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 SOL 52-DDNR-0-90030 DUE 052600 POC William L. Voitk, Contracting Officer, (301) 713-0839 extension 185 WEB: Click here to RFP web site, http://www.rdc.noaa.gov/~amd/SOLINDEX.HTML. E-MAIL: Click here to e-mail Contracting Officer, william.voitk@agf.noaa.gov. The Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), intends to acquire a High Performance Computing System (HPCS) for its Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) in Plainsboro, New Jersey. The Government requires a single contractor to be responsible for the design, installation, maintenance, and support (e.g., software maintenance, hardware maintenance, applications analysis) of the HPCS. The primary objective of this acquisition is to acquire balanced, comprehensive computing capability for GFDL. This includes not only high-performance computing but also corresponding capabilities for data management and archiving, analysis and visualization of model results, and networking and telecommunications that the Laboratory needs to most effectively advance its research programs. The Government requires a phased delivery of all components of the HPCS. The initial HPCS delivered during the base period must provide a substantial increase over current capabilities in computational throughput for the Laboratory and must meet or exceed the requirements cited in the Statement of Need . At least one substantial upgrade to the sustained throughput must be offered during the base contract period, with archiving and other HPCS capabilities increasing commensurately. The system life for the HPCS is projected to be seven years (FY2000-FY2006). The contract will be divided into a base period (FY2000-2003), followed by an option period (FY2004-2006). During the base period, the contract will be renewed each year subject to the availability of funds. The decision to exercise the option period in FY2004 will be made by evaluating a proposal, submitted by the incumbent contractor at the end of FY2002, that provides detailed specifications for the HPCS. The HPCS proposed for the option period (FY2004-2006) must offer a guaranteed increase in computational performance over the system delivered as the final substantial upgrade during the contract base period. If the option period is exercised, the contract will be renewed each of the following years (FYs 2005 and 2006), subject to the availability of funds. The requirement also includes options to increase the main memory by a minimum of 512MB and 1GB per processor during the base period. The project funding profile for the seven-year system life is available in a document entitled "Project Agreement for the Acquisition of a High-Performance Computing Environment for the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory" . This document is available at http://www.gfdl.gov/hpcs/ . Offerors may propose any method of acquisition or financing arrangement with the knowledge that the Government prefers a lease arrangement. The Government does not desire to own the system (except the Hierarchical Storage Management System [HSMS]) at the conclusion of the system life. Proposal of acquisition alternatives should be consistent with the funding profile cited in the RFP . This acquisition will be conducted using a streamlined process described in a document entitled "Department of Commerce Acquisition Process Case for Change." The document is located on the Internet at the following site: http://www.oamweb.osec.doc.gov/conops . The Government anticipates awarding a contract in September 2000 with system delivery in November 2000. A milestone schedule and related information (e.g., Project Agreement, RFI, etc.) for this acquisition can be found at http://www.gfdl.gov/hpcs/ . The Request for Proposal (RFP) will be available via the Internet at the following site: http://www.rdc.noaa.gov/~amd/SOLINDEX.HTML . Please monitor this website for release of the RFP. Printed copies of the RFP will not be provided unless specifically requested in writing to the Contracting Officer. Companies that responded to a previous synopsis for Request for Information (RFI) appearing in the September 27, 1999 issue of the CBD will be notified by e-mail message of the RFP's release. See Note(s) 12 and 26. Posted 03/13/00 (W-SN433789). (0073)

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