70 -- DATA STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL The purpose of this Request For Information (RFI) is to conduct market research to determine the ability of industry to provide a data storage and retrieval solution for managing environmental model output and real-time solar image data in support of NOAA Space Environment Center (SEC) operations. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: The Space Environment Center needs a data base system to store and retrieve a variety of data types and which provides a method for off loading data for long term archival storage. The data types to be stored include environmental model output consisting of files containing multi-dimensional grids of numeric data, GIF and VRML images, common data format records, HTML, MPEG animations and metadata objects. In addition, solar image data will be stored which includes raw FITS images with no processing other than pixel corrections, images with various types of corrections (i.e. flat field, point spread function), difference images, composite images, and movies. The new data base system should also support time series, event and text data that exist today on SEC's legacy database systems. At a minimum the system will need to store from 500 to 1000 gigabytes of data. We anticipate regular database transactions up to 1080 million bytes per day (100K bits per second). SEC intends to develop software applications that perform pre and post processing of model and image data. Some of these applications will store data directly into the database at a regular interval while others will regularly retrieve, manipulate and then restore the data. Some SEC applications will be utilized by SEC's Forecast Center and research staff and will also require access to the data base system at regular and irregular time intervals. The potential exists for SEC developed applications that may access the data base system as often as twice a second. SEC is interested in learning about complete data base solutions (software, appropriate hardware platforms, network requirements, archiving solutions) that can: support real-time operations (365 days a year, 24 hours a day), be maintained while operational, support a distributed interface and be accessed from multiple vendor platforms through WAN, LAN and WEB interfaces, support the addition of new data types and clients, support interfaces to object oriented languages (C++ and JAVA) as well as "C", Fortran and HTML, manage large data objects. Distributed or multi-data base solutions will be considered. In addition SEC, is looking for vendors that have an established user base and commercially available product(s). SEC has a list of basic system requirements that are available to interested parties. Interested parties are encouraged to submit information that addresses and describes ideas for potential solutions to meet SEC#s data base requirements. Each information package should address the following areas: 1) scope, 2) approach, (including recommended hardware platforms) 3) cost estimates 4) company credentials. The scope response should clearly identify aspects of the system being addressed and should include any assumptions made in responding to this RFI. The approach should comprise the bulk of the response and should provide a description of how the respondent proposes to address SEC's requirements. Included in the approach should be a discussion of company and product capabilities and services. Respondents are requested to give rough order of magnitude cost estimates in the third section. Only written responses to this RFI will be accepted. No verbal or fax responses will be accepted. Please limit each response to between five and ten pages. Supporting product literature is also encouraged. It is requested that four copies of your response be provided. Responses are due no later than 4 P.M. CST, February 20th, 1998. Respondents can obtain a copy of the basic requirements by contacting Kelly Prendergast (303-497-5697). Based upon an examination of the RFI submittals, it is anticipated, but not guaranteed, that SEC will develop a statement of work and issue a request for proposals. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or otherwise reimburse for information solicited. E-MAIL: NOAA; MASC Acquisition Management, Joyce Mills@noaa.gov.

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0444 19980120\SP-0003.MSC)