Contract Title: EPA – IPN Region 5 

Contract Title: NIEHS

Contract #: CIO-SP2i- HHSN263999900029I

Award Whole $ Value : $ 3,725,059

Period of Performance: 07/01/2008 to 06/30/2012 (extended to 6/30/2013)

Buying Agency: NIEHS

Prime/Sub: SRA 4300 Lakes Fairs Court, Fairfax, VA 22033

Prime Contact: : Eric Toliver;  Phone: 919-313-7581; Mobile: 919-225-9415; Eric_Toliver@sra.com; 2605 Meridian Parkway, STE 200; Durham, NC 27713

Description :EXCEL is a major subcontractor to SRA supporting the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) computer/IT infrastructure, application hosting and deployment on their campus in RTP, NC. The overall mission of applying science and environmental based information technical services of NIEHS is very similar to that of EPA’s National Computer Center. Our roles and responsibilities for NIEHS are directly relevant to the requirements of this EPA TORFQ. The following describes our task activities:

Application Platform and Deployment Support

EXCEL supports a wide range of COTS and custom application software that supports the Institute’s administrative and environmental science missions. Key server protocols and technologies used within the infrastructure include NDMP, storage snapshots, fibre channel, NetApp SnapVault, and NetApp Open System SnapVault. Cold Fusion servers are heavily engaged to provide critical application integration. Other key infrastructure software products supported at the NIEHS include VMware, Apache, SAS, GCG, Rosetta Resolver, Horizon Library Catalog, Microsoft Manager, PHP, Postgres, Java POJO, Tomcat J2EE, Pelican, SharePoint, SiteScape Enterprise Forum, Adobe Jrun, Adobe Connect (videoconferencing), Subversion Server, Microsoft IIS, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL and Nagios (for monitoring).

Desktop Support

EXCEL supports 2,500 desktop Macintosh and Intel based desktops and laptops for the entire institute. Support includes installation, troubleshooting, and upgrade of the standard software suite including MS Office, desktop encryption, desktop backup. EXCEL also supports peripherals including printers, RIM Blackberry PDAs, document scanners, label printers, USB cameras, and cellular mobile broadband aircards. EXCEL uses the Remedy suite of tools for tracking and managing problem resolution.

Supercomputer and Server Infrastructure Administration

EXCEL supports over 100 MS-Windows physical and virtual servers that run under the NIHnet Active Directory (AD) and provide an array of desktop-related services such as file sharing, print sharing, AD account management, AD resource management, and other server functions. The servers run on a variety of Windows operating systems which are routinely upgraded to the latest version as appropriate. EXCEL also supports specialized scientific applications and internet sites running on almost 100 UNIX and Linux servers supporting Institute’s primary internet sites and core scientific applications that are operated on a Cray XD-1 supercomputer, SGI Altix 450/4700 shared memory systems, LINUX clusters and other scientific computing platforms. Most production Windows and Linux servers run on Dell 2×50 with IBM blade hardware utilizing virtualization to reduce the complexity and number of servers when appropriate. Additionally, several Citrix servers are embedded in the infrastructure to support remote terminal services. Other key hardware supported include Raritan Paragon KVM switching, 5 Network Appliance filers (with NSF, CIFS and SnapVault protocols), and a Quantum PX510 tape library.

Local Area Network (LAN) Infrastructure Support

EXCEL supports the NIEHS Local Area Network (LAN) consisting of a tiered, switched Ethernet architecture with multiple 1-Gbps fiber-optic backbones and 100Base-T links to the individual workstations and servers. The LAN interconnects all desktop workstations, central servers, departmental systems, printers, scientific equipment, and other devices. The LAN is extended to remote campuses and contractor sites via 10M, 100M, or 1G Ethernet links. The supported network community consists of more than 4000 network-attached nodes. Support includes the NIEHS Wide Area Network (WAN) connection consisting of dual redundant DS3 links to the extended NIHnet. EXCEL’s support requires flexibility and modularity to accommodate and support an environment which is characterized by continual moves, additions, and changes.