Whitfield County Schools Sealed Solicitation
Title: Technology - Servers and SANS
Deadline: 3/22/2023 2:00 PM (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Status: Awarded
Solicitation Number: WCS-IT-2023-016
Description: Provide new equipment to replace existing Cisco UCS with 6 UCSB-B200-M4 blades and HP Nimble SAN cluster Model AF3000 with 24TB RAW SSD storage.
Documents:
| Documents as of 2/22/2023 |
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Addition 1
Posted: 2/22/2023
Type of Addition: Additional Documents
Overview: This should provide a detailed inventory of our current hardware.
Documents:
Addition 2
Posted: 3/6/2023
Type of Addition: SAN Specification for Quoting
Overview: I would like to see Solid SAN solutions like I have as well as Hybrid solutions.
Addition 3
Posted: 3/6/2023
Type of Addition: SAN Specification for Quoting
Overview: WCS would like to see SAN solutions that are SSD/NVME as well as Hybrid solutions. NO HDD-only solutions.
Addition 4
Posted: 3/9/2023
Type of Addition: Clarification on Distance
Overview: In a previous quote, the question was asked about the distance between data centers. Currently, the distance is ~8KM, however, we will be moving to a new datacenter that is further away ~20 miles. In my last response to CDWG, I noted the new distance. Please use the 20-mile distance if it affects your solution.
Addition 5
Posted: 3/9/2023
Type of Addition: More information on Servers and VMware
Overview:
Addition 6
Posted: 8/25/2023
Type of Addition: Award Information
Overview: Awarded to CDW-G for - Dell = $381,968.94 and Verinext - Cisco/Pure Storage = $441,851.76
Amount: $823,820.70
Question 1
Posted: 2/22/2023
Question: what is the part list/Qtys to build out the quote
Response: I am attached several documents to the RFP posting that should answer this question.
Question 2
Posted: 2/22/2023
Question: will you be open to a solution from Dell EMC?
Response: This RFP as stated is open to solutions and is not MFG-specific. We are open to considering anything that meets the request.
Question 3
Posted: 2/28/2023
Question: Are you open to a refresh of Cisco UCS for the server component?
Response: We are open to any options that meet requirements that you would like to provide.
Question 4
Posted: 3/2/2023
Question: What is the distance between data centers? What is the latency between the 2 data centers? (for synchronous replication) Any backup software or disaster recovery application to quote? Is there a minimum number of CPU/Cores/memory for the new VMWare environment? What is the Network Topology? FCP / Ethernet Please define: - requirements for EOL not less than 7 years? - expectations for training certification for servers and storage? - expectations for configuration and verification of Jumbo Frame configuration or SAN traffic? - Scope of migration for New Servers and New Storage? (using VMotion?)
Response: What is the distance between data centers? ~8KM What is the latency between the 2 data centers? min/avg/max/mdev = 0.363/0.391/0.478/0.027 ms (25 icmp packets sent) Any backup software or disaster recovery application to quote? You may include it as an option, but it is not requested in this RFP Is there a minimum number of CPU/Cores/memory for the new VMWare environment? You have a hardware inventory included. Match that. What is the Network Topology? All schools connect to each data center with 2Gb of bandwidth. The Data Centers have 10Gb of Bandwidth in and out of each site. The Layer 2 link between the two data centers is 10Gb. All ethernet Please define: - requirements for EOL not less than 7 years? Hardware and support should not go EOL no less than 7 years. We usually pay for 5 years of support but the hardware is still good and I will most of the time extend it until the hardware has reached EOL. I do not want to buy something that the hardware is EOL in 3 years and support/upgrades are no longer offered at year 5. expectations for training certification for servers and storage? If your proposed offering has training that leads to a certification we want that included as an option. Otherwise just normal setup/handoff training is expected as a base. expectations for configuration and verification of Jumbo Frame configuration or SAN traffic? Assist is making sure the Servers and Sans are communicating with Jumbo Frames and it is not having a negative impact on network performance. Scope of migration for New Servers and New Storage? (using VMotion?) Do to not knowing what your solution is, all I can say is we currently have Vmware. So we will need to migrate from that to your solution however that must happen.
Question 5
Posted: 3/8/2023
Question: • What is your current Hypervisor and how has your experience been with the current hypervisor? • If you currently use VMware vSphere, what tier of vSphere license do you have? (Ex: vSphere Enterprise Plus, vSphere Standard, Etc.) • How many processors do you currently have on the CISCO UCSB-B200-M4 blade servers? • What is the core count/clock speed of each processor? • Would you like the new solution to match the current clock speed, or would you like to increase the clock speed to accommodate any future growth? • How much memory do you have on each server? Does the memory need to be increased to accommodate any future growth? • What is the current model, speed, and port count of current SAN switches? • What HBAs do you use on servers? • What is the target usable capacity for the new storage array? • How many drive failures do you protect against with your current array? • What is the block-file split in your environment? o Oracle, SQL, SAP – Database applications ? Block Data o Active directory, Microsoft suite, rich media (video, PDF, audio) ? File Data • What network connectivity do you currently have on the HP Nimble array? Applications/Workloads • What are the current applications/workloads that you currently have in your environment? • Are you planning to add any applications/workloads in the future? • Are there any applications/workloads that you’d categorize as mission critical (require the most uptime)? Backups and Disaster Recovery • When are your backup windows and what are your schedule? Are you meeting those? • What does your current back up hardware look like? How old is it? • How far away are the two data centers for the Active/Active replication?
Response: • What is your current Hypervisor and how has your experience been with the current hypervisor? Vmware • If you currently use VMware vSphere, what tier of vSphere license do you have? (Ex: vSphere Enterprise Plus, vSphere Standard, Etc.) vSphere 7 Standard • How many processors do you currently have on the CISCO UCSB-B200-M4 blade servers? 6 blades, each has 2 CPUs • What is the core count/clock speed of each processor? 8 cores, 2.4GHz • Would you like the new solution to match the current clock speed, or would you like to increase the clock speed to accommodate any future growth? Increase core count to accommodate growth. • How much memory do you have on each server? 256GB Does the memory need to be increased to accommodate any future growth? Increase to 2TB per datacenter solution with the ability to increase by 100% without replacing existing memory. • What is the current model, speed, and port count of current SAN switches? Aruba 8320, 48x10Gb, 6x40Gb. • What HBAs do you use on servers? N/A • What is the target usable capacity for the new storage array? 50TB • How many drive failures do you protect against with your current array? 3 drive failures per bank of 24 SSDs, 2 banks of 24 SSDs per array. • What is the block-file split in your environment? o Oracle, SQL, SAP – Database applications ? Block Data o Active directory, Microsoft suite, rich media (video, PDF, audio) ? File Data. Volume for SQL databases, volumes for all other VMs including, AD, file sharing, application servers, etc. • What network connectivity do you currently have on the HP Nimble array? Applications/Workloads Dual 10Gb connections per SAN controller • What are the current applications/workloads that you currently have in your environment? Web servers, SQL databases, linux servers, windows servers, file servers, print servers, application servers, etc. • Are you planning to add any applications/workloads in the future? Yes • Are there any applications/workloads that you’d categorize as mission critical (require the most uptime)? Backups and Disaster Recovery Yes • When are your backup windows and what are your schedule? Are you meeting those? Small deployment of Veeam with 10 mission critical servers that are snapshotted to another server across the WAN. Currently, yes. • What does your current back up hardware look like? How old is it? 2 year old HP server • How far away are the two data centers for the Active/Active replication? 20 miles
Posted: 2/22/2023
Type of Addition: Additional Documents
Overview: This should provide a detailed inventory of our current hardware.
Documents:
Posted: 3/6/2023
Type of Addition: SAN Specification for Quoting
Overview: I would like to see Solid SAN solutions like I have as well as Hybrid solutions.
Posted: 3/6/2023
Type of Addition: SAN Specification for Quoting
Overview: WCS would like to see SAN solutions that are SSD/NVME as well as Hybrid solutions. NO HDD-only solutions.
Posted: 3/9/2023
Type of Addition: Clarification on Distance
Overview: In a previous quote, the question was asked about the distance between data centers. Currently, the distance is ~8KM, however, we will be moving to a new datacenter that is further away ~20 miles. In my last response to CDWG, I noted the new distance. Please use the 20-mile distance if it affects your solution.
Posted: 3/9/2023
Type of Addition: More information on Servers and VMware
Overview:
Posted: 8/25/2023
Type of Addition: Award Information
Overview: Awarded to CDW-G for - Dell = $381,968.94 and Verinext - Cisco/Pure Storage = $441,851.76
Amount: $823,820.70
Posted: 2/22/2023
Question: what is the part list/Qtys to build out the quote
Response: I am attached several documents to the RFP posting that should answer this question.
Posted: 2/22/2023
Question: will you be open to a solution from Dell EMC?
Response: This RFP as stated is open to solutions and is not MFG-specific. We are open to considering anything that meets the request.
Posted: 2/28/2023
Question: Are you open to a refresh of Cisco UCS for the server component?
Response: We are open to any options that meet requirements that you would like to provide.
Posted: 3/2/2023
Question: What is the distance between data centers? What is the latency between the 2 data centers? (for synchronous replication) Any backup software or disaster recovery application to quote? Is there a minimum number of CPU/Cores/memory for the new VMWare environment? What is the Network Topology? FCP / Ethernet Please define: - requirements for EOL not less than 7 years? - expectations for training certification for servers and storage? - expectations for configuration and verification of Jumbo Frame configuration or SAN traffic? - Scope of migration for New Servers and New Storage? (using VMotion?)
Response: What is the distance between data centers? ~8KM What is the latency between the 2 data centers? min/avg/max/mdev = 0.363/0.391/0.478/0.027 ms (25 icmp packets sent) Any backup software or disaster recovery application to quote? You may include it as an option, but it is not requested in this RFP Is there a minimum number of CPU/Cores/memory for the new VMWare environment? You have a hardware inventory included. Match that. What is the Network Topology? All schools connect to each data center with 2Gb of bandwidth. The Data Centers have 10Gb of Bandwidth in and out of each site. The Layer 2 link between the two data centers is 10Gb. All ethernet Please define: - requirements for EOL not less than 7 years? Hardware and support should not go EOL no less than 7 years. We usually pay for 5 years of support but the hardware is still good and I will most of the time extend it until the hardware has reached EOL. I do not want to buy something that the hardware is EOL in 3 years and support/upgrades are no longer offered at year 5. expectations for training certification for servers and storage? If your proposed offering has training that leads to a certification we want that included as an option. Otherwise just normal setup/handoff training is expected as a base. expectations for configuration and verification of Jumbo Frame configuration or SAN traffic? Assist is making sure the Servers and Sans are communicating with Jumbo Frames and it is not having a negative impact on network performance. Scope of migration for New Servers and New Storage? (using VMotion?) Do to not knowing what your solution is, all I can say is we currently have Vmware. So we will need to migrate from that to your solution however that must happen.
Posted: 3/8/2023
Question: • What is your current Hypervisor and how has your experience been with the current hypervisor? • If you currently use VMware vSphere, what tier of vSphere license do you have? (Ex: vSphere Enterprise Plus, vSphere Standard, Etc.) • How many processors do you currently have on the CISCO UCSB-B200-M4 blade servers? • What is the core count/clock speed of each processor? • Would you like the new solution to match the current clock speed, or would you like to increase the clock speed to accommodate any future growth? • How much memory do you have on each server? Does the memory need to be increased to accommodate any future growth? • What is the current model, speed, and port count of current SAN switches? • What HBAs do you use on servers? • What is the target usable capacity for the new storage array? • How many drive failures do you protect against with your current array? • What is the block-file split in your environment? o Oracle, SQL, SAP – Database applications ? Block Data o Active directory, Microsoft suite, rich media (video, PDF, audio) ? File Data • What network connectivity do you currently have on the HP Nimble array? Applications/Workloads • What are the current applications/workloads that you currently have in your environment? • Are you planning to add any applications/workloads in the future? • Are there any applications/workloads that you’d categorize as mission critical (require the most uptime)? Backups and Disaster Recovery • When are your backup windows and what are your schedule? Are you meeting those? • What does your current back up hardware look like? How old is it? • How far away are the two data centers for the Active/Active replication?
Response: • What is your current Hypervisor and how has your experience been with the current hypervisor? Vmware • If you currently use VMware vSphere, what tier of vSphere license do you have? (Ex: vSphere Enterprise Plus, vSphere Standard, Etc.) vSphere 7 Standard • How many processors do you currently have on the CISCO UCSB-B200-M4 blade servers? 6 blades, each has 2 CPUs • What is the core count/clock speed of each processor? 8 cores, 2.4GHz • Would you like the new solution to match the current clock speed, or would you like to increase the clock speed to accommodate any future growth? Increase core count to accommodate growth. • How much memory do you have on each server? 256GB Does the memory need to be increased to accommodate any future growth? Increase to 2TB per datacenter solution with the ability to increase by 100% without replacing existing memory. • What is the current model, speed, and port count of current SAN switches? Aruba 8320, 48x10Gb, 6x40Gb. • What HBAs do you use on servers? N/A • What is the target usable capacity for the new storage array? 50TB • How many drive failures do you protect against with your current array? 3 drive failures per bank of 24 SSDs, 2 banks of 24 SSDs per array. • What is the block-file split in your environment? o Oracle, SQL, SAP – Database applications ? Block Data o Active directory, Microsoft suite, rich media (video, PDF, audio) ? File Data. Volume for SQL databases, volumes for all other VMs including, AD, file sharing, application servers, etc. • What network connectivity do you currently have on the HP Nimble array? Applications/Workloads Dual 10Gb connections per SAN controller • What are the current applications/workloads that you currently have in your environment? Web servers, SQL databases, linux servers, windows servers, file servers, print servers, application servers, etc. • Are you planning to add any applications/workloads in the future? Yes • Are there any applications/workloads that you’d categorize as mission critical (require the most uptime)? Backups and Disaster Recovery Yes • When are your backup windows and what are your schedule? Are you meeting those? Small deployment of Veeam with 10 mission critical servers that are snapshotted to another server across the WAN. Currently, yes. • What does your current back up hardware look like? How old is it? 2 year old HP server • How far away are the two data centers for the Active/Active replication? 20 miles