1. Solicitation Number: 75N95019Q00325

2. Title: Acquisition of Ibex Pro GPU (ibep2b)

3. Classification Code: 59

4. NAICS Code: 334111 Electronic Computer Manufacturing

5. Description:
This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential requirement.

This notice is issued to help determine the availability of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government requirement and to determine the method of acquisition. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes. No award will be made as a result of this notice. The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. This notice is strictly for research and information purposes only.

Background: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the nation's leading medical research agency and the primary Federal agency whose mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability, conducting, supporting and making medical discoveries that improve people's health and save lives.

The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) is a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), whose mission it is to catalyze the generation of innovative methods and technologies that will enhance the development, testing and implementation of diagnostics and therapeutics across a wide range of human diseases and conditions.

Purpose and Objectives: NCATS is in need of licenses for the MathWorks MATLAB software package, which is used for the scientific analysis of fluorescence microscopy three-dimensional image stack data and Cloud Solutions. This requirement is to provide hardware for MATLAB software to run on.
The MATLAB software package will be augmented with the TensorFlow Python-friendly open source library for numerical computation that makes machine learning faster, scalable and easier.
Two hardware systems for MATLAB software licenses and TensorFlow end-to-end open source platform to build and deploy machine learning models are needed. These two servers will be custom built to NCATS' requirements to use the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 GPU that will allow our scientists to handle their 3D workloads.
Project Requirements:
• Ubuntu Server 18.04 LTS (64-bit), or its equal
• 28 Cores Platinum 8180 (2.5 up to 3.8 GHz - 56 Threads - Max memory speed
• 2666 MHz), or its equal
• 768 GB Six Channel Registered ECC DDR4 at 2666 MHz (12× 64GB), or its equal
• 28 Cores Platinum 8180 (2.5 up to 3.8 GHz - 56 Threads - Max memory speed
• 2666 MHz), or its equal
• 768 GB Six Channel Registered ECC DDR4 at 2666 MHz (12× 64GB), or its equal
• 36864 Cores 384GB - 8 x Quadro RTX 8000 with 48GB GDDR6 and 4608 CUDA Cores, or its equal
• 2 TB NVMe Install on PCI SSD, or its equal
• 32 TB SSD Seq Read: 550 MB/s, Write: 520 MB/s (8x 4TB), or its equal
• 10 Gb Dual Port Ethernet Network Adapter (Included), or its equal
• Limited 1 Year Labor and 3 Year Parts Warranty

Quantity: Two (2) hardware systems

Anticipated period of performance: 6 to 8 weeks ARO

Requested Response:
The intent of this sources sought notice is to define the procurement strategy (e.g. set-aside, sole source, unrestricted) for a solicitation that NCATS intends to post soon. Interested contractors are requested to respond by (1) identifying how their proposed product meets or exceeds each of the seven salient charactistics listed above, by number; and (2) providing product literature, white papers, or capability statements that demonstrate their bona fide ability to supply such an instrument within the time frame described above.

In addition, please state your business size status and whether you are the manufacturer or authorized distributor of the device you propose.

Please note that NCATS is particularly interested in small business sources. If you are a small business, please state the type of small business (small business; HUBZone; service-disabled, veteran-owned; 8(a); veteran-owned; woman-owned; or small disadvantaged businesses) and your size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible.

The respondent must also provide their DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HubZone, etc., pursuant to the applicable NAICS code and any other information that may be helpful in developing or finalizing the acquisition requirements.

The information submitted must be must be in and outline format that addresses each of the elements of the project requirement and in the capability statement /information sought paragraphs stated herein. A cover page and an executive summary may be included but is not required.

The response must include the respondents' technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses.

All responses to this notice must be submitted electronically to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer. Facsimile responses are NOT accepted.

The response must be submitted to [email protected], Contract Specialist at [email protected].

The response must be received on or before August 26, 2019, 11:00am, Eastern Standard Time.

Disclaimer and Important Notes: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work.

Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a presolicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

Confidentiality: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).