UK SBS IT17375 STFC Data Analysis as a Service

Description

Summary of the work STFC’s Scientific Computing Department is provisioning additional computing resources to enable users to access and analyse their data remotely, by developing Data Analysis as a Service. This provides easy to use access to compute resources and storage, using a Data Movement Service and Virtual Machine Manager across the Cloud infrastructure. Expected Contract Length Four months (to the end of March 2018) Latest start date Monday 4 December 2017 Budget Range Up to £165,000.00 excluding VAT Why the Work is Being Done The Scientific Computing Department (SCD) at STFC are developing an e-Infrastructure for the National Facilities (ISIS Pulsed Neutron and Muon Source, Diamond Light Source and the Central Laser Facility, Culham Centre for Fusion Energy) and their users. SCD is provisioning infrastructure to enable users to access and analyse their data remotely, by developing Data Analysis as a Service (DAaaS). This simplifies access to compute resources; scientific analysis software and data storage, to efficiently process data within a managed, secure virtual environment. Problem to Be Solved For many National Facilities user communities computing infrastructure remains difficult to use which can impede access to data and compute resources affecting the scientific output. Moving data to the appropriate institute and compute resource remains a significant challenge. In many research disciplines data volumes and transfer rates make moving research data complex. Being able to automatically identify the appropriate local or remote compute resource for the analysis required is an ongoing piece of research & development and is referred to as Virtual Machine Manager. Who Are the Users As a National Facilities user and academic researcher I need to access my experimental data on appropriate compute resources so that I can process and analyse my experimental data to make more effective world-class scientific research discoveries for the benefits of society. Early Market Engagement None Undertaken Work Already Done The hardware infrastructure is in place for this project and work has been carried out with the National Facilities to gather their requirements. There is a design and prototype of the Data Management system and a preliminary design for the virtual machine management. Existing Team The Software Engineering Group from the Scientific Computing Department is in place at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. The supplier’s team will be working with this team – and have occasional interactions with the National Facilities teams. Current Phase Beta Skills & Experience • Demonstrate how you will apply your skills and expertise to... (Please leave this answer blank as it will not be scored) • develop software with OpenStack and commercial cloud providers for example Amazon Web Service, Google Compute Engine or equivalent and how this will ensure the successful delivery of this project • develop software in AngularJS, Python, and Java, C++ in a RHEL platform environment and how this will ensure the successful delivery of this project • utilise GridFTP and File Systems in Userspace (FUSE) and how this will ensure the successful delivery of this project • use network filesystems Samba, NFS, CEPH and how this will ensure the successful delivery of this project Nice to Haves • Demonstrate how you will apply your skills and expertise to... (Please leave this answer blank as it will not be scored) • use databases such as MySQL/MariaDB, Oracle and how this will ensure the successful delivery of this project • work within the scientific and/or research environment and how this will ensure the successful delivery of this project • apply X509 Public Key Infrastructure for security management and how this will ensure the successful delivery of this project Work Location Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX. Working Arrangments Mon-Fri 9-5 and occasional remote working. Security Clearance Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) and Disclosure Scotland No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria • Technical solution • Approach and methodology • Estimated timeframes for the work • How they’ve identified risks and dependencies and offered approaches to manage them Cultural Fit Criteria • Demonstrate how you will work with the existing team and users throughout this project • Demonstrate how you will solve problems throughout this project • Demonstrate how you will share knowledge and expertise with members of the existing team Payment Approach Capped time and materials Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 10% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers 1. Can you please advise whether resources provided under this contract would be considered subject to IR35? If so, is this contract deemed to be inside or outside IR35? This is unable to be determined at this time as it is possible for contractors who are both in and out of scope of the off payroll working rules to be engaged through DOS. The successful supplier / contracting authority will need to check the status in accordance with the HMRC online tool prior to contract commencement. A link to this tool can be found here: https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/check-employment-status-for-tax/setup