70 -- WIDE TAPE BACKUP SOFTWARE

Notice Date

January 8, 2001

Contracting Office

Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), Office of Procurement, Box 6, Washington, DC, 20231

ZIP Code

20231

Solicitation Number

52-PAPT-1-01006.MOD3

Response Due

January 16, 2001

Point of Contact

Zalma Ross, Contracting Officer, Phone (703) 305-8441, Fax (703) 305-8294, Email zalma.ross@uspto.gov

E-Mail Address

Zalma Ross (zalma.ross@uspto.gov)

Description

THIS IS MODIFICATION #3 FOR THE WIDE TAPE BACKUP SOFTWARE NOTICE.26. What does capability to switch to read alternate copies of a file in case of read failure of primary copy mean in an operational sense? Does it mean automatically load the file from the previous day's backup? Two characteristics from the CBD announcement should be read together: . Capability to make multiple copies of selected backups for internal tape library storage . Capability to automatically switch to read alternate copies of a file in case of read failure of primary copy Switching to read an alternate copy assumes that a second copy of the backup already exists within the library. The software's capability to make and to manage multiple copies is required to demonstrate the first characteristic above. If a second copy exists, then the second characteristic states that the software must automatically read from it when a read failure occurs on the primary copy. Reading from a different version (i.e. the previous day) would not meet this requirement. 27. What do you mean by synchronization set? A synchronization set is an administrator defined set of files that must be backed up at the same point in time in order for the system to be restored to a consistent state. For example, a data base may exist in several files. In order for the data base to be restored to correctly, the files must be restored to the same point in time. 28. How many servers are involved, 150 UNIX and 300 NT or 42 and 10 or 100 and 200? You have all three numbers. What types of UNIX are involved? How many processors will these systems have? PTO defines three classes of Unix servers. First are the Text and Image Search servers, which are currently Hewlett Packard T and V class systems with up to 32 processors. PTO will have 19 Text and Image Search servers, which could run HP-UX, Solaris, or AIX. Second are the Data Base and Workflow servers, which have up to 8 processors, and which are currently Hewlett Packard K and N class systems, and Sun systems up to the E4500. PTO will have 90 Data Base and Workflow servers, which could run HP-UX, Solaris, or AIX. Third are the Small Scale, Single Purpose, and Utility servers, which are currently Hewlett Packard D and L class systems with up to 4 processors. PTO will have 41 small scale, single purpose and utility servers, which could run HP-UX, Solaris, or AIX. PTO will have 300 Microsoft NT servers with up to 4 processors. 29. When backing up in raw mode, does the system have to be online? No. 30. In what circumstances will encryption be needed in the backups? You mention clients. Are they to be backed up as well? If so, what type and how many? PTO security requirements will determine when encryption is needed. The PTO requirement stated: . Capability to encrypt data transfers between server and client. The use of the term "client" in this case means a server that is not directly attached to a tape library and that has sensitive data that must be encrypted during the backup. Then the "server" in this case is a tape backup server directly connected to a tape library through which the "client's" data must pass for a backup to be performed. Products which can encrypt a serverless backup will be considered to have met this requirement. 31. We need specific documentation of the USPTO LAN/WAN infrastructure, storage, and backup devices as well as the current backup setup and procedures. You won't be able to turn off one type of backup and turn the other one on overnight. No specific question has been asked. Therefore, a response has not been provided. For your information, however, you may wish to refer to PTO's Technical Reference Model cited in the CBD. No further specific documentation is available at this time. 32. What type, nature, and amount of on site consulting and training will you need? Pricing for these types of services is normally offered ?on a time and material basis. Rarely, it is offered on a firm, fixed price basis for very specific types of work, at specific times, and with specific restrictions (e.g., we install this software on this machine for this price with default backup criteria and up to two hours of customization). PTO requires sufficient training to train a staff of 12 system administrators, and 4 system designers/engineers. PTO requires sufficient on-site consulting to install all offered products, support installation of upgrades, and resolve problems that are not solved by telephone support. 33. Is an 8(a) contract being considered? This type of contract might lend itself well to that process. It is quite likely the government will wish to negotiate more specifics (as evidenced by our questions above) into the contract. PTO has considered various procurement methods for this procurement. However, it has been determined that a full and open, commercial item procurement is in the best interests of the Government. 34. Does the proposed solution have to interoperate with the current Backup solution you have? Is so, what level of interoperation is required? No, the proposed solution will replace the current backup products over time. 35. Has the government identified any products meeting its requirements? If so, what are the products and their configurations? PTO does not have a "qualified products list" or equivalent. 36. Does the USPTO have a schedule for this requirement? For example, when do the various items need to be delivered? Is there a pilot period? What is the implementation schedule? Will payments be staged? What is the training schedule? What will be considered a deliverable or completion of a project for payment? When is award anticipated? All software licenses will be delivered at the time of contract award. Training and consulting schedules will be coordinated with the successful Offeror after award. 37. Why has the USPTO decided to take on this project at this time? What is the driving force from a business standpoint in doing this? As stated in the PTO Strategic Information Technology Plan, PTO currently uses several different tape backup products. PTO intends to standardize on a single tape backup and recovery product to improve reliability and to reduce operational costs. 38. You list StorageTek and ATL Product tape libraries. Will you be using these for your Unix servers and if so we need to know the model number (e.g. StorageTek 9714 or ATL 2640)? PTO is acquiring the software site license before the hardware detailed design has been completed. Thus, PTO has specified that a total of 10 tape libraries with a total of 100 tape drives must be supported. Storage Tek and Quantum ATL tape libraries must be supported. Tape library models and the distribution of tape drives among the libraries have not been determined. PTO currently operates Storage Tek 9710, ATL 6/176, ATL P1000, ATL L500, and ATL 2640 tape libraries. 39. You list that you will be dedicating 42 Unix servers as host servers attached to a tape library. What flavor of Unix will these servers be and what is the model number for them (e.g. HP/UX T or V series or Solaris E450)? The PTO requirement does not states that the 42 Unix servers directly attached to tape libraries will be "dedicated" to a tape backup and recovery function. PTO has moved to an open systems environment. PTO's current hardware standards are Hewlett-Packard and Sun servers for Unix, and Hewlett Packard Net Servers for Microsoft NT. The majority of Unix servers are Hewlett Packard, but the software products and licensing must be flexible enough to operate on HP-UX, Solaris or AIX. PTO defines three classes of Unix servers. First are the Text and Image Search servers, which are currently Hewlett Packard T and V class systems. PTO will have 19 Text and Image Search servers, 9 of which will be directly attached to tape libraries. Second are the Data Base and Workflow servers, which are currently Hewlett Packard K and N class systems, and Sun systems up to the E4500. PTO will have 90 Data Base and Workflow servers, 30 of which will be directly attached to tape libraries. Third are the Small Scale, Single Purpose, and Utility servers, which are currently Hewlett Packard D and L class systems. PTO will have 41 small scale, single purpose and utility servers, 3 of which will be directly attached to tape libraries. The totals of the three classes of Unix servers are 150 servers, and 42 directly attached to tape libraries. 40. How many Oracle servers running on HP/UX will you have? Oracle is PTO's current standard data base management system. All of the on-line data bases on Unix are currently using Oracle. PTO requires the flexibility to switch standard data base management systems. Therefore, the backup software products and licenses must be able to support Sybase, Informix and DB2 in case PTO chooses one of those data base management systems as a new standard during the term of this contract. If a new data base management vendor is chosen, the total number of on-line data bases will not change. 9 on-line data bases will run on Text and Image Search servers and 69 on-line data bases will run on Data Base and Work Flow servers. 41. Out of the 100 database servers that you have how many are running Exchange? " " SQL? " " Oracle? " " Sybase? " " Informix? " " DB2? 16 of the NT servers run Microsoft Exchange. 15 other NT servers run on-line data bases with either Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server. This is a total of 31 on-line data bases on NT servers. Oracle is PTO's current standard data base management system. All of the on-line data bases on Unix are currently using Oracle. PTO requires the flexibility to switch standard data base management systems. Therefore, the backup software products and licenses must be able to support Sybase, Informix and DB2 in case PTO chooses one of those data base management systems as a new standard during the term of this contract. If a new data base management vendor is chosen, the total number of on-line data bases will not change. 9 on-line data bases will run on Text and Image Search servers and 69 on-line data bases will run on Data Base and Work Flow servers. 42. Capacity to support up to 100 tape drive -- how many NT/Win 2000/Unix will have their own tape drives? The tape backup system is being designed so that none of the servers will need local tape drives. The software being acquired must support backing up and restoring all of the required numbers of servers through tape libraries. 43. How many servers are directly attached to tape libraries and what is the capacity of the tape library in regards to how many drives and tape slots? 10 NT and 42 Unix servers will be directly attached to tape libraries. PTO is acquiring the software site license before the hardware detailed design has been completed. Thus, PTO has specified that a total of 10 tape libraries with a total of 100 tape drives must be supported. Storage Tek and Quantum ATL tape libraries must be supported. Tape library models and the distribution of tape drives among the libraries have not been determined. 44. Are any of these tape libraries attached to more than one server at one time? Yes. 45. Can you be more specific as to which of the listed requirements deal with UNIX and which deal with NT? Or would you like us to assume all requirements for both platforms? Hierarchical storage management functions, backup encryption, and backup of raw disk partitions with individual file restore are only required on Unix platforms. The capability to stripe a server's data across 12 tape drives simultaneously is for Unix. For NT the requirement is to stripe across 4 tape drives. All other requirements that do not specifically mention Unix or NT should be read as applying to both. 46. What is the maximum # of NT servers you will be backing up to one tape drive or library? PTO is acquiring the software site license before the hardware detailed design has been completed. Tape library models and the distribution of tape drives among the libraries have not been determined. Distribution of server back up jobs among tape libraries has not been determined. 47. Will your Back Up Managers be running strictly on NT? No. 48. What does automatically recall migrated data from tape to disk mean? PTO requires hierarchical storage management (HSM) functions for 4 Unix servers, 2 Text and Image Search servers and 2 Data Base and Workflow servers. These servers will be directly attached to tape libraries. Using HSM functions, "infrequently accessed data" will be migrated from disk to tape. When a user, either directly or through an application program, attempts to open a file that has been migrated to tape, then the HSM functions will automatically retrieve the file from tape back to disk. No additional user or administrator intervention will be required to retrieve the data. The user will perceive a time difference in how slowly the data is retrieved from tape, but the file access will be otherwise transparent to the user. 49. Reserved. C. The CLIN structure listed in the synopsis/solicitation is deleted in its entirety and Substituted as follows: ITEM 0001, Delivery of PTO wide software licenses, QTY 1, Unit Price $________, TOTAL PRICE $_________. Provide a breakdown of separate software license (Example: backup for Unix and backup for NT servers). The breakdown shall include unit prices for the software licenses and shall be attached separately to this price schedule;ITEM 0002,On Site consulting services and installation support, QTY 1, Unit Price $________, TOTAL PRICE $____________;CLIN 0003,Training for PTO staff,QTY 1, Unit Price $__________, TOTAL PRICE $_________________; CLIN 0004,Annual maintenance and upgrades for software procured under Item 0001 from Jan 2001 through Dec 2001, QTY 1, Unit Price $_______,TOTAL PRICE $__________ Total for Base Year $_____________ -- OPTION YEAR ONE -- CLIN 0005, Annual maintenance and upgrades for software procured under Item from 1 Jan 2002 through Dec 2002, QTY 1, TOTAL PRICE $________________ -- OPTION YEAR TWO -- CLIN 0006,Annual maintenance and upgrades for software procured under Item 0001 from 1 Jan 2003 throught 31 Dec 2003,QTY 1, TOTAL PRICE $_______________ -- OPTION YEAR THREE -- CLIN 0007,Annual maintenance and upgrades for software procured under Item 0001 from 1 Jan 2004 through 31 Dec 2004, QTY 1, TOTAL PRICE $_____________ CLIN 0008,Additional copies, QTY 1, TOTAL PRICE $______________ TOTAL CONTRACT AMOUNT $___________

Web Link

Visit this URL for the latest information about this (/cgi-bin/WebObjects/EPS.woa/wa/SPF?A=P&P=52-PAPT-1-01006.MOD3&L=251)

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010110/70SOL001.HTM (D-008 SN50A424)