RFP/2013 Datacenter

Posted: October 18, 2013

Statement of Purpose
The Wikimedia Foundation (WMF)'s Technical Operations team is seeking proposals on the provisioning of a new data center facility.

Background Information
The WMF is a nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to encouraging the growth, development and distribution of free, multilingual, educational content, and to providing the full content of these wiki-based projects to the public free of charge. The Wikimedia Foundation operates some of the largest collaboratively edited reference projects in the world, including Wikipedia, a top-ten internet property.

Scope of Work
We seek a stable, experienced data center provider capable of facilitating the provisioning and setup of a modern, secure installation that meets the ongoing needs of WMF, as discussed below.

Primary Requirements

 * The data center location must be in the midwestern/western continental US (i.e., Chicago westward).
 * The capacity for at least 32 enclosures initially; expansion possibilities (first right of refusal in contract on adjacent or nearby cage area) for another row of 8.
 * We will utilize enclosures that are 1050 mm deep, and request pricing for (footprint for) enclosures both 600 mm and 800 mm wide.
 * The capability for redundant 30A * 3 Phase 208V circuits in each enclosure, with a usable power density of 8.6kW per enclosure.
 * Additionally, redundant cooling is required, with a maintained inlet / cold aisle temperature of 65-80F, and 40-60% relative humidity.
 * Secure cage(s) are preferred, versus shared row access. Enclosures, if provided, must be lockable, and only WMF employees or direct employees of the data center provider should have access.
 * The site should have power redundancy systems that are adequate and well maintained at a minimum of N+1.
 * We seek a contract with the direct maintainer of the data center to avoid future complication. No resellers.
 * We request an equipment storage area: We will require on hand spare hardware, and a location to store this equipment. A minimum storage area of 5 cubic feet is required.
 * We require a significant number of diverse carriers available within the center.
 * We require the data center to be “carrier neutral” and able to provide equal access to all carriers without preferential treatment.
 * For remote work, we require 24/7 availability of onsite smart hands via data center staff.
 * Additionally, 24/7 on-site security is also required.
 * For access, we require 24/7 unescorted facility and cage access for WMF staff and pre-approved third parties.
 * We ask that you maintain a functional, well-designed portal for ordering/provisioning and ticket requests.
 * The environmental impact of the facility (cooling efficiency, reclaimed water, etc) will be an important consideration for final site selection.

Secondary requirements

 * We request the use of our own enclosures, if possible. Otherwise, please include detailed information on enclosures provided.
 * If facility-provided enclosures are required, please provide proposals for 800mm and 600mm wide racks, if available.
 * We request availability of WMF-staff-accessible workspace in an area outside of the data center floor.
 * Availability of data center-wide wifi for visiting staff or other parties is requested.
 * We request availability of N+1+1 power redundancy.
 * The access and capability to join a large (100 members or more) Internet peering exchange will be an important consideration for site selection
 * For security, we request the ability to setup and maintain our own fixed cameras/monitoring equipment.

Site / Location specific questions

 * Please include detailed information on the following:
 * Shipping Requirements (how long can we store shipped goods, security of the receiving process)
 * A list of carriers with physical presence within your facility or MMR.
 * SAS/70 compliance or equivalent documents
 * Timing on space availability upon signing of contract
 * Pricing on carrier/tenant fiber interconnects, and cage-to-cage cross-connects.

Term of Contract
The contract would begin as soon as possible, and have a term not to exceed three years, with an option for annual renewal thereafter.

Contractual Terms and Conditions
Terms and conditions / Acceptable Use Policies should be submitted in editable form for legal review, where possible. T&C/AUP changes should be expected to ensure we meet the privacy and security commitments required for our users.

Schedule, Evaluation and Award Process
This RFP is expected to be open until November 8th. We will require a letter of intent, or quote/proposal by this date to be considered for our data center location.

RFP proposals will remain private to protect potentially confidential third-party information.

Proposals will be evaluated by the WMF Technical Operations team, and likely candidates will be contacted to arrange site visits and due diligence evaluations. Final candidate contracts will require legal review and executive level approval prior to acceptance.

Points of contact for future correspondence
Please submit questions or proposals to [mailto:rfp@wikimedia.org rfp@wikimedia.org]. Thank you for your interest!

Ken Snider, Director of Technical Operations