Tender Advertisement #1075398

REQUEST FOR TENDER

Upgrade of Switching Platform for Core & Access Environments

Background

1. A network L3 switch is a device that combines the functionality of Layer-2 switch & a router.
The basic function of a switch on our network is:
a. To provide a fast network connectivity via an Ethernet cable;
b. To provide PIFS Users connectivity to IT Services such as email, internet, shared-files, telephony, printing and specific services such as financial applications;
c. The switches will be installed in pairs to provide high-availability and redundancy for Users and the IT Infrastructure.
2. The Secretariat currently has 12 switches that are located in 7 different buildings and are in urgent need of replacements. The switches had reached their end-of-life & end-of-sale in 2016.
3. The current IOS switch is also outdated and cannot be upgraded due to unavailability of hardware and software support from existing suppliers.

4. There have been a lot of upgrades and new technologies imbedded into the Cisco firmware which are unutilized and no support is in place for these upgrades.

Purpose

5. The objective of the tender is to;

i. implement a switching platform which is scalable of up to 40GB of interface throughput and has the smarts to improve routing performance on multi-VLAN networks using routing protocols;
ii. provide the capacity and throughput for improved and faster connectivity experience for PIFS users using wired or wireless technology;
iii. Replace 12 of the 14 switches that is currently being used to provide connectivity to all Users on the PIFS network; and
iv. Simplify security management, flow-accounting, high-scalability & improve fault isolation using an online Management portal.

Scope of Work

The supplier will be hired to carry out the responsibilities and tasks as set out under the Terms of Reference (TOR) document which can be downloaded from www.tenders.net/forumsec.

HOW TO APPLY

Submissions should be entitled:

OPEN TENDER - Upgrade of Switching Platform for Core & Access Environments

Method of Submissions:

Submissions must be forwarded in PDF format following the instructions at www.tenders.net/forumsec

Note: Tenders must be submitted with clear labelling of the technical offer and the financial offer. The Technical Offer documents must be saved and submitted clearly labelled "A. Technical Offer". Financial Offer documents must be saved and submitted clearly labelled "B. Financial Offer".

The electronically submitted documents should be converted to the PDF format.

Deadline for Submissions:

Submissions need to reach the Secretariat before 4pm, 16 July, 2019.

Late or incomplete tenders will not be considered.

Questions and Answers

All queries or request for information must be submitted via the Question and Answer Forum at www.tenders.net/forumsec . Tenderers may submit questions in writing to the mentioned Question and Answer Forum before the stated "deadline for requesting clarifications" 5pm, 9 July, 2019. The Secretariat has no obligation to provide clarification after this date.

Note: The Secretariat will not be responsible for non-receipt/non-delivery of the Bid documents due to any reason whatsoever.
Any complaints regarding the Secretariat's tender must be directed to the following email: Tender.Complaints@forumsec.org. This email address will forward your complaint to a person that is independent and removed from the tender process. Complaints must be well founded and should not be used as a mechanism for notifying displeasure with the outcome of a tender award. Further information on making a complaint can be found on the Policies & Information page at http://tenders.forumsec.org.

In the event that further information is required by the Secretariat in relation to the tender for consultancy, the Secretariat reserves the right to seek the required information without the need for calling for resubmission of proposals.