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1

The statement on Page 7, bullet 4 “Easily grow and shrink cluster capacity based on needs” is contradictory with “Eliminate the need for complex and expensive clustering solutions” mentioned on same page at bullet 2.

Asked by Premier System Only

It is not in conflict but in fact we want the clustering and high availability not through individual servers which are comparatively complex and expensive as comparative to modern virtualized environment in blade servers.

2

Does the required Resident Engineer will provide support for all the deliverables?

Asked by Premier System & Others

Though it is clearly mentioned in the RFP at Page 11, however it should be made clear the resident engineer will be front end support engineer skilled enough to understand & troubleshoot the environment but for any issues beyond his/her level must escalate  immediately to the backend as per provided escalation plan. He/She will also be a contact point between EOBI and the vendor.

3

What is the scope of Advance Training mentioned at Page 12?

Asked by Premier System Only.

Thanks for asking this very crucial question. Generally, in basic training the straight installation, monitoring procedures are covered but when it comes to production the real challenges appears. In such cases a person with advance training like different trouble shooting scenarios, complex fine tuning, detailed tracking and analysis and efficient failover specifically relevant to the deployed solution should be known and we expect that.

4

In the equipment specification warranty period is mentioned which is 5 years for SAN & Blades and 3 Years for network equipment but the scope of warranty is not cleared either 24x7 warranty support is required or NBD is required?

Asked by Premier System & Others

Different warranty periods are mentioned for different types of equipment because of the standard warranty period provided as per the nature of the product. Regarding the 24x7 or NBD since our operations are not POS based but our critical times are from 0800 to 1900 Hrs in working so we will be needing the NBD but would like to have the optional cost for 24x7.
Note: For all the optional cost of any items please mention that separately and do not include that in total bid amount.

5

Does the vendor need to migrate existing applications onto the new environment if yes then what will be the scope?

Asked by Premier System & Others

Yes. The same is also mention at Page 4 and Page 18 section 26. We have also asked the RO to understand the existing environment for the future migration. For that you are reminded that you are welcome to visit us and acquire information

6

Does the SAN to SAN replication is required in this project or it is just the provisioning only for the future SAN to SAN replication?

Asked by Sapphire Consulting only

SAN to SAN replication provision is required for future. Kindly see Page 26 for more information.

7

Is it necessary that successful demonstration of the solution should be given locally?

Asked by Huawei only

Not necessary but preferred.

 8

Will the total bid amount include the cost of optional items and what about the bid bond (earnest money)?

Asked by Megaplus & others

No, the total bid should not include the cost of the optional items. The bid bond will be based on the total bid amount only.

9

Our preferred delivery time is 6-8 weeks AFTER RECEIVE OF ADVANCE PAYMENT not after signing of contract. Can you change it.

Asked by Huawei only

Please go by “Implementation & Payment Schedule” as mentioned in RFP Page 8.

10

Can you please add PRINCIPAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER in PAKISTAN with at least 100+ work force and and with business volume of 100 M USD + per anum since at least 5 years support staff 15% at Page 15.

Asked by Huawei only.

Please go by “Evaluation of Bids” on Page 15 of the RFP.

11

Can you please add Original Equipment Manufacturer presence with 100+ staff mandatory in Pakistan and with business volume of 100 M USD + per anum since at least 5 years at section 29 Page 18.

Asked by Huawei only

Please go by section 29 on Page 18 of the RFP.

12

Clients feedback & similar solution showcase needs to be relaxed.

Asked by Huawei only

It is difficult for public sector organization like EOBI.

13

Questions regarding blade server chassis/server/storage for  variations in the form factor were asked like change in full-height to half-height or half-height to full-height or some other size like IBM.

Asked by HUAWEI, ICL, Infotech

Please see section 28 Page 18 of the RFP.

14

Please add “Support for FCoE” in storage.

Asked by Huawei only

Its already there in the RFP.

15

You required HDDs in server, so no need to boot from SAN.

Asked by Huawei only

We do require boot from SAN.

16

Please add  “Storage Virtualization Support”

Asked by Huawei only

Its already there in the RFP.

17

Please add “Storage Tiering Support”

Asked by Huawei only

Its already therein the RFP.

18

Will the Power and the Network provided by the EOBI or the vendor need to do the power cabling, networking etc.

Asked by Sapphire Consulting

Till rack the power and network will be available. However there should be enough PDU and Network I/Os & Patch Panels in the provided solution. The vendor must ensure quality of power and networking before hooking up the equipment.

19

Number of feature for switches, router and  firewall seems proprietary?

Asked by Huawei & Others

Since we have at the moment a single vendor switches, routers & firewall that is why we have asked for that. However as also mentioned in the RFP if there is any equivalent or better alternate available that would fit the provided solution and integrate with existing equipment that is acceptable.

20

With reference to storage specification Cache is mentioned 6GB (Fully Redundant). Does this mean 6GB + 6GB or 6GB per controller?

Asked by STME Only

We are looking atleast 6GB cache either on one controller or two.

21

With reference to storage specification, do you mean “LUN migration” by saying “changing RAID level on-the-fly”

Asked by STME Only

We need RAID migrations without disturbing the operations.

22

With reference to storage specification,  Chunk size less than 2MB. Only Dell Compellent (low-end SAN) can comply with this. (EMC VMAX can also comply but requirement is of entry-level or mid-range i.e. 24 disks only.

Asked by STME Only

We need solution which can cater our requirement, like 2MB chunk Size, Replication support,  should support Storage expansion up to 480 Tera Byte.

23

With reference to storage specification, What is the time-lag in which data should be moved between different tiers?

Asked by STME Only

We need auto tiering option handled by the storage controllers.

24

What is the make/model of 2nd SAN if there is an existing storage where replication is required?

Asked by STME Only

We dont have any SAN currently available, we need SAN to SAN replication provision for the future.

25

When Presentations will be held?

Asked by Huawei only

Presentations will be scheduled within two weeks after the submission of technical bids.

The quantity of the routers mention is wrong? In the summary 4 routers are mentioned while in the detailed specification three routers are mention, 1 is Core Router and 2 Intranet/Extranet Routers. Also in the financial format only 4 routers are mentioned while the units prices of both routers are different. Should we add another line in the financial for the separate prices of the Core Router and Intranet/Extranet Routers.

Asked by Huawei and Megaplus