LAYER 2 WHITE BOX ACCESS SWITCHES (WBAS)

This Request for Information (RFI) is for planning purposes only and shall not be considered as an invitation for bid, Request for Quotation (RFQ), or Request for Proposal (RFP) or as an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services described herein. Responses to this RFI will be treated as information only. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges to the Government will arise as a result of a contractor's submission of responses to this announcement or the Government's use of such information. This request does not constitute a solicitation for proposals or the authority to enter into negotiations to award a contract. The information provided may be used by the Army in developing its acquisition strategy, Performance Work Statement (PWS) and/or Performance Specifications.

Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or to otherwise pay for the information submitted in response to this RFI.

All information submitted in response to this RFI must be unclassified. Interested parties possessing the capacity to provide the requirements outlined above are requested to provide a response including a primary point of contact (name, title/position, phone number, and email address).

Should an interested party desire a copy of the Contract Data Requirements List (CDRL & DD Form 1423s) that will support the PWS, please reach out to the Point of Contact (POC) listed on this RFI.

1. Introduction:

The United States Army, Program Executive Office, Command, Control, Communications-Networking (PEO C3N), Program Manager (PM) Integrated Enterprise Network (PM IEN) identified the need for a flexible, scalable, and secure network solution that can be standardized and deployed across the entire Army enterprise. PM IEN is seeking information from Information Technology Enterprise Solutions 3-Services (ITES-3S) prime contractors that can provide information technology and certification testing support services for White Box Access Switch (WBAS) solutions.

A WBAS is defined as a network switch that is decoupled from a specific (singular) proprietary network operating system (NOS). The Army desires a WBAS solution that will allow the Army to install its own choice of open-source NOS. The proposed WBAS models need to meet the Army’s stringent performance, scalability, and security requirements.

The WBAS uses open architecture to improve network flexibility and programmability. This open architecture separates and disaggregates switch software, allowing open and/or custom operating systems to be implemented. White Box switches can fulfill Core, Edge, Distribution, Spine, Leaf, and Data Center Switch roles. These switches are comprised of Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS), open network install environment (ONIE) configurable hardware, and open-sourced NOS.

Prior to standardizing the WBAS configurations and implementing across the Army, the selected WBAS solutions must undergo rigorous testing and evaluation to ensure compliance with all operational and cybersecurity standards. Testing will align with Approved Products List (APL) or National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP) standards to ensure baseline interoperability and cybersecurity requirements are met, which will certify the WBAS product for approved Department of Defense (DoD) acquisitions, and access on the Army’s network installation campus area networks (N-ICAN). The prime contractor should provide previous experiences coordinating work with an approved testing facility (APL or NIAP).

The WBAS must be compatible with Software-Defined (SD LAN) and Software Defined Network (SDN) orchestration. This will allow centralized management and integration with existing management tools and equipment on the existing network. The WBAS must perform Layer 2 switching and routing, while also being capable of performing Layer 3 functions.

This RFI aims to gather comprehensive technical and market centric information regarding the individual and interoperative hardware and software currently available in the commercial sector, which may be used to provide a WBAS solution.

2. Please refer to Att 1 entitled "Att 1 Layer 2 White Box Access Switches (WBAS) RFI 15 Nov 2024" and Att 2, entitled "Att 2 PWS WBAS 15 Nov 2024" for the full details of the aforementioned Request for Information (RFI). Any and all questions related to this RFI shall be submitted no later than (NLT) 25 Nov 2024.

19 NOV 2024: ATTACHMENTS HAVE BEEN ADDED IN PDF FORMAT.