NIH, OPM, 6120 Executive Blvd, Rockville, MD 20892-7260

70 -- BRAND NAME SYNOPSIS FOR INCLUSION OF CISCO ROUTERS IN THE NIH NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE ACQUISITION SOL 263-97-P(DG)-0301 POC Julius Y. Tidwell, Contracting Officer, (301)402-3074-FAX (301)402- 2431-E-mail address: Julius_Tidwell@nih.gov. This notice is published in accordance with the requirement of FAR 6.304 for the inclusion of brand name commercial items. In order to maintain compatibility, the National Institutes of Health intends to acquire Cisco Routers on a brand name basis as part of the CERTAN Network Infrastructure acquisition. The primary objective of the Computer Equipment, Resources, and Technology Acquisition for the National Institutes of Health (CERTAN) is to provide information technology resources that meet scientific, managerial, and administrative user requirements of the Institutes, Centers and Divisions of the National Institutes of Health. CERTAN is designed to provide the biomedical, statistical and administrative computer systems for which the Division of Computer Research and Technology (DCRT) provides scientific and technical support. The CERTAN Network Infrastructure acquisition will provide the National Institutes of Health with hardware components, software, maintenance, technical support, and other services required to operate and maintain the NIH backbone network (NIHnet) and to assist NIH in large-scale LAN and telecommunications installations. Technical support and other services may include design, installation, operation, and maintenance of existing and newly installed networks. The networks at NIH are and will remain open and capable of connecting systems in a multivendor environment. The CERTAN Network Infrastructure acquisition will be conducted by the National Institutes of Health, Office of Procurement Management, located in Rockville, Maryland. This acquisition may result in awards to one or more Contractors. A firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity type contract is planned. The Government anticipates awarding a contract for twelve (12) months and four one-year option periods. The solicitation will be issued on an unrestricted basis. Cisco Routers are included on a brand name basis as part of the CERTAN Network Infrastructure acquisition. NIHnet uses two proprietary Cisco network protocols to increase performance, improve network management, and provide redundancy for improved reliability and disaster recovery: EIGRP (Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol) and HSRP (Hot Spare Routing Protocol). EIGRP and HSRP are expected to be required with all routers during the contract lifetime. EIGRP -- NIH uses a Cisco routing protocol, EIGRP, to communicate between routers. EIGRP has been implemented at NIH for the routing of IP traffic resulting in fast convergence, low routing overhead, low CPU utilization, and moderate memory requirements. EIGRP routes only updates when a network change occurs, transmits only changed information, and distributes information to only those routers affected by the change. EIGRP will soon be implemented for the routing of Appletalk and Novell IPX traffic HSRP- NIH uses HSRP to implement fault-tolerant networks for mission-critical applications. By enabling one router to monitor the status of another router, HSRP ensures that if a key router should become unavailable due to scheduled maintenance, power failure, environmental problems or other reasons, a standby router will take over its functions within three seconds. In accordance with the statutory authority 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1) and the Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1(c), the National Institutes of Health intends to utilize the CERTAN Network Infrastructure contract to acquire Cisco Routers on a sole source basis. The current router models under consideration include: Item 1: Cisco Router, Model Number: 4700-M, Quantity: 48. Item 2: Cisco Router, Model Number: 7500, Quantity: 36. The Cisco 7500 series include the Cisco 7505, Cisco 7507, and Cisco 7513. Cisco Systems, Incorporated, is located at 170 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134-1706. Interested firms capable of providing routers equal to those stated above are encouraged to respond to this synopsis. All responses must be written and received within 45 calendar days from the published date of this notice. Oral communication is not acceptable and will not be honored. Responding firms shall submit a statement of interest and capability statement, which establishes a capability to meet the stated requirement. All responses should be brief and concise. Responses requesting the solicitation without the required documentation shall not be considered. A formal solicitation document is currently not available. All correspondence concerning this synopsis shall be forwarded to: National Institutes of Health, Office of Procurement Management, Attn.: Julius Y. Tidwell, Contracting Officer, 6120 Executive Blvd., EPS, Rm. 819, Rockville, MD 20892-7260, Voice Number: (301) 402-3074, Fax Number: (301) 402-2431, E-mail Address: Julius_Tidwell@NIH.GOV -- See Numbered Note(s): 22. (0086)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0314 19970331\70-0004.SOL)