The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) plans to procure the ?brand name? Nortel network hardware products to support the Patent File Wrapper System (PFW) project on the PTONet. USPTO has installed 220 Nortel Passport switches to support the PTONet infrastructure. It allows us to connect servers and other switches to two different switches for high availability and load balancing. The feature is proprietary to Nortel. The new server switches parts will be integrated into an existing Nortel switch infrastructure that is installed and in the ETC lab. Proper integration and compatibility with existing core network infrastructure is vital to the successful operation and support of mission critical solutions, such as (PFW). While it is possible to use switches other than Nortel on PTONet, it is not cost effective, nor practical for this procurement. We are currently using Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM) Sparse Mode. Other switch manufacturers may or may not support that feature as each switch manufacturer has a propriety operating system and software to run the switch. Integrating another vendor's network switches would require a redesign and extensive lab testing, updating Life Cycle Management documentation, establish and manage new maintenance contracts and conduct training for Network Operations staff. In addition, introducing other switch vendor would complicate network troubleshooting which could result in longer network outages. This announcement is considered a ?brand name? justification. This acquisition will be conducted utilizing Part 13 of the FAR, Simplified Acquisition procedures and the Patent and Trademark Acquisition Guidelines (PTAG) among the existing USPTO Information Technology ID/IQ contractors. No written solicitation will be issued as a result. The point of contact for information regarding this notice is Connie Lum at (571) 272-4167, or via E-Mail at [email protected].

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