transport and application IP acceleration solutions

The goal of this USSOCOM Request for Information (RFI) is to explore the technical aspects of the components of this requirement. No TCP/IP acceleration hardware and/or software of any kind will be procured as a result of this RFI. We are seeking industry input to assist in identifying transport and application IP acceleration solutions to meet the requirements described below. Only commercially available solutions will be considered. Please note that USSOCOM will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by interested parties responding to this RFI. Background : USSOCOM is transitioning to an Everything over IP (EoIP) approach for information transport within the SOF Information Enterprise (SIE). One of the challenges of the EolP transition is to overcome the current inefficient use of the space segment and long-haul IP Wide Area Network (WAN) links. Requirements : The primary objective is to overcome inherent throughput restrictions due to SATCOM and WAN latency, and associated limitations (bandwidth delay product) of the Transport Control Protocol (TCP). In addition to TCP limitations, applications such as CIFS (Microsoft file sharing), NFS (Network File Sharing), and MAPI (Outlook-Exchange Transfer Protocol) have application layer protocol issues that may become the bottleneck, requiring application specific acceleration. Projected application growth areas include Full Motion Video, Map and Imagery dissemination, and large-volume data replication and backup. Currently, transport acceleration exists in the SOF Deployable Node (SDN) family of satellite communications terminals (SDN-Lite, SDN-Medium, and SDN-Heavy) supporting SOF deployable forces. Current accelerators in use are the ViaSat xPEP and the AOS SkyPipe. The performance of the existing devices will be the baseline used when comparing candidate hardware or software solutions. Interested vendors should identify their solutions for transport acceleration, application acceleration, or a combination as it would apply to SATCOM communications used in the tactical environment and to an enterprise ‘garrison' environment. In response to this RFI, we ask that respondents submit written responses, preferably via electronic mail, and be willing to provide a demonstration device and/or software for evaluation. Written responses to this RFI should not exceed five (5) pages. However, you are reminded that the Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this request or to otherwise pay for the information solicited. Although we intend to use this information for future acquisition planning purposes, we will not release any information about your approach that might in any way compromise your competitive posture or proprietary information. Nor, will we use any information you provide us to level your approach relative to another competitor.