Title
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO PURCHASE AGREEMENTS WITH CENTRACOMM FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF A ROUTER SYSTEM AND WITH ZCORUM FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF A CARRIER GRADE NAT SYSTEM; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. (as amended 12/4/2018)
Executive Summary: Staff is requesting the appropriation of existing funds in the Velocity Broadband capital fund to use towards the purchase of new equipment and materials.
Body
Legislative History
None.
Purpose & Explanation
In an effort to improve the current level of service Velocity Broadband provides customers, staff is requesting the purchase of a Juniper router system and an A10 Networks Carrier Grade NAT (CGN) IPv6 system. The funding for these two purchases would come from the existing VBB capital fund balance, and the total purchase price would be $280,894.86. Using both of these solutions combined, Velocity customers will receive an improved quality service for the next 10 years. Additionally, the following key benefits will result from this purchase.
• Create a more reliable core network with a redundant backup location.
• Reduced total cost of ownership by $104,681.40 versus current system over 10 years.
• Provide additional support for the next generation of customer needs over 10 years.
• Enable staff to more efficiently and effectively carryout maintenance duties on equipment and facilities.
When combined, both systems will enable Velocity to deploy IPv6 connections more effectively, support for 40Gig circuits, support for 5G wireless systems, MPLS services, and have the ability to add enhanced firewall services as needed. The Juniper router system will enable redundancy across two diverse locations, reduce network overhead, add additional expansion capacity, and have a reduced cost of ownership by $104,681.40 over the life of the equipment when compared with the current Cisco solution. The A10 CGN/IPv6 system will enable Velocity to make more efficient use of limited IPv4 network resources, and support future IPv6 needs of 5G services while providing added protection against malicious network attacks.
The two solutions will position Velocity to reduce points of failure, increase speed of outage restoration, and reduce network complexity without adding additional overhead. Both of these systems are used throughout the ISP space in both small and large providers and come highly recommended by other network operators and system maintainers.
Router System:
Purchase Price
Juniper (Recommended) $195,178.86
Cisco $309,221.19
CGN IPv6 System
Purchase Price
A10 Networks (Recommended) $ 85,716.00
Juniper $119,690.62
Cisco $120,756.96
UPDATE: As of November 21, 2018, the manufacturing of the Juniper router may necessitate the vendor to pay additional tariffs on the export of components manufactured overseas. Consequently, City Staff is asking for authorization to proceed at a higher purchase price due to the probable future increase in the router’s price given the above-mentioned tariffs that are set to go into effect in 2019. It is estimated that the router’s price will increase to $227,178.86 and the CGN will remain at the same price for a total purchase price for the complete unit in an amount not to exceed $312,894.86.
Timing Considerations
Following City Council approval, City staff will work with the vendors to install and configure these systems as soon as possible.
Fiscal Impact
Currently Budgeted
x Supplemental Appropriation Required
Appropriation Not Required.
Recommendation
Suggested Action
Staff recommends that City Council authorize staff to purchase the Juniper router system and the A10 Networks CGN system.
Submitted by,
Jane Howington, City Manager
Will Ersing, Broadband Manager