AFFTC/PKAA Directorate of Contracting, 5 S Wolfe Ave, Edwards AFB CA 93524-1185

58 -- DIGITAL SWITCH MAINTENANCE SOL F04611-96-R-0052 POC Leanne Collins, Contract Negotiator, (805) 277-3900 Ext 2296. The Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) intends to negotiate a sole source contract with Communication Systems Technology, Inc. (CSTI), 8975 Guliford Road, Suite 100, Columbia, MD, 21046-1409, unless responses to this synopsis reveal other sources capable of satisfying the governments' requirement. CSTI is the only known source capable of satisfying the agency requirement. The government requires the following services: Hardware and software maintenance, hardware and software enhancements, and system maintenance support. The EDS provides all mission critical Voice and Time Space Position Information (TSPI) communications switching capability at the Ridley Mission Control Center (RMCC) at Edwards AFFTC. Similar systems are located at Eglin AFB, FL. and NAWC China Lake. The government requires support in the enhancement and maintenance of EDS components including: Model CS-2800 Subscriber Terminal Units, Model 2810 STU Channel Expanders, Programmable Line Interface Units (PLIUs), Four-wire cards, two-wire cards, cipher text cards, serial line interface cards, STU Controller Units (SCU), Digital Signal Converters (DSC), Remote Radio Control Unit (RRCU) Network Controller Software, and Workstation Software. All of the above items were developed by Communication Systems Technology Inc. (CSTI). Support will include telephone and on-site support as needed, system and component troubleshooting and repair, system enhancement, and replacement unit support for all three switch sites. The Edwards System utilizes 16 AT&T DACS IIs. The Central Switching Subsystem is the center of a star configuration using a DACS 320, capable of being expanded with line cards to supporting up to 320 T1s of communication. Each of the Control Room Switching Subsystems (CRSSs) contains two DACS 160s, one RED and one BLACK. Each DACS is capable of being expanded to 160 T1s of communication. Each switching subsystem has a minimum of 60 db of channel isolation and 107 db of isolation between Red and Black channels. The end device is a Subscriber Terminal Unit (STU). Each STU can be a RED/BLACK device or an all BLACK device. Each user position can support from 18 to 72 channels, in multiples of 18. The STUs far exceed the isolation figures given for the switch subsystems. Each STU has 18 channels each with downloadable mnemonics. In addition, one ''Indirect Access'' channel is provided for STU-to-STU dial up capability. Currently Edwards has 340 STUs and 60 STU Channel Expanders (SCEs). Edwards also has 75 Programmable Line Interface Units (PLIUs) which are programmable channel banks developed by CSTI. The channel banks are populated with four different line cards as follows: Four Wire with E&M signaling, Two Wire FXS cards, cipher text cards, and Serial Line Interface (SLI) Cards. These cards are extremely flexible and each supports different types of communications. The cipher text cards switch the 16 kilobit diphase input and output from KY-58s to their associated radios, eliminating the need for dedicated encryption units. The SLI cards switch RS-232 data from 2400 bps to 64 kbps. The SLI cards are configurable RS-232 interfaces and support several different loopback testing modes. These cards are used for switching all of the range TSPI. The EDS contains a Digital Signal Converter (DSC) which allows the EDS to interface external signals. Each DSC is capable of interfacing 144 channels to standard four-wire E&M or two-wire FXO circuits. Since the EDS uses extensive Digital Multiport Bridges (DMBs), the robbed bit signaling in a T1 cannot be used. Therefore, a tone based signaling scheme is used for all signaling internal to EDS. The DSC allows the tone based signaling to be converted to robbed bit signaling. All assets in the EDS are controlled using redundant Pentium Network Controllers (NETCONs) with shared/mirrored disks. The NETCONs use Informix as its database management tool and are responsible for all connection routing assignments and tracking. A specialized application was developed by CSTI to perform all connection logic, issue connections to all DACSs and end equipment, and configure all end equipment with the operator selectable parameters. The EDS contains 6 workstations with a specialized Graphical User Interface (GUI) which allows the system operators to manage approximately 13,000 separate interfaces. The system operator is able to connect all resources in 7 different modes and customize device parameters based on mission need. Interested parties shall show experience in the following areas of software development and maintenance: (1) SCO Unix operating systems running large applications ()500,000 lines of code), (2) the Informix database product, (3) large network and communications switching system management, (4) AT&T DACS II running either Generic 2.0 or 6.0 using Man-Machine Language MML), (5) integration and maintenance of shared/mirrored disks, (6) local area networks, (7) programming in Visual Basic and C/C++, and (8) Graphical User Interface (GUI) development. Interested parties shall show experience in the following areas of hardware development, maintenance, and production: (1) combined secure/unsecure (RED/BLACK isolation ) 140 db) communications devices such as the Subscriber Terminal Unit, (2) RRCUs and interfacing to the GRC-171 and GRC-211 radio sets, (3) embedded firmware multi-microprocessor controlled units, (4) programmable logic devices, (5) multi-layer circuit boards, and (6) D4 channel banks. Interested parties shall show experience developing, maintaining, and trouble shooting the following communications types/interfaces: T1, Ethernet LAN, ISDN protocols, RS-232 interface development, North American telephone signaling, encrypted data (specifically the TSEC/KY-58 encryption unit) management, and four-wire with E&M signaling interface. Questions regarding this synopsis should be submitted to: Directorate of Contracting, ATTN: AFFTC/PKAA (Leanne Collins), 5 South Wolfe Avenue, Bldg. 2800, Edwards AFB, CA. 93524-1185. This requirement was previously synopsized as a sources sought synopsis on 12 FEB 96. Written or telephone requests for the solicitation will not be honored. See Numbered Note(s): 22. (0129)

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