REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
#9-11-13
Storage Solution RFP
Issue Date: September 11, 2013
Due Date: Friday, October 11, 2013, 4:00pm
Anticipated Award Date: January 1, 2014
Issued by
Jackson County Information Technology Department
POINT OF CONTACT
Connie Frey
Information Technology Director [email protected]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. ABOUT JACKSON COUNTY…...……….………3
II. WORK STATEMENT……….….………....…3
III. REPORTS……….….………..…9
IV. INFORMATION REQUIRED FROM BIDDERS……….………...9
PART I
ABOUT JACKSON COUNTY I-1 Jackson County
Jackson County Government is dedicated to preserving and enhancing the outstanding quality of life which has made our community a desirable place to live, work, and raise our children. Through the provisions of cost effective, superior services, Jackson County Government will ensure the promotion of orderly growth for the economic health and safety of its citizens.
I-2 Jackson County IT Department
It is the Jackson County IT department’s mission to continue delivering current,
comprehensive, and accurate information and technology solutions in a user-friendly and reliable medium to: Jackson County Policy makers and management for their decision making process, Jackson County Staff for effective processing of their work, Jackson County Citizens, and Business Community of Jackson County for effective access to Jackson County information and interaction with processes.
Our vision is driven by the partnerships between IT and its customers to assist those customers as they redefine their business processes to meet changing needs and priorities. By being flexible, innovative, and responsive, IT will build and/or strengthen trust with our customers to solve Information Technology needs with technical solutions. The goal of the Jackson County IT department is to become a pacesetter in providing quality, leading edge technical services to its customers with the promotion of security and provision of disaster recovery and business continuity.
PART II
WORK STATEMENT II-1 Purpose of the Project
In order to accomplish these goals, Jackson County is requesting proposals from qualified firms to assist us in replacing our existing SAN. This change will involve the replacement of our physical servers to support a virtual server environment and a storage area network (SAN).
II-2 Background Information
Jackson County’s Information Technology Department provides computing and
communications services in support of the County’s services to the community. To deliver those services IT has implemented and maintains a computer server platform
technologies.
Today, over 30 of the servers run on three VMware physical servers which are maintained by a virtual vSphere server. An additional 10 servers run on individual physical machines and will be converted to virtual using VMware Physical to Virtual conversion software.
The County maintains several mission critical servers that are both virtual and physical. It is imperative that the migration to the new server/SAN environment requires minimum downtime.
The current virtual server environment consists of the following:
• Three Virtual Servers – PowerEdge2950 Servers in 1 Different VMware Cluster o Cluster 1 – PowerEdge2950 – 8x2.66 GHz, 32GB RAM, 2.8TB of space •
• Storage Area Network o EMC CX310
o Two redundant Controllers o Storage
11TB of Usable Storage
500GB of free, unallocated space
• One Virtual VMware vCenter server with VMotion, HA, DRS capabilities The Current backup environment consists of the following:
• Backup Solution
Backup space on (2) ExaGrid 10TB/10TB DeDupe appliances, some tape and Terastation storage devices.
II-3 Challenges
Our current infrastructure is at full capacity for storage with no room for growth. Separate storage, server, and core solutions are pieced together with no unity standard or long term goal which has led to high administration overhead. Our current infrastructure doesn’t fit our operating structure of a rapidly changing environment; we’re unable to meet quickly arising demands.
II-4 Objectives
1) Replacement of the existing servers and SAN that are at maximum capacity to support the growth of the County’s VMware virtual server environment.
2) Provide solutions that are easy to manage, offers the necessary performance, and provides a growth path for the County over the next several years. All systems must be able to be expanded by adding components.
to new VMware Infrastructure while minimizing system downtime for mission critical applications.
4) The solution should position Jackson County for future networking technologies, growth, and initiatives including Cloud computing, Disaster Recovery, and reducing Total Cost of Ownership.
II-5 Requirements 5-B SAN Solution
o 51TB base usable storage after RAID implementation and expansion capability without major cost outlays.
o Provide additional quotes for addition of 10TB space growth with high speed disks, and or 15K SAS.
o Storage
o Expansion of existing disk without requiring system overhaul or downtime of data to end users.
o Thin Provisioning of disk and space allocation.
o Mutli-tiered storage with automatic data progression on block-level. o Ability to mix and match drive types and sizes for storage tiers.
o Chargeback solution for disk usage based on volume. Not a third party software solution.
o Controllers and Connectivity
o Fault tolerant storage controllers, must not have a single point of failure between controllers, within controllers, or share a common backplane, and must be configured in active/active mode.
o Controllers must allow expansion, replacement, or upgrade of controllers without affecting existing system and data availability.
o Redundant 8GB Fibre connectivity with MPIO support, NPIV, and no single source of failure.
o Redundant 10GB iSCSI connectivity with MPIO support and no single source of failure.
o Other Features
o Instant Replay capabilities to have multiple point-in-time copies of data. These blocks of data must not occupy additional disk space, and must be able to be re-assigned to other systems.
o Support for synchronous and asynchronous replication.
o Bi-directional replication support, and to dissimilar hardware configurations without requiring additional 3rd party software.
o Enterprise management software to support local and remote SANs, and reporting capabilities.
o Sub-Admin capabilities to manage volumes and servers through management software with delegated access.
5-C Servers
o 96GB RAM per host with expansion slots available for additional memory. o 1 10Gbps card per host with 2 ports on each card.
o 1 8Gps card per host with 2 ports on each card.
o Configuration for redundant support of the internal network, DMZ, VMotion. o Redundant power, cooling.
o Redundant network connections.
o Network management port for remote system administration. o Mirrored drives.
o Servers must be blade servers o Chassis for blades
o Embedded virtual os ability to boot from SAN o
5-D Cables
o If specific power outlets or connectivity are required for any components in this project, include specifications.
5-E Services
o Vendor will be responsible for installation and configuration of SAN solution. o Work will include implementation of SAN to new VMware servers.
o Configuration of any additional switches or networking equipment required to facilitate SAN in environment.
o A minimum of three IT staff personnel will be trained on the SAN solution with the expectation that IT staff will be able to perform the following after the completion of training:
o Manage the SAN environment Installation of new drives.
Configuration/modification of drive configurations. Monitor for problems/errors in the SAN environment.
Create, modify, or delete volumes, replays, and replay profiles. Add additional servers to SAN environment from server to SAN
connectivity.
o Vendor will assist in creating a new VMware environment on the new server and SAN infrastructure.
o Vendor will assist with Physical to Virtual machine conversion for existing 2003 and 2008 physical servers.
o Configure all networks and VLANs to new VMware environment.
o Create high availability cluster between new servers and SAN environment. o Vendor will provide Best Practices documentation and display examples during
training and configuration for all environments. 5-F Hardware
o All equipment must be new including components, and rack-mountable. o 5 year, 24x7 warranty with 4-hour response time for onsite maintenance. o All hardware should have the same start & end date for maintenance contracts
with payments being the same date every year.
the initial 5 year contract.
PART III REPORTS
III-1 Reports
Jackson County reserves the right, at Jackson County’s option, to request periodic
meetings with vendor management staff to discuss topics including, but not limited to, the following: general project direction, management, and coordination; technical
infrastructure and standards, statement of work clarifications; and time keeping and other project progress records. Any problems, real or anticipated, should be brought to the attention of the County project manager, and notification of any significant deviation from previously agreed-upon work plans will be reported as needed.
PART IV
INFORMATION REQUIRED FROM BIDDERS
Contract proposals must provide sufficient information to permit a determination that project requirements can be met and that the project plan will be successfully
implemented.
Specific objectives, general work tasks and special project organization and management requirements have been developed and are detailed in this RFP. The successful bidder must describe in sufficient detail how its plan and tasks will be implemented, the
resources, materials and equipment which will be utilized, and how the necessary project management interactions will be carried out. Contract proposals must be submitted in the format outlined below:
IV-1 Business Organization
IV-2 Statement of the Problem
State in succinct terms your understanding of the problem presented by this RFP. IV-3 Management Summary
Describe in narrative form the management structure, methods, and procedures selected by your organization to complete the project as described in the RFP. Include evaluation and quality assurance measures.
IV-4 Authorized Negotiators
Include the names and phone numbers of personnel of your organization authorized to negotiate the proposed contract with the County.
IV-5 Prior Experience Disclosure
Given the project objectives, the contractor must demonstrate an established competence with respect to VMware, servers, storage area networks, and backup solutions to achieve project objectives within time and cost constraints.
Proposals submitted must include in this section a listing of qualifying experience, including project description, costs, start dates, projected end dates, and actual end dates of projects successfully completed.
IV-6 Time Frame
To assist in the preparation of your proposal, the County contemplates the project will take three months from awarding of the project.
IV-7 Hardware/Software Specifications
Provide specifications for all hardware and software detailing individual components and modules for all items based on your understanding of the requirements in this proposal. Provide explanations to describe the purpose of individual components and software features.
IV-8 Maintenance and Support
Explain what is included in maintenance/support agreements. Make sure to address each of the following items.
• Is there a limit on support calls?
• What is the response time from when a call is placed? • What are the escalation methods?
• Is there an online tracking application where tickets may be tracked, monitored, and updated?
• Does the maintenance agreement include all future software enhancements or are there additional costs for new releases or versions?
Include a copy of the maintenance/support agreement as a part of the RFP response.
IV-9 Pricing Information
Multiple proposals/options from a single vendor will be considered. It may be
advantageous to provide a proposal that meets the specifications and provide another proposal that may be higher in price, but the vendor feels would better meet the County’s needs today and in the future. Price will not be the only factor evaluated when comparing solutions.
Proposals should include the fee for the entire project as a whole, and broken down in to sub categories for each major component of the project. Final pricing should also include taxes, delivery, services, and other associated costs with the project.
IV-10 Additional Information/Questions
Provide as much relevant information as deemed necessary for Jackson County to select the most appropriate solution.
Provide a sample contract for hardware, software, and services.
Provide a diagram(s) detailing server, hardware, software, and connection configuration information.
Provide product data sheets and/or technical documentation. PART V
GENERAL INFORMATION V-1 Issuing Office
This RFP is issued by Jackson County. Connie Frey is the point of contact in the County for purposes of contract administration. 517 768-6717.
V-2 Contract Award
work.
The County reserves the right to consider proposals or modifications received at any time before award is made, if such action is in the best interest of the County.
V-3 Rejection of Proposals
The County reserves the right to reject any and all proposals received as a result of this RFP, or to negotiate separately with any source whatsoever in any manner necessary to serve the best interests of the County. The County does not intend to award a contract solely on the basis of any response made to this request or otherwise pay for the information solicited or obtained.
V-4 Incurring Costs
County is not liable for any cost incurred by the firm prior to the issuance of a contract. V-5 Pre-proposal Conference
A vendor demonstration may be required prior to final selection. V-6 Inquiries
Questions that arise as a result of this RFP which require a written response must be submitted in email to [email protected]. All questions must be submitted on or before October 1, 2013.
V-7 Addenda to the RFP
In the event it becomes necessary to revise any part of this RFP, addenda will be
provided to all firms that were initially sent an RFP and any firms that have expressed an interest in the RFP and provided their contact information to the IT department. Addenda will also be posted to the Jackson County website.
V-8 Response Date
To be considered, proposals must arrive at the Clerk’s Office at 312 S. Jackson, Jackson MI 49201 on or before October 11,, 2013. Firms mailing proposals must allow normal delivery time to insure timely receipt of their proposals.
V-9 Proposals
authorized to bind the firm to its provisions. For this RFP, the proposal must remain valid for at least 90 days.
V-10 Confidential Information
If a prospective vendor includes any proprietary information in a proposal that it wishes to keep confidential, the prospective vendor shall make a request in writing and provide justification to support the request for confidentiality.
V-11 Compliance
Selected vendor shall be fully responsible for compliance with all applicable federal, state and local codes, statutes, rules, regulations, laws, procedures and ordinances, including any and all applicable rules, regulations and local ordinances relevant to the particular services sought by this RFP.
V-12 Evaluation Factors – See Attachment A for additional breakdown. Proposals will be evaluated and scored according to the following factors:
• Degree to which proposed solution fits requirements in this RFP. o SAN
o Servers o Services
o Vendor Overall Compliance
Vendor’s experience with similar projects. Professional qualifications of key personnel. Estimated project fees or costs.
Appendix A: Final Weighted Grading Sheet
SAN RFP Grading Sheet
SAN
Category Grade Weight Score
Snapshots 3 Expandable Disk ‐ Preset Cost 3 51TB Usable Space 3 Charge Back 3 Thin Provision 3 High Availability 3 Tiered Storage 2 8GB Fibre 2 10G iSCSI 2 Replication ‐ Asynch 2 Replication ‐ Synch 2 Management SW 1 Sub‐Admin 1 Category SubTotal: Servers
Category Grade Weight Score
Blade Chassis 3 10GB Ethernet 3 8GB Fibre 3 HA Hardware 3 HA Network 2 Remote Management 2 Hardware Sizing 2 Category SubTotal: Services
Category Grade Weight Score
Train SAN 3
Train Servers 2
Install / Integrate Servers 2
Category SubTotal:
Vendor / Overall
Category Grade Weight Score
Price 5 Overall Solution 5 Vendor Prior Experience 3 HW/SW Support Contract 3 Single Source Vendor for Products 3 Energy Efficiency Hardware 3 Future DR support/initiative 3 Staffing Credentials / Certifications 2 Vendor References 2 Vendor Single point of Contact 2 Future Cloud support/initiative 2 Category SubTotal: Total Scoring Section
Category Grade Weight
