Storage Appliance

Background

The University of North Dakota is seeking bids for a Storage Appliance to support its Computational Research Center. The goal of this contract is to procure a modern, scalable, and efficient storage solution that meets specific technical requirements for enterprise-grade computing and data management.

Work Details

The Storage Appliance must meet the following criteria: 1. Compute & Controller Architecture: Include enterprise-grade compute resources, modern and energy-efficient architecture, ECC-protected memory with future expansion support. 2. Network Connectivity: Support high-speed network connectivity with a minimum of 25Gb Ethernet or equivalent, and redundant interfaces to eliminate single points of failure. 3. Storage Capacity: Provide approximately 1.2 – 1.5 PB of raw storage capacity at initial deployment using enterprise-grade media, clearly defining raw vs usable capacity. 4. Scalability & Architecture: Support expansion in both capacity and performance with acceptable hybrid (SSD/HDD) or HDD-based architectures. 5. Software & Platform Compatibility: Support open or industry-standard platforms (e.g., Linux-based storage, ZFS) and avoid proprietary lock-in. 6. High Availability & Resiliency: Provide a highly available architecture with redundancy in controllers/nodes, power supplies, and networking paths; include data protection features like replication and snapshots. 7. Management & Operations: Include centralized management tools for monitoring and reporting, role-based access control, automation support, and compatibility with Starfish Unstructured Data Management software. 8. Future Growth & Lifecycle: Describe expansion limits, upgrade paths, expected product lifecycle, and support model; solutions should allow incremental expansion without full system replacement.

Period of Performance

The product must be received before August 31, 2026.

Place of Performance

The contract will be performed at the University of North Dakota.

Bidder Requirements

Bidders must affirm that their proposed storage solution is fully compatible with Starfish Unstructured Data Management software. They are required to provide a signed Bidder Information and Signature page and ensure that all costs associated with required listings are included in the bid price.