Request for Proposal: ALCF HPSS Disk Cache

UChicago Argonne, LLC, acting as the operator of Argonne National Laboratory under a prime contract with the U.S. Department of Energy, is soliciting firm fixed price proposals for the procurement of HPSS disk cache hardware, software licensing, installation, and ongoing maintenance and support services. The solicitation, identified as RFP #6-B143-P-00143-00 and updated by Addendum No. 1 issued on May 19, 2026, requires the contractor to deliver a standalone appliance accessible via direct block storage access to Linux data mover hosts, with all storage presented as raw, unformatted block devices and managed through internal virtual machines. The system must meet specific technical criteria including maximum block device count and memory scaling constraints, and all deliverables are subject to acceptance at Building 240 on the Argonne campus in Lemont, Illinois, following a jointly developed Acceptance Test Plan that verifies performance, scalability, resilience, and reliability through benchmarking and forced-failure testing. The period of performance for base support extends for five years after system acceptance, with an option to extend for an additional year, and delivery of all components must be completed by September 1, 2026, with FOB Destination terms applying to all shipments addressed to the designated data center. Evaluation of proposals will follow a best-value trade-off methodology where technical merit carries the greatest weight, assessed on a five-point adjectival scale from Outstanding to Unacceptable, with a mandatory minimum of Marginal for eligibility and risk levels evaluated as Low, Moderate, or High. The Business/Management Proposal is evaluated on a pass/fail basis for contractor responsibility, while the Price Proposal is assessed for realism, reasonableness, and probable cost without assigning adjectival ratings. Proposals must be submitted as three separate electronic files—Technical, Business/Management, and Cost/Price—and mailed submissions are not accepted; all proposals must be emailed to atkinson@anl.gov by 4:30 PM CST on June 5, 2026, with the RFP number clearly stated in the subject line. Contractors must comply with numerous federal and Department of Energy regulations, including worker safety standards under 10 CFR Part 851 and 29 CFR Parts 1910/1926, environmental requirements under 40 CFR, and cybersecurity obligations requiring compliance with NIST, ISO, SOC2, PCI-DSS, or HITRUST standards.