card are that it cannot pull power from the PCI bus (this is an issue with the small form factor machines) and it must have a 6-pin connection that allows for 1.5 amps at 12 volts of direct current. Adaptec is completely dropping their FireWire line of products and Siig confirmed that all their FireWire cards are fused at 1 amp, which cannot support our needs. Workstation-specific issues: Investigation of workstations revealed that the 12 volt line on the PCI bus (Peripheral Component Interconnect - An extremely common and widely used computer bus) is insufficiently rated to supply power to the scanners. This means that additional power must be available from a source able to supply sufficient current. This can be achieved by a properly designed embedded Firewire port, but no systems were made available with embedded Firewire while meeting all other applicable requirements as defined above. This, in effect, means a direct connection to the system power supply is required. Normally this is achieved by standard connectors found in the computer, but the units meeting the small form factor requirements do not have appropriate available connectors. The Dell OptiPlex GX 745 SFF workstation uses only three standard power connectors, all of which are in use. These connectors are one 24-pin ATX (advanced technology extended) power connector, one 4-pin ATX12V (ATX 12 volt) connector, and a single SATA power connector. Additionally, one non-standard power connector was used to power the CD-ROM disc drive. This leaves no connectors free to power additional devices and no easy path to insert a line splitter. Custom integration wiring: Dell based their solution on a suggestion of Insulation Displacement type connectors. This solution adds a highly standard connector to existing cabling, and is a generally applicable solution to a lack of connectors. In addition to our configuration requirements for the Dell Optiplex GX745 SFF above the following parts are required in each system in addition to applicable tooling for installation: -Insulation Displacement connector and back plate: AMP (formerly Tyco) 770233-1 and AMP 770156-3 or equivalent pair -UniBrain Fireboard Blue Part No.: 1203 -UniBrain Low Profile adapter Part No: 1222 Please note: If performed by an integrator other than Dell then the IDC solution may have a negative impact on the system warranty, and if power supplies are replaced then modifications will need to be made to them using the Insulation Displacement Connectors listed above with appropriate tooling. To configure, the power cables that connect to the hard disk drive need to be disconnected and the cables need to be separated. Using a plastic insulation displacement connector the wires need to be arranged in accordance with the numbers on the side of the connector. Using a crimp tool, the insulation displacement connector needs to be crimped and the connector?s dust cover attached. The power cable must then be connected to the insulation displacement connector and then connected to the FireWire card. As this is a brand name only justification, no one contractor?s unique qualifications are cited as the basis for this justification. Rather, the products identified by brand name herein have been determined to be the most cost effective means to meet our biometrics collection requirement.
- Web Link
-
www.fedbid.com (b-60342, n-10059)
(http://www.fedbid.com)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Washington, DC 20520
- Zip Code: 20520
- Country: US
- Zip Code: 20520
- Record
- SN01471960-W 20071220/071218223624 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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