Southeastern Universities Research Association, Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility, 12000 Jefferson Avenue, Newport News, Virginia 23606

70 -- INTELLIGENT NETWORK HUB Sol SURA-95-R008. Due 051595. For information contact Ross Small, Subcontracts Manager at (804) 249-7603. The Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) has a prime subcontract with the Department of Energy for work in connection with the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF). CEBAF will be soliciting proposals for the procurement of an Intelligent Network Hub which will serve as the central Ethernet/FDDI hub for the CEBAF Local Area Network. At a minimum, one hub will be procured during late Fiscal Year (FY) 1995 (approximately August-September 1995). There is a possibility for procurement of two additional similar hubs during government Fiscal Years 1996-1997, as well as the purchase of additional modules for any hubs purchased. Specifications and pricing for the two follow-on hubs and modules will be negotiated to take advantage of advancing technology at the time of purchase. The Intelligent Network Hub to be purchased in FY 1995 must meet the specifications listed below. Section I, Technical Specifications: (1) Architecture: (a) The hub must be compatible with the existing local area network design and installed component base as well as existing network management software. The current Ethernet network is wired with RG-58 coaxial cable in a star topology connected to Cabletron MMAC-8 hubs with single users per segment in most cases. All buildigs are interconnected with multimode fiber using DEC LAN Bridge 200's. HP Open View is used for network management. (b) The hub's design must have a minimum of 12 slots for modules to insure adequate room for future growth and emerging LAN technologies. Ethernet modules installed in this hub must support fiber optic cable with ST type connectors or BNC connectors for thin wire coax (RG-58) media. The hub must support high speed FDDI based hub-to-hub connections. FDDI modules must have either ST or MIC type optic connectors. At least two separate FDDI rings must exist in the hub with provisions for bridging between them and at least one external FDDI ring. (c) All modules installed in the hub must be manageable as a single entity from a single management platform. Management functions must have no impact on module performance. (2) Mechanical Design and Redundancy: (a) Hub should be mountable in EIA standard 19 inch racks. All modules must be front loaded with the exception of power supplies which may be rear loaded. No component will require installation from the bottom or top of the unit. All cable connections should be on the front of the hub and spaced to provide easy access. Port status LEDs are desirable. (b) The basic architectural design must be such that there is no single point of failure that can disable or render non-functional the entire hub or a significant portion of the services it provides. Power supply design must allow full uninterrupted operation of the hub with one failed power supply and replacement of the failed unit without any interruption of hub services. All modules installed in the hub must be designed so that their failure does not affect any other service provided by the hub and must be replaceable without requiring removal of other installed modules or power to the hub. (c) The hub must have self-diagnostic and reporting capabilities that include as a minimum power supply failure, air flow failure, module failure, and thermal sensing for abnormal temperature conditions. (3) Routing and Switching: (a) The basic hub architecture must support all routing, bridging, switching, and protocol conversions within the hub without requiring the use of any externally located components to provide these services. Routing to the port level of IP, IPX, DECNet, and AppleTalk protocols must be supported. Section II, Corporate Experience and Strategy: Current and past corporate experience in the development of Intelligent Network Hubs, including a corporate strategy to support standards-based development toward higher performance protocols, specifially ATM and cell packet switching. The manufacturer must submit their corporate policy that details their commitment to support the ATM forum standards-based ATM services when such standards are formally adopted and implemented. Section III, Desirable Features: (1) 5 Gbps of aggregate or greater backplane bandwidth. (2) Aggregate switching of more than 4 million packets per second or greater. (3) Support at least 75 LAN segments. (4) Clearly labeled ports and switches. (5) Clear documentation with complete indexes, glossaries, diagrams and illustrations, configurations guides, and troubleshooting charts. Interested firms must respond in writing and provide the following documentation: (1) Documentation which addresses each point under Technical Specifications (Section I) indicating how their product specifcally meets each requirement. Additional product literature will be accepted; however, there must be a clear cover document addressing each subsection under Section I, Technical Specifications, in the order given. (2) A budgetary quotation for one Intelligent Network Hub meeting all technical specifications and outfitted with one FDDI module (at least 8-port), two Ethernet modules (at least 6-port), and all other required power supplies, environment, routing, or other hardware/software modules necessary to meet the technical requirements. (3) A current price listing for other modules available for the hub for which a budgetary quote is given. (4) A description of the original warranty plus hardware/software maintenance options (on-site/24-hour swap/telephone support/updates) and budgetary quotation for each option if purchased with the original hub purchase. (5) A description of current and past corporate experience in the development of Intelligent Network Hubs, including a description of corporate strategy to support standards-based development toward higher performance protocols, specifically ATM and cell packet switching. Responses to this synopsis will be evaluated to determine which firms are considered capable of meeting the specifications and objectives of this procurement. Responses will be considered based on the following criteria: (1) Ability to meet requirements of the technical specification (Section I above); (2) Vendor experience and commitment to future standards (Section II above); and (3) Ability to provide desirable features (Section III above). Additionally, firms will be asked to meet with CEBAF and make presentation regarding their corporate experience and strategy, as well as their ability to meet CEBAF's specification. Responses must include all the above requested documentation, and must be mailed to the Procurement Department, 12000 Jefferson Avenue, Newport News, VA 23606 in time to be received by May 15, 1995. Questions regarding this procurement should be telefaxed to Ross Small at 804-249-7057. (115)

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