US ARMY MEDICAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CENTER Video Network Center (VNC) Audio Bridge Request for Information (RFI) 19 April 2007 1. PURPOSE/GENERAL INFORMATION. 1.1. The Point of Contact for this RFI is Mr. Mark Clinger. His e-mail address is:
[email protected]. His postal address is as follows: USAMRAA Attention: Mark Clinger 820 Chandler Street Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5014 1.2. This Request for Information (RFI), issued by the US Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA), is to solicit information from potential industry sources on the solicitation approach that will assist the United States Army Medical Informa tion Technology Center (USAMITC) in formulating a best-value approach for purchasing and installing an Audio Conferencing System to replace the existing Audio Bridge in the network. The information obtained through this RFI will ultimately be used to dete rmine a replacement audio bridge solution that will allow USAMITC to support advanced audio conferencing without loss of functionality or compatibility with existing customers. 1.3. This is not a request for proposals but information obtained as a result of this posting may be used in the development of the Statement of Work for the solicitation. It is the Government's intent to use the gathered information initially for cost , schedule, and feasibility planning and potentially for the basis of a future contract/delivery order. 1.4. This document is formatted with a section identifying some of the key questions in which the Government is seeking industrys feedback. After the questions, we define the project scope and the constraints of the project. The final section of this document identifies the relevant policies affecting this project. Additional detail is provided to answer your questions so that industry may identify solutions that will meet our needs within the constraints of the associated policies. 1.5. This RFI is for planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a request for proposal (RFP) or as an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or otherwise pay for the information solicited. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise as a result of submission of responses to this RFI and the Government's use of such information. Res pondents to this RFI may be requested to provide additional information/details based on their initial submittals. 1.6. The Point of Contact for technical questions concerning this RFI is Mr. Dwaine Brown. His phone number is 210-295-3200. All other questions should be directed to Mr. Mark Clinger. His e-mail address is:
[email protected]. 2. KEY QUESTIONS FOR INDUSTRY FEEDBACK. 2.1. Industry Specifics. 2.1.1. What are the industry best practices for implementing an Audio Bridge solution that meets the Governments policy requirements (DoD/Army)? 2.1.2. What are the industry best practices for central administration and management of the Audio Bridge solution? 2.1.3. What tool(s) does industry recommend as the suggested tool kit for sites that are implementing and maintaining Audio Bridges which must be integrated with the existing and future application architectures? 2.2. Company Specifics. 2.2.1. Does your company have experience installing and supporting non-proprietary Audio Bridge solutions that meet the Governments policy requirements (DoD/Army)? 2.2.1.1. If yes, please provide references for some of the sites that have installed your organizations solutions/products. 2.2.2. What type of architecture (logical/physical) would your company recommend for an Audio Bridge replacement solution in an existing network? 2.2.2.1. See par 3, RFI Scope, sub-par 3.1., Description of Current Audio Br idge and Network Environment 2.2.4. What additional policies, procedures, or business processes are recommended for use with Audio Bridges to ensure the implementation remains functional for the life cycle of the solution? 2.2.5. What do you recommend as the suggested training for personnel that will be implementing and maintaining the Audio Bridge? 2.2.6. Does your company have any quality related certifications such as SEIs, CMMI, Six Sigma, or ISO9000? 2.2.7. Provide a cost break out for an order of magnitude estimate with a five-year life-cycle cost for implementing and maintaining the recommended solution. 2.2.8. When identifying costs for the recommended solution, be sure to consider that these systems are available on a 24x7x365 basis. Availability should be measured on a percentage of uptime that the systems are available for hosting calls. When estim ating costs please provide break point estimates that show the cost for implementing a system with the following uptime requirements: fix as soon as possible, 99% uptime, and 99.9% uptime. 2.2.9. What ongoing support options are available for providing maintenance support for the Audio Bridging solution and what would your company recommend? 2.2.10. What are the costs associated with maintenance of your solution? 2.3. Implementation. 2.3.1. What are your recommendations for evaluating a site prior to implementing the Audio Bridging solution? 2.3.2. What is a realistic schedule for implementing a project such as this (see remainder of the document for scope)? 2.3.3. What recommendations can you provide for implementing your solution so as to not disrupt or minimize the impact on current enterprise VTC operations? 2.4. Hardware/Supporting Software Requirements. 2.4.1. Does your solution support different types of telephone turnkey? 2.4.1.1. ISDN 2.4.1.2. PBX tie trunks 2.4.1.3. 4WE&M trunks 2.4.2. What circuit connections does your Audio Bridging solution support? 2.4.2.1. DS-1, number of DS-1 ports per card or slot 2.4.2.2. Are fractional DS-1s supported 2.4.2.3. DS-3 2.4.2.4. Are fractional DS-3s supported 2.4.3. Does your Audio Bridging solution provide for expansion to meet a growing demand? 2.4.3.1. What are the capabilities and limitations of your Audio Bridging solution to be expanded? 2.4.3.2. At what point would a 'fork lift' replacement be required? 2.4.5.3. What is the cost of expanding your audio bridging solution? 2.4.4. Does your system include an integrated scheduling software solution? 2.4.4.1. If not, do you have a software partner for a scheduling solution? 2.4.4.2. Is this software for scheduling automated for ad-hoc scheduling? 2.4.4.3. Is the scheduling software solution stand alone for each installation or enterprise capable? 2.4.4.4. List the features of your scheduling software solution. 2.4.4.5. Does your solution have a centralized database? 2.4.4.6. Does your solution have a CDR / billing capability? 2.4.5. Does the solution come with software that has reporting capability to measure performance/usage and report metrics to support Service Level Agreements? 2.4.5.1. Please provide examples of these reports. 2.4.6. Does your solution have Centralized Operator Assistance? 2.4.7. Does your solution integrate with MS Active Directory/Exchange (Outlook)? 2.4.8. Does your system come in a redundant configuration? 2.4.8.1. Explain this redundancy. 2.4.9. Are the modules in your solution 'hot-swappable?' 2.4.10. What are the dial plan interface capabilities of your solution? 2.4.10.1. Private PBXs 2.4.10.2. Defense Switched Network 2.4.10.3. Federal Telephone System 2001 2.4.10.4. Other flexible dial plans 2.4.11. Does your solution have the ability to centrally manage more than one Audio B ridge solution at remote sites? 2.4.12. Does your solution have remote management capabilities for the user interface? 2.4.13. List all interfaces for user access. 2.4.14. Is your audio bridging solution JITC approved? 2.4.15. The government will supply the network, power, and wiring to support the Audio Bridge connectivity. 3. RFI SCOPE. 3.1. Description of Current Audio Bridge and Network Environment. 3.1.1. USAMITC Video Network Center (VNC) is currently reviewing options for replacing and expanding the existing Avaya Audio Bridge. This bridge has 96 ports and is connected to a private PBX type ISDN switch with PRIs. The Audio Bridge is located at Fort Sam Houston, TX. In the current network environment, the Avaya Audio Bridge connects to a private ISDN (H.320) network and FTS2001, DVSG and commercial for local and international calling. The Audio Bridge presently connects through Madge/Teleos 200 s eries equipment for routing over these networks. The present network configuration may or may not remain in place should the government decide to replace the existing Audio Bridge. 3.1.2. The present PBX network, into which the Audio Bridging is presently integrated, is comprised of a combination of NET.com Promina 800 and 400 series backbone multiplexers with Prime-switch ISDN 4ESS switching. This PBX uses a 4 to 23 digit dialin g plan. Connected to the Promina network are Madge/Teleos Access switches which perform local number switching at sites located throughout the MEDCOM global enterprise network. 3.1.3. All or part of the present configuration may be reused. 3.1.4. The current Avaya Audio Bridge is used in conjunction with various other devices to support the VNCs mission of providing Audio and Video support for the Army MEDCOM world wide. 3.1.5. VNC is currently using Avayas S7000 Client Reservation Server (CRS) and Booking and Scheduling (B&S) front end to schedule and control conferences. This software is no longer compliant with DoD computer standards and can not be upgraded to meet compliance. This is proprietary software built to schedule conferences on the Avaya S7000 as well as control active conferences. This database also maintains a list of Points of Contact (POCs), site location, organization and equipment information. Contr ol software allows for ad hoc changes to pending/active conferences (add or delete, drop or redial, mute or unmute sites). 3.2. This RFI will be used for the following purposes: 3.2.1. Developing recommended implementation procedures for replacing the Audio Bridge used within the MEDCOM Enterprise. 3.2.2. Certifying audio applications and devices for compatibility with MEDCOMs existing Audio and Video Network Infrastructure. 3.2.3. Refining requirements to perform a technical refresh of the existing Audio Bridge. 3.2.4. Developing a strategy to enable the VNC to provide enterprise audio and video bridging services to the MEDCOM. 3.3. Deliverables. 3.3.1. Development of an Implementation Package. 3.3.1.1. Managers Planning Guide. This would include developing appropriate usage guidelines; typical life-cycle costs guidelines; resource planning guidelines; and guidelines for the identification of the key decisions to be made and their associated risk vs. needs analysis. 3.3.1.2. Installation planning guidelines. Sample project plan and schedule template that shows all the key tasks/considerations that must be accounted for as a part of a typical installation. 3.3.1.3. Installation checklist. Acts as a quick check off for ensuring that all the key tasks have been accounted for. This would include the checks necessary to verify that common implementation problems have been avoided. 3.4.1. Operational environment. The operational environment for the Audio Bridge solution will be in a Data Center environment. 3.4.2. Infrastructure h ardware Requirements. Infrastructure to support the Audio Bridge will be provided by the government, such as network connects to service providers, power, and environmental. 3.4.3. Audio Bridge solution security. Provide documentation on options available for the control interface to the system. Include a description of the different interface options such as IP, RS232, Telnet, dial-in modem etc. Also show what security levels are available for various types of u sers (i.e. user, super-user, administrator, etc). Provide a list of all ports and protocols required for operation and administration of your solution. 3.4.4. Relevant Policies and Procedures 3.4.4.1. Army · HQDA, LRT 25-02-01, dated 15 April 2002 U.S. Army Wireless Local Area Network and Portable Electronic Devices (PED) policy · MEDCOM Information Management Policy 25 February 2006, Policy on Management of Mobile Computing Devices · Army Regulations 380-5: Department of the Army Information Security Program, 29 September 2000 · Army CIO/G6 Networthiness Certification Guidance (Draft ); enforcement mandated by CIO/G6 Policy Memorandum, Army Networthiness Certification, 8 April 2002 · AR 25-1, Army Information Management, 31 May 2002 · AR 25-2, Information Assurance, 31 October 2003 · AR 380-53, Information Security Monitoring · AR 73-1, Test and Evaluation Policy, 7 February 2003 · DA PAM 73-1, Test and Evaluation in Support Of Systems Acquisition, 30 May 2003 3.4.4.2. DoD · DoD 8100.bb Draft Dated 15 July 2002, Use of commercial wireless devices, services and technologies in the DoD global Information Grid (GIG) · DoD Directive 5000 & Army Regulation 5-12 Spectrum supportability requirements · DoD Instruction 5200.40, DoD Information Technology Security Certification and Accreditation Process (DITSCAP), 30 December 1997 · DoD 8510.1-M, The Department of Defense Information Technology Security Certification and Accreditation Process (DITSCAP) Application Manual, 31 July 2000 · DOD Directive 8500.1, 'Information Assurance (IA),' 24 October 2002 · DOD Instruction 8500.2, 'Information Assurance Implementation,' 6 February 2003 · OMB Circular A-130, 'Management of Federal Information Resources,' 8 February 1996; Transmittal Memorandum #4 dated 28 November, 2000 3.4.4.3. Federal Information Processing Requirements · FIPS 140-2 Security Requirements for Cryptographic Modules Change notices, 3 December 2002 3.4.4.4. Guideline · DISA Draft Wireless Security Implementation Guidelines (most current = V1, 4 September 2002) 3.4.4.5. Public Law · Public Law 104-191, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), 21 August 1996 4. SUBMISSION OF RFI RESPONSES. 4.1. USAMITC is requesting respondents capable of providing this information (RFI) according to the guidelines set forth, furnish a capability statement and proposed responses no later than 14 days from the date of this posting. 4.1.1. Please include company name, address, telephone number, point of contact with e-mail address, business size, DUNS number, CCR registration number, Federal Cage Code, general description of the company, and description of similar contracts. 4.1.2. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or otherwise pay for the information solicited. This is a request for information (RFI), not a request for proposals (RFP). Information obtained as a result of this pos ting may, however, be used in the development of the Statement of Work for a solicitation. 4.2 The Point of Contact for this RFI is Mr. Mark Clinger. His e-mail address is:
[email protected]. His postal address is as follows: USAMRAA Attention: Mark Clinger 820 Chandler Street Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5014 4.3 Responses should be submitted to the above e-mail address no later than (day/month/year) 11/05/2007.