Department of Commerce, Mountain Administrative Support Center, Procurement Division, MC3, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80303-3328

70 -- NETWORK HARDWARE POC See Text The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is conducting market research to determine the types of commercially available network hardware that can be used to build a flexible high-performance network for NOAA's use in a new building. The results of the marketing research will be used by NOAA to determine if commercial hardware exists to meet agency requirements, and to determine how to modify agency requirements to best match the capabilities of available commercial network hardware. A new research laboratory and office building is under construction in Boulder, Colorado. This facility will be over 300,000 square feet, and will house about 1100 researchers and their support staff. Current construction schedules call for the network to be brought on line during late summer 1998. To properly support the world-class environmental research that NOAA undertakes, a world-class network is required. The cable plant that will be installed has been designed by NOAA staff and will consist of a single/multi-mode fiber optic backbone with both multi-mode fiber and Category 5 copper to the desktop. NOAA is seeking design ideas from high-performance network hardware manufacturers on how best to utilize the installed cable plant to create a state-of-the-art network with robust and redundant components such that down time will not occur. The network backbone will be based on network protocols compatible with the Internet Protocol (IP) Suite, must have greater than 150 Mbit/sec bandwidth with growth capabilities, must be capable of carrying video over IP, and must be capable of supporting IP multicasts. The network must preserve the autonomy of the various research laboratories that will occupy the building. Multiple external wide-area network connections will be required, including a multi-megabit Internet connection. Details of the cable plant, the new building, and the network requirements will be provided to representatives of interested network hardware manufacturers at a briefing to be heldin Boulder, Colorado on Thursday, January 23rd at 10 A.M. MST. Within a month after the above briefing, interested parties may schedule a time and date with NOAA in which they will be expected to make a one-hour oral presentation, at their own expense, on design ideas and commercially available network hardware and installation services. This presentation should also include a rough cost estimates for the hardware, installation services, and annual hardware maintenance costs. Briefing materials may be submitted to NOAA in advance so that it can be reviewed prior to the presentation. Please contact Britt Bassett, the NOAA-Boulder Network Manager, via email at britt@erl.noaa.gov for reservations to attend this briefing, for details on where it will be held and for an address to send any briefing materials. (0348)

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