U.S. Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/OFA/AGFS/AMD -- OFA51, 1305 East West Highway -- Station 7604, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910

70 -- HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING SYSTEM DUE 102599 POC William Voitk (301)713-0839 extension 185 E-MAIL: click her to contact the contracting officer, William.L.Voitk@agf.noaa.gov. The Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), anticipates acquiring a High-Performance Computing System (HPCS) that will enhance the computing capabilities at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) in Plainsboro, New Jersey. This enhanced computational capability will replace GFDL's current T932 and T3E supercomputers, leased from SGI /Cray Research, and will provide all of the resources needed by GFDL to carry out its computational research. Increased computational power is essential for GFDL to make progress in solving some of the very difficult problems confronting the climate and weather research community, and to support on-going and developing research collaborations within NOAA and with other government agencies. In order to fulfill the objective of acquiring the HPCS in FY2000, GFDL will utilize the Department of Commerce's re-engineered acquisition process referred to as "Consolidated Operations" or CONOPS, described in "Department of Commerce Acquisition Process Case for Change" (available from the CONOPS home page located at http://oamweb.osec.doc.gov/conops). A High Performance Computing System Acquisition Team ("the Team"), has been formed within the Department of Commerce, and a Project Agreement has been executed between the Team and management to spell out the objectives, milestones, approach, budget and resources available for the project. The Project Agreement and background documents describing this project are available on the Internet at the Project web site (http://www.gfdl.gov/hpcs/). Interested parties should continue to monitor this web site for additional information concerning this project. GFDL is seeking varied concepts and innovative approaches to obtain the needed computing system within the time frame and budget allocated. Publishing of the Project Agreement is intended to provide the high-performance computer industry a general overview of the requirements, time frames and budget, as wellas to open a formal communication channel between industry and the Team. The Team will also provide a draft Statement of Need (SON) on the Project web site and sample benchmark codes in September 1999. The Team welcomes industry comments, questions and suggestions which will aid the Team in developing its acquisition strategy and finalizing the SON. The Team will consider input received in response to this RFI as it continues to develop the SON and the Request for Proposals (RFP). The Team does not anticipate the need for a pre-proposal conference, but if one is deemed necessary, information will be posted on the Project web site. The Team may conduct one-on-one communications in an effort to benefit fully from industry responses to this RFI. Parties interested in providing information which the Team may use in developing the Government's technical or acquisition approach should review carefully the Project Agreement and supporting documents referenced in the Project Agreement that are available on the Internet at the Project web site (http://www.gfdl.gov/hpcs/). One of the purposes of this RFI is to provide vendors with sample benchmark codes, which will give an indication of the type of programs that may be expected to run on GFDL's new HPCS. Instructions for obtaining the benchmark codes is available at http://www.gfdl.gov/hpcs/RFI. The Team requests that vendors submit their benchmark test results in order to give GFDL an indication of the performance of the recommended computing resources. One of the principal outcomes of vendor/Government dialog will be to ensure that viable approaches are considered during the competition. The Government may therefore utilize the information provided to design its acquisition strategy to take into account viable acquisition alternatives. In addition to using the information provided by vendors to assist in its acquisition strategy, the Team may also use the information to determine which vendors do not appear to be viable candidates for the eventual award of a contract. Those vendors may be contacted and informed that it does not appear to be in their best interests to compete for the GFDL contract. However, if those vendors choose to remain in the competition and later submit proposals, the Team will not be prejudiced by its initial determination. Any vendor who so wishes will receive a written or oral explanation of the Team's initial determination as it pertains to that vendor. It is not the Government's intent to disclose vendor proprietary information and trade secrets to the public. The information submitted by vendors during the pre-solicitation period may be used by the Government in preparing its RFP and finalizing the SON, provided this can be done without disclosing proprietary vendor information that is protected from disclosure pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act and other laws and regulations. Interested vendors should respond in writing to the following topics (vendors who submit written responses will be invited to augment their written responses with a 2-hour oral presentation in October 1999, which will be videotaped by GFDL): (a) A description of an HPCS that maximizes system life throughput while remaining within the estimated budget. System life throughput will be measured by combining the performance of the final benchmarks with a proposed availability level (additional details are provided in section 5.7 of the draft SON). (b) An upgrade plan (including business and technical approach) of how the Government will benefit during the life cycle of this acquisition. The following topics should be addressed: (i) A technology roadmap and how it relates to the length of the contract and the frequency of upgrades. (ii) Potential architectural transitions across upgrades. (iii) A contract of shorter duration with options to extend the contract for additional years based on guaranteed levels of sustained system throughput as measured by benchmark performance, or a contract of longer duration that provides mechanisms for creative technology upgrades in its later years. (c) A description of the services which will be provided to maintain the HPCS over its proposed 5-year life. (See draft SON, available September 1999.) (d) Potential financing alternatives, such as straight leasing, LTOPs, purchase and rough cost estimates for the alternatives, broken down by hardware, software, and services, and any other associated costs. It is the intent of GFDL to acquire the HPCS via a contractual arrangement satisfying the following conditions: (i) The payments for system acquisition are expected to extend over 6 fiscal years (2000-2005) and may conclude with the system belonging to the Government. (ii) The intended life-cycle for the system is 6 years -- the optional cost in the 6th year (which is 2005) being limited to maintenance charges. GFDL's plan is to use this 6th year to manage a phased migration to a successor system. (iii) If the Government owns the system at the conclusion of its intended life, the system could be operated longer than is now planned, at the option of the Government. (iv) If a vendor recommends straight leasing, the vendor must demonstrate the Government's benefit in not owning the equipment at the end of the project life cycle. (e) A description of the vendor's qualifications for providing the HPCS (including the extent of subcontracting) and past experience in providing relevant computational capabilities. (f) Benchmarks (i) The vendor should attempt to compile and run the sample benchmark codes, compare the vendor's results with GFDL's results, and keep a record of the time required to run the code. GFDL expects to receive two sets of timings and results: those from (1) the code essentially unmodified and (2) an optimized code. For purposes of this RFI, essentially unmodified means that the Fortran applications are untouched, but modifications to the scripts that compile and run them are allowed. If a benchmark simply cannot be run essentially unmodified, the vendor should inform GFDL through the web page to initiate a dialogue regarding that benchmark code. It is not critical at this point in the process for the vendor to try to fully optimize performance on the benchmarks because this RFI is not an RFP. GFDL only requests timings to establish a basis for dialogue and a better overall market picture. All results and timings which the vendor reports will be kept in complete confidence. For the optimized code, the vendor is allowed to make any changes to the benchmark codes as long as they still run successfully. However, if GFDL determines that changes are too extensive or system dependent, it may enter into a dialog with that vendor to discuss the nature of the changes. Ultimately, GFDL may decide that the essentially unmodified timings and results are most meaningful. (ii) Sample benchmarks are provided that test computational capability and the ability to analyze data. The sample computational benchmarks are the ocean circulation model MOM3 and an atmospheric model from GFDL's Flexible Modeling System. The sample analysis benchmark is an eigenmode calculation. The benchmarks may be acquired by following the instructions on the RFI web site (http://www.gfdl.gov/hpcs/RFI/). There are instructions on how to run each benchmark, as well as how to determine if a run is successful. (iii) The vendor is requested to provide results on running the benchmarks. Precisely what should be provided is included in the benchmark instructions supplied with each benchmark. (g) A performance-based contractor incentive plan. The vendor's submission should reflect an understanding of the scope of the project and an overall approach to providing the required system. Multiple or alternative approaches are welcome. Although this RFI requests specific information, it is not intended to discourage innovative thinking on the part of industry to propose alternative solutions or approaches that the Team may not have considered. Interested parties may also submit comments or suggestions in addition to or in lieu of a written approach. Those comments are welcome,but will not be considered an approach for the purpose of advising vendors as to their viability as candidates for the planned competition or for invitation to a formal oral presentation. For the comments/suggestion submission, the vendor is encouraged to provide any comments or recommendations it may have on technology, acquisition strategy, contractual mechanism or other issues that would assist the Team in developing the RFP. The vendor is also encouraged to provide suggestions for inclusion of information in the RFP that would enable the vendor to prepare a complete and accurate proposal. Vendors responding should provide a point-of-contact, including: representative's name, email address, mailing address, and telephone number. Written submissions in response to this RFI should not exceed twenty (20) pages (including charts and graphs). Please submit eleven (11) paper copies (double-sided) and one (1) 3.5" high-density diskette, formatted for IBM compatible personal computers, containing one (1) WordPerfect (version 6 or higher) file, formatted for 8 " by 11" sheets, single-spaced with margins of one (1) inch on all sides, and one (1) Adobe Acrobat (PDF) file. The type for all documents submitted (including charts and graphs) should be black print on light paper, should not exceed twelve (12) characters-per-linear-inch or be smaller than twelve (12) point, and should not exceed six (6) lines-per-vertical-inch. The vendor should include one or more additional 3.5" high-density diskettes, formatted for IBM compatible personal computers, containing the benchmark source code and the textual output from each benchmark. The Team requests that all documents/diskettes be received by the Government by 4:00 PM Washington DC local time, on Monday, October 25, 1999. All documents/diskettes should be delivered to the following two locations: one (1) paper copy to: Mr. William Voitk U. S. Department of Commerce/NOAA Acquisition Management Division/ADP Contracts Branch 1305 East-West Highway, Room 7604 Silver Spring, MD 20910-3281 and ten (10) paper copies and one (1) 3.5" high-density diskette to: Dr. Brian Gross U.S. Department of Commerce/NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Route 1, Forrestal Campus, Princeton University Princeton, NJ 08542-0308 Note that vendors need not respond to this RFI as a prerequisite for participating in the acquisition. The Team will operate a "Questions and Answers" page on the Project web site for vendor questions related to this requirement. Questions should be submitted electronically to this web site. The Team will post the vendor questions and Government answers on the Project web site for public viewing, without revealing the source of the questions. If a vendor asks a question that involves proprietary information, the vendor should provide detailed information explaining why the question should be protected from disclosure. Vendor questions designated as proprietary or confidential will be protected from disclosure (except where otherwise required by law and judicial process). The Team will attempt to post answers to questions on the Project web site within a week of receipt. Posted 09/23/99 (W-SN383660). (0266)

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