Argonne National Laboratory, Procurement Department, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439-4873

D -- ILLINOIS WIRED/WIRELESS INFRASTRUCTURE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION DUE 033100 POC Karen Cobb (630) 252-6599 WEB: The State of Illinois I-WIRE Project, http://www.i-wire.org. E-MAIL: e-mail address for Karen Cobb, cobb@mcs.anl.gov. Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago are initiating a project called "Illinois Wired/Wireless Infrastructure for Research and Education" (I-WIRE) that will create a state-of-the-art wide area network test infrastructure in the State of Illinois. The I-WIRE project has been funded by Illinois Governor George H. Ryan as part of the "Illinois First" program aimed at enhancing technology infrastructure and development in Illinois. The project will build flexible, high performance network test facilities initially interconnecting sites within the City of Chicago (University of Chicago, University of Illinois-Chicago), DuPage County (Argonne National Laboratory) and Downstate Illinois (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and National Center for Supercomputing Applications). A second phase of connectivity is tentatively planned to connect additional sites in the City of Chicago and possibly elsewhere in the State of Illinois. The I-WIRE project does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this solicitation or to otherwise pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subsection 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. Although "proposal" and "offeror" are used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal. This solicitation is issued for the purpose of the I-WIRE project seeking to create a collaborative team with innovative network equipment suppliers and one or more telecommunications carriers to create an optical network testbed consisting of at least 24 strands of fiber capable of supporting advanced dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) systems and interconnecting the sites listed above. Using the fiber infrastructure, this team will build a series of test networks that will (a) support current-generation Internet Protocol connectivity at multi-Gigabits/second with advanced network management and functionality including dynamic quality of service, (b) demonstrate and field-test emerging technologies that support multi-tens of Gigabits/second bandwidth, and (c) explore next-generation technologies and architectures that will be required to support Terabit/second Internetworks and their applications. I-WIRE facilities will be used as a distributed laboratory for research, design, development, and testing of network technologies including (but not limited to) DWDM, optical switching, multi-protocol switching/routing, dynamic network management, quality of service protocols, and network architectures required to support Terabit-class Internets. Advanced application technologies laboratories will be connected to the I-WIRE facilities in order to integrate the application and network activities. A number of applications are targeted for initial use of I-WIRE, each demonstrating a complex set of network requirements with respect to bandwidth, security, multimedia (streaming, multicast, etc.), latency, reliable transport, adaptability, and requirements variability. Example applications that are currently demonstrating the need for an advanced wide area network such as will be provided by the I-WIRE project include distributed virtual reality supporting realistic telepresence, distributed information processing systems supporting 1,000 times the power of current "supercomputers," and adaptable "smart buildings" that combine wireless networks, network appliances, and high-definition display technologies to support natural human interaction using telepresence systems. A Request for Information (RFI) has been issued, available at www.i-wire.org and based on responses a Request for Proposals may follow. A detailed interest and capability statement (see RFI for instructions and contact information) is requested from interested firms by 4:30pm central time on Friday, March 31, 2000. All interested firms are highly encouraged to attend a detailed briefing to be held on Tuesday, February 29 from 10am to 12pm in Room 261, Building 221, Argonne National Laboratory. Attendees must register in advance by calling Karen Cobb at (630) 252-6599 or sending email to cobb@mcs.anl.gov. Attendees should consult www.i-wire.org for directions to the laboratory and for registration instructions. Posted 02/16/00 (W-SN426218). (0047)

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