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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE / DEFENCE FORCES

REQUEST FOR TENDERS

FOR THE SUPPLY OF SERVER HARDWARE (PRODUCTION AND DISASTER RECOVERY) AND

ASSOCIATED SUPPORT FOR MIF IMPLEMENTATION

26 JULY 2004

RFT –DODDF MIF Hardware Configuration Page:2 of 36

1.1. Introduction and Background

1.1. INTRODUCTION

This Request for Tender (RFT) invites suppliers to tender for the provision of a high availability infrastructure to support business applications which will include:-

Oracle Applications E Business Suite R11i,

Defence Forces Personnel Management System (PMS) application,

Integration hub,

Associated single signon solution,

High Availability and Disaster Recovery,

Enterprise Backup and Storage Solution.

The proposed solution will need to be scalable to deal with future growth in a 3 year timeframe, have high availability during the hours 8.00 – 23.59, have a high degree of performance and deliver fast response times.

The proposed configuration will be installed across two sites i.e. a primary production site and a physically separate disaster recovery site. The actual locations of these are unknown at the time of tender but will be in the Republic of Ireland. The details of the current network topology are available later in this request for tender.

This document and accompanying Appendices constitute a Request For Tender (RFT) for such server hardware.

1.2. DEFINITIONS

“Contract(s)” refers to a formal contract document executed between the Department of Defence and the Selected Preferred Prime Contractor.

“Contractor” as mentioned throughout this RFT, is such Person(s), firm(s), company(ies), partnership(s), corporation(s) with whom a Contract is entered into by the Department of Defence to provide a service for the execution of work under the Contract. The Contractor will be the “Prime Contractor” and shall be responsible, in total, for all work including that of its subcontractors.

“CISN” refers to the Communications and Information Services Network. This is the communications network used for Defence Forces.

“Department” means the Department of Defence.

“Defence Forces” refers to the organisation consisting of the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) (Army, Naval Service and Air Corps) and the Reserve Defence Force (RDF) and where relevant civilian employees.

“DOD/DF” will for the purpose of this document include both of the above organisations.

“DoDNet” refers to the Department of Defence Network. This is the communications network used for Department of Defence.

“Minister” means the Minister for Defence.

“MIF” refers to the Management Information Framework initiative.

“Preferred Vendor(s)/Tenderer” means the Vendor to whom the Department of Defence intends to award the Contract subject to satisfactory contract negotiation.


“Personnel Management System (PMS)” The Personnel Management System (PMS) is the HR management system developed and used by the Defence Forces. This system is built using Oracle tools and Oracle 8i database.

“Request For Tender” (RFT) means this solicitation of competitive Tenders.

“Tender” means all materials and documentation submitted by a Vendor in response to this RFT.

“Tenderer(s)” / “Vendor(s)” means any person(s), firm(s), company(ies), partnership(s), corporation(s) submitting a Tender in response to this RFT.

1.3. CONTEXT AND PURPOSE

The Department of Defence/Defence Forces (DOD/DF) has awarded a contract to Oracle EMEA Ltd to supply a financial management information system and associated services. Oracle will employ the R11i E-Business Suite as the basis for the overall solution.

The DOD/DF now wishes to procure one unified high availability solution that fits all of its business requirements. The details of indicative architecture are available later in the document but the DOD/DF welcomes proposals which may vary from this. The Department/Defence Forces also wish to have the option, without prejudice or commitment, to scale up any such aspect of the architecture over the duration of the contract, if required.

The DOD/DF welcomes proposals which will reside on linux operating system (preferably Red Hat Linux) although the DOD/DF will consider other proposals). Tenderers should outline training options. See Para 8.12

This document and accompanying appendices constitute a RFT for such server hardware, operating system and support contract.

It is intended that the infrastructure be fully commissioned before end November 2004 at the latest.

1.4. SCOPE OF THE REQUEST FOR TENDER

The purpose of this RFT is to invite Tenders from Tenderers

to supply, configure and commission a set of middle tier and backend servers employing Real Application Clustering (RAC),

to supply, configure and commission a set of application and database servers in a disaster recovery site,

to supply, configure and commission an appropriate backup and storage solution for both production and disaster recovery sites,

each system will operate on linux (preferably Red Hat Linux 3),

to support the system for a period of at least three years from commissioning.

The tender relates to the outright purchase, delivery, installation, training, commissioning and 3 years on-site maintenance/warranty and support in respect of highly available servers and associated peripheral equipment.

1.5. HARDWARE ARCHITECTURE

Appendix A outlines the indicative architecture required in this tender but tenderers are welcome to respond with variations on this should they consider their response a more appropriate solution to the DOD/DF requirements.


1.6. SIZINGS

The sizings and other requirements provided in Appendix B represent the best available information from the DOD/DF project staff and external consultants as of 26 July 2004. It is the responsibility of the supplier to ensure that the hardware proposed is properly sized for the applications and usage indicated, with significant headroom for future growth and performance tuning. In this regard, suppliers are encouraged to consult with their own Oracle e-Business Competency centre for advice should they consider it necessary to do so.

1.7. SCHEDULE OF IMPORTANT DATES

It is the intention of the DOD/DF to adhere to the following schedule:

Issue RFT 26 July 2004Deadline for receiving written questions / emails from Tenderers

27 August 2004

Closing Date for Receipt of Tenders 16 September 2004

1.8. SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE

The DOD/DF attach high value, in the context of this tender, to the supply of good quality support and maintenance services. The tenderer should outline support options and associated costs for the hardware and the operating system. Details of the location of the support centre should be provided. The storage location of replacement parts should also be stated.

It is preferred that a single point-of-contact seamless support is provided to include the hardware, inter-component connectivity, the Operating System, data storage, and backup hardware and software.

Online and telephone support options, response-to-call times, call logging, and escalation procedures should be detailed. Any ‘added value’ support options, such as designated engineers, should be detailed.

1.9. INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION

It will be the responsibility of the tenderer to install the system in both the production and the disaster recovery sites and to configure the system to the DOD/DF requirements, and also to best practice. This configuration (at both sites) will include:

Liaison with DOD/DF IT staff, as well as with the database software supplier,

Installation of the Operating System,

Kernel configuration,

To develop and implement a backup strategy and to perform a full architecture backup,

Disk configuration to DOD/DF and Oracle specification,

To complete one switchover to the DR site and to continue to provide a service similar to that on the Primary Site,

Tenderers should indicate proposals in respect of onsite familiarisation sessions.


2. Tender and Contractual Arrangements

2.1. CONTRACTING AUTHORITY

The contracting authority is the Department of Defence.

2.2. TENDER SUBMISSION

Tenderers are required to provide three (3) hard copies of the Tender and provide a copy on CD and/or diskette in Windows MS Word in a sealed envelope marked “Tender for Supply of Hardware Infrastructure for MIF’ and addressed to:

Contracts Manager,Contracts Branch,Department of Defence,Mobhi Road,GlasnevinDublin 9.Republic of Ireland.

Tenders should be delivered to the above address not later than 12 noon (local time) on Thursday 16 September 2004. Tenders delivered late, tenders not in the specified format and incomplete tenders will not be considered.

2.3. OPENING OF TENDERS

Tenders will be opened at the Department on 16 September 2004 by authorised officers from the Department.

2.4. QUERY HANDLING

Any queries regarding this document should be addressed preferably by email to [email protected], or by post to the following address:

MIF Technical Analyst,Department of Defence,Áras an tSáile,Renmore,GalwayRepublic of Ireland.

The deadline for the submission of queries is 27 August 2004 at 17:00.

Queries will be responded to directly and may be published on www.defence.ie. The identity of the source of query will be protected.

2.5. NATURE OF CONTRACT

The tender relates to the outright purchase, delivery, installation, commissioning and maintenance/warranty and support in respect of the server hardware and associated peripheral equipment.

Unless otherwise stated, the specification reflects mandatory requirements.

The sizings and other requirements outlined throughout this request for tender represent ‘best available’ information as of 26 July 2004.


http://www.defence.ie/

mailto:[email protected]

2.6. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION / CONFIDENTIALITY

The Department and the Defence Force undertake to use their best endeavours to hold confidential any information provided by Tenderers in response to this Tender, subject to the Department's obligations under law, including the Freedom of Information Act, 1997 and the Freedom of Information Amendment Act 2003.

Tenderers wishing that any of the information supplied in their tender should not be disclosed should identify this sensitive information clearly and specify the reason for its sensitivity. The Department will consult such Tenderers before making a decision on disclosure of the information concerned on foot of any relevant Freedom of Information request, which may be received. However, the Department can give no guarantee on the final outcome of any FOI request in any instance.

If the tenderer considers that none of the information supplied is sensitive, he shall make a statement to that effect. Such information may be released in response to a Freedom of Information request.

The Department requires that all information made available to the selected Tenderer in the course of this project be treated in strict confidence, unless indicated otherwise by the Department in particular instances.

2.7. STATUTORY PROVISIONS

Tenderers should have regard to statutory provisions relating to minimum pay, legally binding industrial or sectoral agreements and relevant health and safety issues.

2.8. PROMPT PAYMENT OF ACCOUNT ACTS 1997The provisons of the Prompt Payment of Accounts Act 1997 shall apply in respect of this tender competition. The successful tenderer will be required to comply with the payment provisions of the act where the tenderer subcontracts or obtains goods or services from a supplier in respect of this tender.


http://www.oic.gov.ie/2546/FOIAmAct.pdf

http://www.finance.gov.ie/publications/foi/FREE1.HTM

http://www.finance.gov.ie/publications/foi/FREE1.HTM

3. Conditions

3.1. GENERAL CONDITIONS

Detailed contractual arrangements are not within the scope of this document. However the following conditions apply in respect of this tender and should be noted in the response document. Please note that specific requirements are detailed throughout this document and are in addition to the conditions specified below:

3.1.1. This request for tender relates to the supply of a high availability solution, associated operating system and support in respect of the Oracle E-Business Suite and Personnel Management System deployment with the option, without prejudice or commitment, to scale up such any aspect of the configuration over the duration of the contract, if required.

3.1.2. For server hardware proposed under this RFT, tenderers must guarantee that upgrade components will be available.

3.1.3. It is the responsibility of the suppliers to ensure that the hardware proposed is properly sized for the applications and usage indicated, with significant scope for future growth and performance tuning.

3.1.4. The Tenderer shall be responsible for the delivery of all goods and services provided for within the Contract on the basis of the agreed costs. The Department retains the right to withhold payment where a Tenderer has failed to meet its contractual obligations in relation to the delivery of goods and services to an acceptable level or quality. The Department reserves the right to canel any contract resulting from this tender competition on giving three months written notice of its intention to do so to the tenderer.

3.1.5. The Tenderer must provide in its Tender details of any and all subcontractors proposed. The Tenderer must demonstrate the capacity of each subcontractor to perform in conformity with the RFT. All changes of Tenderer, sub-contractor or in its or their ownership shall constitute a change to the Tender which will be accepted by the Department at its sole discretion. The Department reserves the right to accept or reject any proposed sub-contractors.

3.1.6. The Preferred Tenderer shall take prime contractual responsibility for the total supply and provision of specified implementation of the systems. If hardware is to be sourced from more than one supplier this must be clearly stated. The prime contractor will be responsible for delivery of all services provided for under the terms of the contract and shall assume all the duties, responsibilities and costs associated with the position of prime contractor.

3.1.7. Under the terms of the Tax Clearance Certification Scheme (as per Circular 22/95: Tax Clearance Procedures - Public Sector Contracts), evidence from the Irish Revenue Commissioners that the selected Tenderer’s tax affairs are in order must be provided before the award of any contract. Where a Tax Clearance Certificate expires within the course of the Contract, the Department will seek a renewed certificate. All payments under the Contract will be conditional on the Contractor(s) being in possession of a valid certificate at all times.

3.1.8. The Department will not be liable in respect of any costs incurred by Tenderers in the preparation of the Tender or any associated work effort, including the costs of any presentations etc deemed to be necessary.


3.1.9. Information provided by Tenderers will be treated as contractually binding. However, the Department reserves the right to seek clarification or verification of any such information. Post-tender qualifications or revisions will not be acceptable and will invalidate the tender.

3.1.10. The Department will not take responsibility for, or ownership of, equipment or operating system until delivery, installation, and full and proper commissioning/configuration has been completed.

3.1.11. All deliverables provided for under this RFT and resulting Tenders must be subject to formal quality review. Therefore, Tenderers must have in place a formal Quality Assurance process specifically designed to measure and validate the quality of all end products.

3.1.12. The Department does not accept responsibility for any Tenderer’s assessment of the requirements. It is the duty of the Tenderer to fully understand and correctly interpret this RFT. At all times, the Tenderer has the responsibility to notify the Department, in writing, of any ambiguity, divergence, error, omission, oversight, or contradiction contained in this RFT as it is discovered or to request any instruction, decision, clarification or direction that the Tenderer may require to prepare a Tender.

3.1.13. The Department reserves the right to hold Tenderers strictly to the terms and conditions submitted in their Tenders and also reserves the right to accept or reject in whole or in part any or all Tenders received in response to this RFT.

3.1.14. The Department shall not be bound to accept the lowest tender or any tender.

3.1.15. Tenderers are specifically notified that failure to comply with or respond to any part of this RFT (other than those elements clearly indicated as optional) may result in rejection of their Tender as non-compliant. Tenderers whose Tenders are not accepted will be notified in writing.

3.1.16. Issue of this RFT in no way constitutes a commitment by the Department to award or enter into any contract.

3.1.17. All prices quoted shall be in euro. The Contract between the Department of Defence and the Selected Tenderer may include the following:

This RFT,

The Selected Tenderer's Tender, and

Any mutually negotiated terms and conditions.

3.1.18. The Tender should hold good for 90 days after the closing date for receipt of Tenders by the Department.

3.1.19. If, during the term of the Contract, the contractor is asked by the Department to carry out additional work which is beyond the scope of work contained in this RFT and, which could not have been reasonably foreseen by the Tenderer, the Tenderer shall submit a quotation for that work, based on the original schedule of costs. If this quotation is deemed reasonable, the order to carry out the work will be issued at the discretion of the Department.


3.1.20. Any conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest on the part of the selected Contractor, individual employee or corporate or individual service provider of a Contractor must be fully disclosed to the Department. All references hereinafter to conflicts of interest shall include conflicts of interest or potential conflicts of interest arising either for the Contractor, individual employees or corporate or individual service providers relating to the Tender. Tenderers should confirm in the course of their Tender that, prior to responding to this RFT, comprehensive searches to identify any conflict of interest have been carried out. Tenderers are expected to exercise all reasonable care in ensuring that they are aware of any conflicts of interest, which exist or may arise at any stage of the process. Should any such association or conflict of interest emerge at any time subsequent to the submission of a response to this RFT it should be immediately disclosed to the Department and confirmed in writing by registered post.

3.1.21. Any registerable interest involving a Tenderer and the Department or the Defence Forces, members of the Government, members of the Oireachtas or employees of the Department or the Defence Forces or their relatives must be fully disclosed in the response to this RFT and, in the event of information on this matter only coming to notice after the submission of a Tender, should be communicated to the Department immediately upon such information becoming known to the Tenderer and should be confirmed in writing by registered post. Registerable interest is interpreted in line with Section 2 of the Ethics in Public Office Act, 1995.

3.1.22. Work carried out by the Contractor, irrespective of where their offices are located, shall be deemed to be carried out in Ireland and shall be governed by the laws of Ireland and subject to jurisdiction of the Irish Courts.

3.2. PAYMENT SCHEDULE

Tenderers are required to state the proposed terms for payment. The Department will require a phased approach to payments based on key milestones achieved, for example, hardware delivery, commissioning, one month after successful go live. In any event the Department intends to provide for a substantial Retention Sum which will be withheld and be payable after successful go-live of the system (amount and period to be agreed at the contract negotiation stage). All payments shall be made to the Prime Contractor only and it is the responsibility of the Prime Contractor to pay any or all subcontractors etc. The Prime Contractor may not assign any payments due without the prior consent of the Department.

3.3. SECURITY Contractor / Tenderer personnel may be subjected to a security vetting procedure and in the event that any personnel are deemed to be not acceptable to the Department of Defence or the Defence Forces from a security viewpoint such staff shall be replaced by staff of equal grade, qualification, status etc.

Denial of security clearance will not form grounds for claims for delay, disruption or extension of time.


4. Format of Tenders and Evaluation

4.1. RESPONSE FORMAT

Tenderers are required to prepare and submit their Tenders based on this RFT.

Tenderers should clearly state their understanding of the requirements in every Section and detail any assumptions made.

Tenders should be prepared in the English language and in accordance with the following format.

Section 1 - Executive Summary

This Section should contain a summary of the key points of the Tender and should be a maximum of 1 page in length. It should follow the structure of the remainder of the Tender document.

Section 2 - Introduction and Background

This Section should contain:

A statement from the Tenderer, on behalf of itself and any subcontractors, confirming its understanding of and agreement to the matters addressed

Statement and evidence from the Tenderer that his/her tax affairs are in order.

Declaration that the Tenderer is in good financial and professional standing and that the conditions and exclusions set out in Appendix C (Exclusions from Participation) do not apply to the Tenderer or any party to the Tender. Tenderers to whom any of the circumstances listed in Article 20 of EU Council Directive 93/96/EEC apply (co-ordinating procedures for the award of public supply contracts) will be excluded from this competition.

The Tenderer should outline appropriate reference sites where similar hardware has been installed.

Section 3 – Detailed Specification

Tenderers should provide a general overview, including schematic diagrams, of the hardware proposed along with a full detailed specification indicating the following:

Part Number Description Quantity Unit Price Total

Tenderers are requested to include responses to items addressed in Appendices D and E in the order that the sections and questions are presented.

Section 4 - Costs

This Section must outline the total costs associated with the procurement, installation and commissioning of the hardware,backup, and operating system/software and must adhere to the following:

All costs must be quoted in euro, The basis on which the costs are arrived at must be identified, Installation and any other miscellaneous costs should be clearly identified, The total cost in euro should be clearly stated, Savings and or discounts available should be shown separately, All Training Costs (see Para 8.12)


Section 5 - Any Other Information

In this Section Tenderers should supply any other information that they deem relevant to the Tender.

4.2. EVALUATION PROCESS AND CRITERIA

4.2.1 Qualification Criteria

Tenderers to whom any of the circumstances listed in paragraph 1 of Article 20 of EU Council Directive 93/36EEC (co-ordinating procedures for the award of public supply contracts) apply will be excluded from this competition.

Tenderers not so excluded will be initially evaluated by reference to the following qualification criteria;

Completeness of tender documentation;

Stated ability of the Tenderer to meet the requirements set out in this document;

Successful installation of 2 (two) similar sites (i.e. similar in size, timing, complexity and costs to that proposed as a response to this RFT). These may be in either the Public or Private Sector and must be “live” for at least two months at date of submission of tender. Reference contact details of these projects to be supplied by the tenderer.

Responses should follow the format set out above.

Failure to adhere to the specified format, contents and mandatory elements of this RFT will result in disqualification of the Tenderer.

4.2.2 Award Criteria

Only those tenders, which meet the qualification criteria above, will be eligible for consideration in the award process.

The contract will be evaluated and awarded, applying the following award criteria, in order of priority:

o Technical merit of equipment (including performance and upgrade and expansion, i.e. scalability, capabilities);

o Maintenance and Support Services. (This will include the level and extent of service provided in the areas of on-site warranty, on-site fault diagnosis and support, maintenance, hardware & OS support, backup software support, on-site response times, Mean Time To Recovery, training, capacity planning and disaster recovery.);

o Total Cost of Ownership (including purchase price of servers to meet minimum specifications; cost of expanding, i.e. scaling up, the processing capability and storage capacity; the delivery and insurance costs; the specified three year warranty/maintenance and telephone support costs; the cost of the peripherals proposed);

o Tenderer Credentials (including experience in installing and supporting similar solutions within other organisations of similar size);

o Management functionality and security features being supplied with the servers; and

o Additional features, enhancements and service available beyond the minimum requirements.

Tenders will be evaluated by DOD/DF personnel in conjunction with Oracle consultants and any other consultants which the DOD/DF may use for the evaluation process.


Following the scoring of tenders under the above criteria, the highest scoring Tenderers may be required to provide additional detail prior to the Department selecting a Preferred Tenderer.

The Department reserves the right to conduct discussions with existing clients / users of the offered solution and for those discussions to take place independently of the Tenderer.


5. Appendix A – Hardware ArchitectureThe Department of Defence / Defence Forces require a production infrastructure that will support business applications. The proposed solution will need to be scalable, to deal with future growth in a 3 year timeframe, have high availability during core business hours (08 00 hrs – 23 59 hrs) and have a high degree of performance. The production infrastructure will be hosted at a location to be decided and supported through a disaster recovery site at another location to be decided.

5.1 PRODUCTION ARCHITECTURE

Oracle 11i E-Business Suite and DF PMS will be installed in a 3-tiered, architecture. Server clustering and component redundancy will be employed to avoid single points of failure. The main components of the three tier architecture are listed below:

o Tier 1 – Desktop (also known as client). The desktop provides the user interface display. The presentation layer of the 11i E-Business Suite and DF PMS is installed on this tier in form of a plug-in to a standard java-enabled Internet browser.

o Tier 2 – Middle Tier (also known as Application Server). The 9iAS technology stack as well as E-Business Suite and PMS software is installed on this tier, which eliminates the need to install and maintain application software on each desktop client.

o Tier 3 – Database Tier. This tier hosts the Oracle 9i database management system. E-Business Suite and PMS both back onto Oracle 9i.

An enterprise backup strategy should be proposed consistent with the proposed implementation.

5.1.1 Desktop Tier

The client interface is provided through a Java applet for the professional, forms-based interface using a Java-enabled Web browser. The desktop client with Oracle Jinitiator downloads the applet on demand and the applet is cached locally for future use.

For a professional user to connect to Oracle 11i eBusiness Suite and DF PMS, a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) must be installed on the client. Oracle provides this JVM as part of Jinitiator.

5.1.2 Middle Tier

The 11i eBusiness Suite and DF PMS middle tier components will be spread over a minimum of 2 servers, which are load-balanced. All servers have the same technology stack installed and could operate on their own. It is essential that any response to this RFT includes appropriate sizings, e.g. number of middle tier servers and their specification to support the user numbers as defined in Appendix B.

The following technology stack components are installed on each middle tier server:

o Oracle 9iAS

o Oracle http server

o Developer 6i

o Discoverer 4i

o JDK for Web Tier

o OJSP

o Jinitiator


Note: A minimum of two 10G AS servers will also be integrated with the solution to provide SSO and additional security features, and to host the Oracle Applications Interconnect (OAI) hub. The elements of this architecture should provide for load balancing, failover, and high availability. It is intended to make the infrastructural database associated with the 10G AS deployment highly available. To this end failover clustering is required.

5.1.3 Database Tier

The 11i eBusiness Suite and DF PMS database tier components are spread over a minimum of 2 servers. These servers or nodes are part of a Real Applications Cluster (RAC).

Oracle9i RAC runs on top of a hardware cluster group of independent servers that cooperate as a single system. The nodes share access to the storage subsystem and resources that manage data, but they do not physically share main memory in their respective nodes.

High data transfer speeds between all components within the cluster is required. This will be achieved by the use of fibre connectivity.

5.1.4 Personnel Management System (PMS)

The PMS is a Defence Forces in house developed Human Resource solution designed to automate personnel administration throughout the Defence Forces. Developed in licensed and supported Oracle Forms and Reports (6i), the PMS is installed in a 3-tiered, distributed Internet computing environment.

5.2 BUSINESS CONTINUITY APPROACH (DISASTER RECOVERY)Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery are a top priority for DOD/DF. To this end, failure of a server or server component or of an intra-hardware communications device should not result in failure of service from the primary production site.

To meet business requirements and to achieve higher availability across the overall MIF solution, a Disaster Recovery (DR) site should be configured in another physical location.

Each database at the Primary site will have a corresponding standby database at the DR site. The online redo logs will be shipped via Data Guard continuously over a network connection and applied to the Standby database.

In the event of loss of functionality at the primary site the DR site should restore full functionality within 1 hour max and data loss should be minimal.

The diagram overleaf represents, for indicative purposes only, one potential option for the overall configuration.


It is intended that two full sets of applications hardware will be procured to ensure a full disaster recovery capability. One cluster will serve as the primary host for the MIF applications. The other server cluster will be used for disaster recovery if the primary site becomes unavailable. It is intended to use the disaster recovery site (DR) for other purposes such as for development and testing. Tenderers should note that both sites will employ real application clustering. Any sizings should reflect this.

It will be the responsibility of the tenderer to produce a documented set of procedures to document the switchover (automatic and/or manual) procedures from the Primary Site to the DR Site to enable continuity of service in the event of the failure of the primary site. The tenderer will, in conjunction, with DOD/DF staff , carry out one failover exercise and revise and document as required, following this exercise.

5.3 NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE

Communications between the Primary and DR site will be carried on the DOD/DF network over an appropriate datalink. It will be the responsibility of DOD/DF to provide this communications connectivity. It will be the responsibility of the tenderer to provide high speed connectivity between components of the architecture at each site, e.g. server to server, server to storage, server to backup, etc.

The following diagrams outline the proposed e-Business Suite and the DF PMS High Availability and Disaster Recovery Architecture.


Primary Site incorporating R11i and DF PMS Production Environment with RAC Enabled

Secondary Site incorporating R11i and DF PMS Standby/DataGuard Environment


Archive Logs shipped from Primary to

Secondary Database using DataGuard

5.3.1 Component Diagram

The security and high-availability requirements expressed by DoD/DF ensure that the architecture outlined is quite complex.

The diagram below outlines the potential DOD/DF Production Architecture.

Legend :

o LB : Load Balancer

o FS : Fibre Switch or Fibre Hub

o TL : Tape Library or SAN

o HIS : High Speed Interconnect


5.3.2 Component Description

This section presents a comprehensive view of the architecture envisioned for the DOD/DF MIF project at a conceptual level. It provides the conceptual application and technical architecture options for DOD/DF new application systems.

The diagram shown above in the section Component Diagram can be divided into 2 main components

o 11i E-Business Suite and DF PMS Infrastructure

o Integration Infrastructure

The intent is to provide an infrastructure based on Scalability, High Availability, Reliability and Security as applications are deployed.

5.3.3 11i E-Business Suite and DF PMS Component Infrastructure

The 11i E-Business Suite and DF PMS will be deployed in a 3-tier architecture. Services are distributed among as many nodes on the network as required to support the processing load. Each node is a machine on the network. Services are processes that run in the background, listening for requests and processing these requests.

There are three main components to the Oracle’s E-Business and DF PMS’s Suite: the client, the application server (middle tier), and the database server. The following diagram illustrates how Oracle logic processing is distributed among these three components

Data Management

Data Intensive LogicSQL*Nethttp or https

UserInterface

LogicPresentation

Client Tier· Java-enabled Browser· Jinitiator

· Workflow Catridge· Data· Packages

Database TierMiddle Tier

·WebServer (Apache)

· Forms Server, Reports Server· Client application software (FMX, PLL, DLL)

JServ·

The architecture isolates the client from the application, which enables users to access the application from any client machine that supports the use of a Java-enabled browser.

The client component is the presentation layer of the architecture. The client runs the Oracle forms client Java applet using a Java-enabled browser. The java applet sends user requests to the forms server and handles its responses. Responses may include screen updates, pop-up lists, graphical widgets, and cursor movement.


The Middle Tier component or Application Server resides on a separate machine/s between the client and database server, providing business logic, load balancing, failover, and other functionality. The application server includes the web server and the forms server. The web server handles all HTTP traffic coming into the web application server through its web listener process. The forms server is a specific type of application server that hosts the Oracle forms server engine. This server processes end-user requests either by sending messages directly back to the client or by making requests for data to the database server. Data is cached on the forms server and provided to the client as needed, such as when scrolling through multiple order lines. Therefore, only changes in the user interface are transmitted over the network.

The database server holds all data and processes all data intensive application programs and SQL requests from the Application Server. Data intensive applications logic is executed on the database server through the use of stored procedures. This allows the application logic to be partitioned between the Application Server and the Database Server.

5.3.5 Other Components

SSL Accelerator: Secured Sockets Layer (SSL) will be used to encrypt data being transmitted between the client and the middle tier. Although there are clear benefits of using SSL, its operation puts a heavy load on server resources, and can slow down server and transaction performance, even on moderate traffic conditions. SSL Accelerator optimises SSL operations by offloading the processing burden from the server’s CPU to ensure optimal server performance. The use of a dedicated coprocessor to perform high speed cryptographic processing can boost SSL transaction throughput by more than 500% when compared with a typical un-accelerated server. SSL Accelerator will form part of the solution stack.

Web Cache supports server load balancing and fail over. Deployed in front of a Web server farm, Oracle10g AS Web Cache intercepts all HTTP and HTTPS requests sent to the Web site and responds with a cached page if there is a valid version in the cache. All cache misses, whether cacheable or non-cacheable, are passed to the origin Web servers on the back-end. Oracle10g AS Web Cache distributes these requests according to the relative capacity of each Web server. Oracle 10g AS Web Cache will form part of the solution stack.

Load Balancing: Load balancing will be achieved through the utilisation of a combination of Connection, Node and Web and Forms load balancing. Tenderers are invited to propose and outline the benefits of appropriate hardware load balancers.

5.3.6 Integration Infrastructure

The Oracle Integration Hub (iHUB) is proposed for integrating eBusiness Suite components with DOD/DF legacy systems. It functions in a hub and spoke architecture. This will be based on Oracle 10G AS and will be configured for high-availability. Note: Oracle 10G AS will also be configured for Single Sign-on and LDAP.

The Oracle iHUB will require a separate database instance and a separate application server. The volume of integration traffic at time of issue of this RFt is difficult to quantify. This information may be available in the near future.

The integration hub (iHUB) availability is expected to be almost 100%. The following redundancy will be configured to provide high availability:

o The iHUB middle tier component is located on 2 redundant servers.

o The database component is located on a cluster.

o All inter-server communications devices should have built-in redundancy.

o Data will reside on mirrored disks.

o Load balancing will be configured between redundant servers.

o A hot standby solution for the integration hub database will be configured to ensure downtime is reduced in case of a disaster


All of the above will provide infrastructure component availability estimated to be higher than 99.99%. The high availability component of this architecture should be based on Active Failover Clusters.

5.3.7 Network Infrastructure

The Production and Disaster Recovery sites will sit on the DOD/DF network and will be interconnected at high speed to allow data synchronisation to the second site. This interconnection will be the responsibility of DOD/DF but any comments/ requirements will be welcomed from the tenderer. Each site will be “firewalled” to protect the integrity and availability of the overall environment.

The following diagram outlines the high level infrastructure including its tiers of deployment.

The DOD/DF networks extend over 30 sites with a combination of leased line, microwave and v-satellite links between the sites and Headquarters (currently based in Parkgate, Dublin). In light of the Government decentralisation programme these locations will be subject to change. A network schematic is outlined below.


Network Schematic

The bulk of e-Business Suite and PMS users will be based in Department of Defence, Parkgate (possibly for not more than the next three years) and Galway and the Defence Forces Headquarters Parkgate, Defence Force Training Centre Headquarters Curragh, Eastern Brigade Headquarter Dublin, Southern Brigade Headquarters Cork, Western Brigade Headquarters Athlone, Naval Service Headquarters Haulbowline Cork, Aer Corps Headquarters Baldonnel Dublin.

The production site and disaster recovery sites will sit in a DMZ off the Government Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network (IPVPN). Both the CISN and DoD nets will access the DMZ via firewalls.

5.4 BACKUP AND RECOVERY

An Enterprise Backup and Recovery solution should be proposed. T

RMAN (Recovery Manager) will be utilised for media recovery to backup and restore a database in a cluster. It will be configured to connect to all nodes within the cluster to parallelize the backup of the database files and archive log files.

There are 3 main areas to be backed up, the 11i eBusiness Suite, the PMS, and the Integration Suite (iHUB). Tenderers are invited to propose appropriate backup mechanisms at both primary and disaster recovery sites.


The backup and restore solution should reflect the volumes of data typical of an e-Business Suite and typical HR implementation as estimated from user numbers as outlined in this RFT. The volume of data is expected to be in the region of of 500Gb, however the backup solution should exceed this requirement. The backup solution should be capable of backing up all elements of the proposed architecture, including redundant elements.

Data transfer speeds should be stated. Full backups should be capable of running unattended. It is a requirement that a full uncompressed backup should take less than six hours to complete, i.e 500Gb uncompressed in less than six hours.

The backup should be capable of retaining data, for restoration purposes, in it’s library for a period of greater than one month. As backups will be stored offsite, the quotation should include 30(thirty) media.

Given the volumes of data to be backed up the tenderer may offer a backup to disk solution, if this shown to be more economical and efficient. However, a facility to take media off-site for storage will be a requirement.

The supplier must ensure that the version of backup software is compatible with the supplied versions of the Operating System and Oracle 9i and Oracle eBusiness Suite 11i.

Support for the backup hardware and software should be integrated into the overall support structure and should have the same point-of-contact as support for the OS and system hardware.

The price of the backup solution should include details of its component parts, i.e. drive, media, software etc. An overall cost for the complete backup solution should then be included in the response.

The tenderer will, in conjunction, with DOD/DF staff , create schedules and carry out at least two successful backup and restore exercises (as per DOD/DF requirements) and revise and document as required.

Important Note: It is our advice from Oracle that uncompressed backups of database related files are preferred. Therefore the Department and Defence Forces preferred method of backup to tape is in uncompressed format. The Department/Defence Forces consider the above architecture to represent ‘best available’ information as of 26 July 2004. It is the responsibility of the suppliers to ensure that the hardware proposed is appropriate for the applications and usage indicated, with significant scope for future growth. In this regard suppliers are encouraged to consult with their own Oracle E-Business Competency Centre for advice should they consider it necessary to do so.


6. Appendix B - Minimum Specification for Proposed Hardware for Oracle Financials E-Business Suite 11.5.9

This section will supply the metrics to support tenderer estimations of the size of the hardware required to support Oracle Applications R11i and the Personnel Management System (PMS). This hardware should allow for expansion especially with regard to memory and storage and tenderers should outline proposals for potential expansion of memory and RAM.

6.1 PRODUCTION HARDWARE SIZING

Estimations should be based on:

A: Release 11i a Two-Server model (Logical servers split across multiple physical servers. Web, Forms, and Discoverer logical servers on the physical Application Server. Concurrent Managers, Administration, and Database logical servers on the physical Database Server),

And B: two server model for 10g AS supplying Oracle Applications Interconnect and DOD/DF Security Requirements

Attention: It should be noted that performance of production servers is based on many factors – no of users, batch jobs etc, the solution proferred must be scalable in terms of memory, cpu and storage.

Please see indicative figures relating to user community and use of modules with eBusiness Suite and PMS.

Existing System / Module Named Users

Concurrent Users

Conc. Light Users

Conc. Medium Users

Conc. High Users

Financials (Professional Forms Interface Users)GL 100 100 80 0 20AP 60 60 0 0 60AR 10 10 10 0 0Fixed Assets 20 20 16 4 0PO 100 50 30 10 10CM 10 10 0 0 10Internet Expenses1 20 20 5 0 15Inventory 500 300 150 100 50Sourcing 10 10 8 2 0Reports (FSG, 6i) 100 100 0 40 60Activity Based Management Costing

40 40 20 10 10

Financial Intelligence 115 30 10 10 10Projects Intelligence 10 10 0 10 0Purchasing Intelligence 20 20 10 10 0Supply Chain Intelligence 10 10 10 0 0Discoverer Reports 0 0 0 0 0Financial Analyser 115 30 10 10 10Enterprise Asset 20 20 0 10 10

1 Internet Expenses will be rolled out to a number of users over a two year period. Over two years expected user base of the Internet Expenses module will be in the order of 2000.


Existing System / Module Named Users

Concurrent Users

Conc. Light Users

Conc. Medium Users

Conc. High Users

Management2

Projects 10 10 0 8 2Balance Score Card 25 15 10 3 2Personnel Management System

1500 500 200 200 100

Sub Total20% ContingencyTOTAL3 2795 1365 569 427 369

Projected user numbers can be generalised as follows,

o Core Financials Users : 1275

o Self Service Users : 2000

o PMS Users : 1500

Any sizing estimates must be undertaken by Hardware Tenderer Oracle e-Business Suite Competency Centres. As the sizings are based on one Production R11i and PMS environment, extra memory, cpu and storage will have to be incorporated to allow for the inclusion of 4 other environments which will reside on the production hardware namely, MCD, UAT, TEST and PERF. These environments, except TEST, will be decommissioned post go-live.

6.2 EXTERNAL REQUIREMENTS

Oracle Specific Requirements

The solution needs to be certified by Oracle. Certification data is available on the Oracle website, http://metalink.oracle.com.

Certification applies to all the following Oracle components used and it specifies the operating system level supported and (if applicable) the corresponding hardware platform.

o Database

o Application Server

o e-Business Suite

o RAC and Disaster Recovery

o Security Considerations

2

3


http://metalink.oracle.com/

7. Appendix C: Exclusions From ParticipationNote: The following is standard text from current EU Directives. The specific Directive (supply or service contract) should be referred to.

Any firm may be excluded from participation in the Contract who:

Is bankrupt or is being wound up, whose affairs are being administered by the court, who has entered into an arrangement with creditors, who has suspended business activities, or who is in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure under national laws and regulations.

Is the subject of proceedings for a declaration of bankruptcy, for an order for compulsory winding up or administration by the court or for an arrangement with creditors or of any other similar proceedings under national laws and regulations.

Has been convicted of an offence concerning the Tenderers professional conduct by a judgment, which has the force of res judicata.

Has been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means, which the contracting authorities can justify.

Has not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which the Tenderer is established or with those of the country of the contracting authority.

Has not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which he is established or those of the country of the contracting authority.

Is guilty of serious misrepresentation in supplying the information required with regard to any of the above points (or in relation to any other aspect of this RFT).


8. Appendix D - Mandatory Responses to this Request For Tender

The requested details, information and confirmations within this Appendix are mandatory requirements and must be supplied in the order requested. Suppliers should note that a proposal which fails to meet or address any of the following requirements will be interpreted by the Department of Defence as a failure to comply with a mandatory condition of this RFT and will be rejected from further evaluation. In this respect, the onus is on suppliers to ensure that their responses are complete and, except for the purpose of requesting clarification on actual statements made or information supplied in response to this document, the Department of Defence will not accept further responses from suppliers in respect of any mandatory requirement stated in this document, following the closing date for receipt of tenders.

8.1. GENERAL INFORMATION

All tenders must include the following information:

Name, address, telephone number, fax number and e-mail address (where available) of supplier. Name of person within tendering organisation dealing with the tender.

Description of role or element of contract to be fulfilled by any third-party.

Identification of party who will carry overall responsibility for the contract.

Confirmation of acceptance by the tenderer of the conditions of tender described in Section 2 (‘Conditions of Tender’) of this document.

8.2. SUPPLIER DETAILS AND BACKROUND

The following information may be requested to be provided:

A statement from the tenderer that none of the excluding circumstances (a), (b), (c), (e) and (f) listed in Paragraph 1 of Article 20 of EU Council Directive 93/36/EEC (co-ordinating procedures for the award of public supply contracts) applies to the tendering organisation.

An appropriate statement from banks evidencing the tenderer’s financial standing or evidence of relevant professional risk indemnity insurance.

Presentation of the tenderer’s latest audited accounts or extracts therefrom, where publication of the accounts is required under company law in the country in which the service provider is established.

A statement of the undertakings overall turnover and its turnover in respect of the services to which this contract relates for the previous three financial years. Sales volume details for the tendered products for the last three calendar years should also be included.


In accordance with Article 22.3 of Council Directive 93/36/EEC (relating to the co-ordination of procedures for the award of public supply contracts), where a tenderer is not in a position to supply the material specifically requested, they must submit alternative material which would prove their financial and economic standing.

Provide a brief Company Profile incorporating the following:o Legal form (e.g. public or limited company, partnership, etc.);o Length of time in existence;o Number of employees;o A short description of the Company's principal areas of activity; ando Any additional information in support of your tender.

A list of the principal deliveries (Public or Private) effected in the past three years detailing:- volumes- dates- recipients

A description of the technical facilities at the disposal of the supplier, including the measures in operation for ensuring quality, which are relevant to the contract.

Details of the engineering/technical staff who would be involved in the contract, whether or not belonging directly to the supplier, especially those responsible for quality control.

8.3. REFERENCE SITES

Tenderers must nominate a minimum of two, and preferably three, reference sites where similar equipment to that proposed is installed and operational. At least one contact person must be identified for each site detailing the individual’s name, job title, address and telephone number.

It is a mandatory requirement that the Department can contact these references directly, i.e. without using the supplier as a ‘go between’.

8.4. SOLUTION PROPOSED

A General Technical Summary is required. The summary must clearly demonstrate that the tender meets the minimum specification for the hardware, as specified throughout this request for tender.

The Technical Summary must identify the manufacturer and model number of the equipment. Technical documentation, including photographs of the tendered equipment, should also be supplied.


A detailed specification of the major components within the overall solution must state:

Motherboard type and motherboard manufacturer, logic chip set model and manufacturer,

Processor manufacturer, processor type, clock speed and processor/cache performance verification details (if applicable). Please equate number of processors and processor speed to tpmC figures, Where possible, the ratings should be expressed as tpmC (transactions per minute on the TPC-C benchmark) figures and equated to processor speeds. Where this is not available, other rating types may be provided. Whatever type of figures are provided, they must show the ratings of competitors’ equipment from the same tests

Type and size of RAM. Please note that DIMM size should be maximised so as to provide the maximum upgrade potential of memory slots,

The tenderer should state the number of available memory slots post implementation,

Typical memory access times, The tenderer should state how accurate system time is maintained, Type and speed of bus to which disk array controllers will be attached, The amount of disk controller caching proposed for disk arrays, Number and type of disk controllers, Disk arrays, Tenderers should offer and specify an appropriates level of RAID, Where possible, disk array performance statistics, including details of

sustained throughput (Mb/sec) and number of I/O operations per second,

Disk access times and hardware caching options available, Number and size of disks to meet the minimum initial sizing, Number, type and capacity of tape units to provide a valid, optimum

backup solution to support medium to large size, production and development, e-business environments. It is a requirement that there are common tape backup media across production and development servers,

The solution must include keyboards, monitors and mouses and any other peripherals.

Tenderers must confirm that they are agreeable to providing a unit with an identical configuration to that tendered, for evaluation purposes, if requested.

8.5. OPERATING SYSTEM

The proposal must specify clearly all details relating to the type, version and release level of the operating system proposed.

Any license cost(s) associated with the proposed solution should be incorporated in the costs specified.

Provide operating system certification for the equipment proposed or manufacturer’s warranty for operation with the proposed operating system.


8.6. BENCHMARK INFORMATION

Suppliers must provide details of benchmark tests carried out on the equipment proposed and state whether the tests were commissioned by the manufacturers or other sources.

Please note that failure to supply benchmark information in a tender will cause that tender to be considered incomplete such that it will be disqualified from evaluation.

Reviews of the proposed systems (including sub-systems) in reputable trade magazines may be included in support of your tender.

8.7. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Companies must provide details of future product development plans for the contract period involved.

8.8. PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

The proposal should include the following requirements: Physical characteristics – weight, height, width, depth, ‘footprint’, impact

of scaling options (up to maximum scalability) on ‘footprint’; The physical hardware should be efficiently rack-mounted so as to

minimise the footprint of the system; Electrical characteristics – voltage, frequency, power requirements (stated

incrementally when scaling up to maximum size); Heating/cooling characteristics – in-built heat dissipation features; and Environmental characteristics/requirements – operating temperature,

relative humidity, related tolerances.

8.9. SECURITY

Outline the security features inherent in the proposed servers.

8.10. QUALITY STANDARDS

Suppliers are invited to state any recognised quality standards or awards relevant to:

o The equipment proposedo Their local organisationo Their global organisationo The equipment manufacturer

Outline any measures adopted in the manufacturing process which ensure that a very high level of build quality is achieved.

8.11. PROJECT MANAGEMENT & RESOURCING (DELIVERY/INSTALLATION/COMMISSIONING)

Tenderers must clearly detail the following: The name of the person who will carry overall responsibility for managing the

delivery, installation and commissioning tasks. How the timescale will be met.


Team particulars including:o The number of team memberso For each team member:

Name Relevant technical experience and qualifications Position held within the company/organisation Role / position this person will have on the team(s) Whether assigned full-time to the required tasks, i.e. show all

other responsibilities for the team member that may impact on his/her ability to meet the stringent time requirements of this RFT.

Other projects and references which show a clear and proven ability to project manage the delivery, installation and proper commissioning of the successful solution.

Any other supporting evidence or assurance to unequivocally demonstrate their ability to install and commission the solution tendered in the time frame specified.

8.12. TRAINING

Detail training path(s) available to Department of Defence and Defence Forces personnel and/or those of its related agencies on the proposed solution, including all sub-systems. It may be a requirement that such personnel be trained to a technical standard on hardware and software to allow systems management, administration and operations support on a day-to-day basis.

Suppliers must clearly state and differentiate between: Required technical training/certification; Recommended training; and Available training courses.

For each course, and for all proposed systems, specify:o Course name (identification number)o Course descriptiono Course durationo Whether a manufacturer’s certification of the training is available;o Manufacturer certification details;o Related system or sub-system;o Training locations available; ando By whom the course is provided.

8.13. SCHEDULE OF COSTS

Suppliers must present their costs in accordance with the Table below and the paragraphs following the table in this Section.

It is mandatory that when specifying the costs in the Table associated with scalability, e.g. adding processors, memory or disks, that suppliers state:

o the minimum size of increment (e.g. 1GB of RAM, 2 processors, etc.);o the cost per increment and whether any reductions or discounts apply

for installing several increments at once (e.g. when adding 4 processors while the minimum increment is 2); and

o any implications or interdependencies with a cost impact (e.g. replacement of another component, or addition of related components


needed as part of the upgrade, etc.). In other words, the table must accurately reflect the full cost of upgrades.

Table to be used for presentation of main costs.Item Cost (Euro)Cost of platform to meet minimum initial sizing

Any operating system license cost Cost of System Management software and utilities (please specify)

Unit cost of any other licenses (please specify)

Cost of delivery, installation, commissioning and insurance

Cost per extra processor (please specify processor speed and specification)

Cost of installing extra processor(s) Cost per increment of memory (please specify size and specification of upgrade)

Cost of installing extra memory Cost per increment of internal disk storage (please specify size and specification of upgrade)

Cost of installing extra internal disks Cost per increment of external disk storage (please specify size and specification of upgrade)

Cost of installing extra external disks Please specify and list costs of other hardware upgrades

Suppliers must define and provide costs for any proposed peripherals not included in the costs above. If there are no additional peripheral costs, suppliers must confirm that this is the case.

Suppliers must also state the costs associated with all levels of support. Suppliers must state the cost of telephone support. Suppliers must specify and state any other warranty-related costs or confirm

that none apply. Suppliers should state the structuring and cost of call-out arrangements

outside the contractual hours of support.


9. Appendix E - Non-Hardware Requirements within Minimum Specification

9.1. PURCHASE CONTRACT

The purchase contract will be finalised with the preferred supplier after tenders have been evaluated.

9.2. DELIVERY, INSTALLATION AND COMMISSIONING WITH TIMETABLE

Tenderers must provide the following information: Confirm that the specified equipment would be delivered, installed

and commissioned within 4 weeks of receiving a purchase order. For any subsequent draw downs which may occur in respect of scaling up, a period of 28 days from receipt of purchase order will be required. Delivery will include transportation.

Confirm that ordered goods would be fully insured against loss or damage until safely delivered.

Confirm that a schedule for the delivery, installation and commissioning of the specified equipment will be provided on request by the Department.

Delivery will include unpacking of the supplied equipment and removal of all packaging from the premises.

Identify the party who will effect the installation and provide details of that party’s experience in successfully implementing similar installations.

Outline the technical support which the installation engineer(s) would have available while the installation process is taking place.

Confirm that they will work with nominated personnel from the Department of Defence / Defence Forces and its other suppliers, primarily those providing the applications to run on the specified equipment, such that full installation and commissioning can be effected.

9.3. WARRANTY AND MAINTENANCE

Suppliers are required to confirm that a minimum on-site warranty and maintenance period of three years,

from the date of acceptance of any given server by the Department, will be supplied for that server and all equipment, OS and software provided with it by the tenderer.

Costs associated with warranty/maintenance and the response times defined.


Suppliers are also required to: Confirm that the warranty and maintenance includes on-site hardware

fault diagnosis, parts and labour, and replacement and/or repair (by the engineer on-site) of any faulty equipment required to restore the server configuration and peripherals to full working order;

Confirm their acceptance that all machines will be maintained on-site and all data storage media replaced under warranty, maintenance contract or other service facility will be retained by the Department of Defence.

Confirm that any equipment, unit or component that cannot be repaired on-site, will be immediately replaced for the duration of the repair period with an equivalent or higher specification unit.

Confirm that all supplied hardware and software will be checked for conformance with specification.

Confirm that warranty obligations shall in no way be affected or diminished by prior inspection, quality control or initial acceptance of contract items.

Provide comprehensive details of his/her company's ability to support and maintain the supplied equipment for the period of the contract. (If a third party is being used to supply the warranty and maintenance cover, the same details should be supplied along with the name, address, telephone number and fax number of the company involved.) These details should include:

The number and experience of engineering and technical staff proficient in supporting the tendered products at the base from which the services in question would be provided,

A description of the technical facilities at the disposal of these staff, including the measures in operation for ensuring that a high quality support service can be delivered,

Stock management procedures and minimum stock holdings for the proposed equipment for all components. Any component(s) that must be held by the Department must be clearly stated, along with any particular environmental or other conditions that need to be satisfied.

On expiry of the proposed warranty period a separate contract for maintenance and support will be re-tendered and may be awarded to a third party. The supplier must give an undertaking that his/her company will fully co-operate with any third-party which may in future carry out such maintenance tasks.


9.4. SUPPORT OPTIONS

Suppliers must confirm their ability to provide good quality support and maintenance services for the hardware, operating system, backup devices and associated software and intra-hardware communications devices.

The support must take cognisance of all requirements as stated in this RFT with particular reference to proposed business hours as outlined in Appendix A.

For all calls logged, an engineer must be on site (if necessary) within 4 hours.

The maximum acceptable downtime of a server / server component or any intra server communications device is 3 hours and a Mean Time to Recovery (MTTR) from all faults or failures within 2.5 hours of being reported will be essential. Tenderers must specifically confirm their ability to fulfil this requirement.

Tenderers should state their “normal” office hours and detail the level and extent of the cover being provided outside of these "normal" office hours. Procedures that would be used to ensure on-site availability of engineers for each of the levels specified above should be detailed.

In addition, telephone and online support will be a requirement in respect of all lots. Suppliers should state facilities for such support and indicate the escalation procedures which will operate in such circumstances. [Tenderers should note the telephone and online support is not a substitute for the support mechanism outlined above]

Please provide detailed costings for any "call out" or similar options. Tenderers are at liberty to offer better response times and service levels. In view of the above MTTR requirements, state the measures that will

operate to satisfy this requirement in the event that the initial repair proves unsuccessful.

State the escalation procedures that would be used in the unlikely event of prolonged downtime.

State unambiguously the guaranteed time from fault/failure reporting to repair/replace equipment such that normal operation can resume.

Please state clearly if you propose any on-site personnel for hardware / operating system maintenance purposes. State any staffing levels and the technical qualifications and experience of the staff that would be used.

Outline any preventative maintenance procedures that would be used. Define the degree of support available at installation time. For ongoing cover, proposals must state the ‘calling process’ (mechanisms

and procedures) from initiation through response to conclusion. Any auditing procedures and reporting mechanisms should be provided.

State the company’s policy for review of support staff and procedures for maintenance of standards.

Suppliers may provide details of any technical support/Help Desk facilities available to purchasers of equipment and the charge, if any, for this service.


Supply the names, addresses and telephone numbers of customers, along with contact names, who have been provided with warranty, maintenance and support services similar to that described herein.

9.5. SITE SECURITY

As a prerequisite for admission to Department of Defence / Defence Forces sites, advance notification of the identities of the company's personnel will be required before access is allowed and all personnel will be expected to carry identity cards which include a recent photograph. Suppliers must confirm that, were they to be successful with this tender, the above conditions will be accepted, and that the following information in respect of service and maintenance personnel will be furnished to the Department on request:

FIRST FULL NAMES AND SURNAMESPRESENT ADDRESSDATE OF BIRTH PASSPORT NUMBER

This requirement will apply on an on-going basis to reflect changes in personnel dealing with this business.

The Department operates a strict anti-virus policy. Suppliers must confirm their willingness to co-operate fully with the enforcement of this policy by allowing all media used by engineers to be virus checked before use in the Department's equipment. Suppliers should give details of their anti-virus regime.


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE / DEFENCE FORCES · Web viewAnd B: two server model for 10g AS supplying Oracle Applications Interconnect and DOD/DF Security Requirements Attention: It should