South Coast Air Quality Management District

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Authorize Purchase of Network Infrastructure Upgrade

SYNOPSIS: 

As AQMD’s computer applications have grown, so have the demands on local area network bandwidth. Our current network infrastructure was designed and installed in 1991 and can no longer accommodate further bandwidth demands. A targeted network infrastructure upgrade is needed to support the expanding network-based computer applications. This action is to authorize purchase of network infrastructure upgrade, which will include new network core equipment and management software. Funds for this purchase are included in the FY 2000-01 Budget.

COMMITTEE: 

Administrative, July 14, 2000. Less than a quorum was present during the discussion of this item; those Committee Members who were present communicated their concurrence.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Authorize purchase of network infrastructure upgrade from Genesis Computer Systems, Inc. for a total amount of $223,942, which is allocated in the District General Capital Outlays.

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

AQMD’s data network (or local area network - LAN) supports all generation, transfer and exchange, storage input and output, and analyses of electronic information at the agency. Most of AQMD’s primary business functions have been migrated to client-server applications that use the data network to access information in our Central Information Repository, a relational database containing mission-critical data. Similarly, the network’s role has greatly expanded as a communication conduit with increased use of E-mail, fax server, and internal Intranet (AIRNet). Sharing information and processes through the network has become standard operation for AQMD staff. The hardware platform supporting client-server applications consists of servers, desktop PCs (clients) and an ethernet network infrastructure (backbone). The network backbone that was designed and installed in 1991 can carry only ten megabits per second (Mbps) to the clients and 100 Mbps to the servers.

Because of expanded use, AQMD’s network has become a bottleneck for transferring data between clients and servers. The interaction between data and network backbone in a client-server computer system is critical to operational efficiency. For this reason, a capital improvement in the area of network equipment technology is the recommended course of action. A targeted network infrastructure upgrade will be conducted to replace the current core switches. The new network core switches will provide 1,000 Mbps (or Gigabit) and 100 Mbps connections to the servers and closets, respectively. This upgrade will provide AQMD with new network core equipment and network management tools, with a planned life cycle of five years.

Bid Evaluation

Bids for the network infrastructure upgrade with the configuration listed below were solicited from the firms on the list of prequalified vendors for the Purchase of Computer, Network, Printer and Related Services approved by the Board on July 9, 1999.

• Two Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Core Switches including all software and licenses
• 112 Gigabit-per-second Ports
• 192 10/100 Megabit-per-second Ports
• Supervisory Modules
• Redundant Power Supply
• Monitoring Modules

The prequalified vendor list is in effect through a period ending June 30, 2001. Of the 30 firms on the list, one was from a woman-owned business enterprise, two from certified minority-owned business enterprises, two from non-certified minority-owned business enterprises, and none from disabled-veteran-owned business enterprises. Five bids were received and evaluated (see Attachment 1). Genesis Computer Systems, Inc. submitted the lowest bid at $206,874.23, sales tax of 8.25% brings the total purchase to $223,941.35.

Resource Impacts

Funds for this purchase are allocated in the District General Capital Outlays Account, in the FY 2000-01 Budget.

Attachments

Attachment 1 - Evaluation of Bids from Prequalified Vendor List

Evaluation of Bids from Pre-Qualified Vendor List

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