70 -- High Performance Computing System for NOAA's R&D Requirements

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), intends to acquire an advanced high performance computer system(s) (HPCS) to meet its research and development (R&D) computing requirements. This system(s) is necessary to support NOAA's continued advances in environmental modeling capabilities and to meet other high performance computing requirements that may arise within NOAA and at other partner agencies. The Government requires a single contractor to be responsible for the design, installation, maintenance, and support of the HPCS that will advance NOAA Research and Development (R&D) programs. The primary acquisition goal is to acquire balanced, comprehensive computing capabilities configured from commercially-available items including processors, storage, software, support, and maintenance services that will allow NOAA to meet its increasing processing requirements. The new HPCS will replace or augment the current R&D HPCS platforms of NOAA's Forecast Systems Laboratory (FSL) in Boulder, Colorado; the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) in Princeton, New Jersey; and the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) located in Camp Springs, Maryland. The replacement system(s) will be known as the NOAA R&D HPCS and will provide a primary resource needed to carry out NOAA's research mission. The system life for the HPCS is projected to be eight years (FY2006-FY2013). The contract will be divided into a four-year base period (FY2006-FY2009), followed by a four-year option period (FY2010-2013). During the base period, the contract will be renewed each year subject to the availability of funds. The decision to exercise the option period, will be made by evaluating a proposal, submitted by the incumbent contractor during FY2008. The HPCS proposed for the option period must offer a guaranteed increase in computational performance over the previously delivered system(s). If the option period is exercised, the contract will be renewed each of the following years in the option period, subject to the availability of funds. Also included in the contract will be an option for the Government to extend the base contract period for an additional year. The intent of this one-year option is to provide the Government with sufficient time to complete a competitive follow-on acquisition should the four-year option contract period not be exercised. A similar one-year option will be included in the contract to extend the option contract period to permit transition to a follow-on contractor should it be necessary. The total period of the contract could be as long as nine years. The contract will include two indefinite quantity options. The first indefinite quantity option provides a capability to acquire additional HPCS augmentations. These additional augmentations could be used to satisfy unanticipated NOAA requirements or requirements from a partnering agency, and will be established as fixed-price. The second indefinite quantity option will provide engineering support (e.g., applications analyst, systems/network/security engineer, and facilities engineer) on a labor-hour basis. These two options may be exercised at any time during the contract life. The total estimated ceiling amount of this acquisition, inclusive of all options, and based upon maximum quantities for the indefinite quantity options, is $368 million. An annual project funding profile for the system life, inclusive of all options, will be provided in the Request fro Proposal. 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 at the conclusion of the system life, with the exception of the hierarchical storage management system(s) which will be purchased by the Government during the contract life. Proposal of acquisition alternatives should be consistent with the funding profile cited in the RFP. The Government anticipates awarding a contract in September 2005 with initial system installation commencing in the fall of 2005. A milestone schedule and related information (e.g., draft RFP Sections, Project Agreement, RFI, etc.) for this acquisition can be found at http://rdhpcs.noaa.gov/. The Request for Proposal (RFP) will be available via the Internet at the same web site. 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 1, 2004, issue of Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOps) will be notified by e-mail message of the RFP's release. See Notes 12 and 26.