Vendors Questions for RFP DBA and System Administration Support

Vendor A
1. Page 16 of 33 under scalability of services provided: "The Respondent should also be prepared
to manage the transition of all our applications to a new hosting provider if necessary." is it
possible to provide more information as to the scope of this specific task?

A:

The scope of the task would be work with UNDP and based on their specification do the
following tasks for that project (not inclusive):
be responsible to create the environment and build out the servers and its operating
systems,
configure firewall rules,
install certain application services as requested,
migrate applications that use those services,
work with UNDP and develop testing plans for each of the applications that will be
migrated
manage the cutover from the current environment to the new hosting provider



Vendor B

2. Can you provide additional clarification concerning s versions, and configuration(s), i.e. RAC,
active/standby, etc., as well as Oracle licensing used? Are they stand-alone servers or are they
connected to a SAN?

A:

Database Version Size
A 9.2.0.7
standard edition
67 GB
B 9.2.0.7
standard edition
52 GB
C 9.2.0.7
standard edition
69 GB
D 9.2.0.7
standard edition
845 mb
E 9.2.0.8
standard edition
2.2 GB


All of the databases are simple stand-alone databases using no DR solutions. The exception is
database A which is using DataGuard with the primary held on one server and the standby held
on another server.


Vendor C

DBA Questions

3. What are the typical weekday peak hours? Specify times if possible i.e. 8am to 5pm?

A:

The typical weekday peak hours are 7 AM EST to 7 PM EST

4. What support is required on weekends?

A:

We require DBAs to respond to pages and pro-actively resolve the issues that occur. This might
include rebooting of the server, deleting database backups to free up hard drive space,

5. What type of calls need to be addressed during off hour and weekend support? P1 or all?

A:

All types of pages that occur during off hours and the weekends needs to be addressed

6. Is there any information on the tickets raised against Oracle & SQL server databases for the past
1 year?

A: The tickets include creation of new databases, backup and restore of databases, setting up
database server environments,

7. What is Version of Oracle Databases?

A: See the answer to question #2

8. Description of environments i.e. For each RDBMS Production/Test/Dev?
A:

3 MS SQL Server 2005 - Production
1 MS SQL Server 2005 Development
4 MS SQL Server 2000 Production


2 Oracle 9i DB Production
1 Oracle 9i DB Staging / Standby
1 Oracle 9i DB Development


9. No. of users on the system?

A: 5,000-10,000

10. Can the client share their Patch Information sheet?

A: No, this is privileged information and will be shared in the knowledge transfer

11. How many incidents and levels?

A:

Application Questions

12. What is UNDP seeking from an administration perspective for the applications?
A: Nothing.

13. Is there a team who is currently managing these environments?
A: Yes

14. Will there be Knowledge Transfer sessions to gain information on activities performed on these
systems?
A: Yes

15. What is the architecture of these applications?
A: This will be provided during the knowledge transfer.

16. Volume of tickets for the above mentioned applications?
A: See the answer to question #22

17. Is weekend support required for these applications?
A: Yes. The support would include restarting of services for the applications that use them

18. Is regular support required for this application? Is Out of Office hours support also required?
A: Yes to both questions.

Vendor D

19. Are all servers co-located or set up in different locations? If different then how many locations?
A: The database servers are located in two locations

20. If kept at different locations then do we need to provide a VPN hardware set up at all locations?
A: It is not needed. You need to be able to configure site-to-site VPN access to both locations.

21. Can UNDP provide us with the current support call count on a per server basis for the last 1
year?
A: This information cannot be retrieved. See the answer to similar question #22

Vendor E


22. Please share ticket details of last 3 months preferably in an excel or editable format for
a. Database Administration
b. System Administration
A: This information cannot be easily entered into an excel or editable format. However,
from 12/1/2010 3/25/201, there have been:
a. 58 tickets registered for System Administration
b. 91 tickers registered for Database Administration (SQL Server and Oracle)

23. Is it acceptable to UNDP if the vendor proposes to use shared resources for this requirement
(Shared resources are shared across multiple clients and are charged based on the quantum of
effort utilized by each client)

A: Yes, it is acceptable.

24. Kindly provide the SLAs that are being maintained by existing team for in-scope areas

A: 24 hour x 7 day support needs to be provided from for both System Administration and DBA
teams. The SLAs for certain issues and pages will be negotiated in the knowledge transfer
session.

25. Please indicate if UNDP has any preference for the ticket tracking system to be proposed by the
vendor

A: There is no preference for a ticket tracking system. The vendor will provide a secure Internet
groupware application / ticket tracking system that will allows UNDP to submit, discuss, and
track support calls. The system also acts as documentation of every interaction for future
reference. This system needs to send emails and be integrated with the vendors paging
infrastructure (i.e. an emergency call for support will page the on-call DBA or on-call SA for
support).

26. Is a detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) documents for in-scope support areas? Will
these SOPs be shared with vendor team?

A: These detailed SOP documents will need to be developed by UNDP and of course shared with
the vendor team

27. Kindly provide details on the tools being used for:
a. software Distribution for Servers
b. Patch Management
Will these tools be extended to the service provider?

A: No tools are being used for software distribution and patch management. Existing command
line tools built-into the OS are being used (Windows Updates for Windows and yum update for
Linux).

28. Please indicate the most crucial databases in terms of availability

A: All of them are crucial.

29. What share the details of the following
a. Version of Oracle and SQL databases being used
b. Size of these databases
A: See the answer to questions #2 and #8

30. Please indicate the backup tools and methodology in place at present
A: Tape backup is handled by the hosting provider and not the responsibility of the sysadmin
vendor. DBA teams should be able to configure database backups through the out-of-box MS
SQL Server and Oracle 9i installs.

31. Please share the clustering tools used for databases

A: None of the databases are clustered

32. Please share the Disaster Recovery solutions that have been implemented for the in-scope
databases

A: There is no disaster recovery solution implemented. The standard operating procedure is to
re-create the server environment and restore the databases from tape backup

33. It is assumed that UNDP has in place back-to-back contracts with OEMs (Oracle, Microsoft)
A: UNDP will pay for all licensing costs for all products.

34. Please elaborate on the activities expected for Design and implementation of data
architecture
A: These activities are dependent on the scope the project.

35. Please indicate the version of Nagios installed at present in UNDP
A: Version 3.0.6

36. Please share the types as well as the frequency of reports generated out of Nagios
A: This information cannot be retrieved at this time.

37. Is Nagios supported by third party vendors?
A: Its an open source product.

38. Is Nagios used for monitoring the existing database services as well.
If not, please indicate which tool is currently being used for monitoring of databases?
A: The current dba provider provides their own tool to monitor the databases. UNDP has Nagios
and it can be used to monitor database services. UNDP is open to other tools to monitor the
databases.

39. Is Jira also used as a ticketing tool for UNDP environment?
If not, please indicate the ticketing tool that is currently being used? Kindly state its version.
A: JIRA is not used as a ticketing tool to handle requests to changes to the UNDP environment.
The current provider for sysadmin and DBA services uses their custom in-house ticketing tool to
provide ticket management for the services and work done.

40. Which ITIL processes are currently mapped in the ticketing tool namely request, incident,
problem & change management?

A: Custom categories are mapped in the ticketing tool. The proposed ticketing tool should allow
for the these ITIL Process categories to be mapped as well as custom project work.

41. Is capacity planning done with the help of the reports generated out of Nagios?

A: No capacity planning is being done with the help of the reports generated out of Nagios. It
would be greatly appreciated if that can be done.

42. This system needs to send emails and be integrated with the vendors paging infrastructure
(i.e. an emergency call for support will page the on-call DBA or on-call SA for support). Please
clarify whether the ticketing tool is expected to send email alerts to the Support Group who will
manually page the message to the on-call support person?
What is the vendor paging infrastructure system?
A: The ticketing tool is expected to both send emails to the support group and automatically
page the on-call support person (if needed). The current vendor paging infrastructure systems
does that

Vendor F

43. The number of servers are mentioned as 22 Red Hat Linux , 10 Windows 2003, 5 Oracle DB , 9
Microsoft SQL Servers. Are there any virtual servers also . If yes are they included?
A: No virtual servers.

44. Please specify the peak Production hours, and the timezone for Unix / Windows and DBA
support.
A: The peak production hours are 7 AM EST 7 PM EST every day.

45. What would be the number of ticket resolvers from UNDP team for the ticket tracking system?
A: Two

46. What tools are currently used for ITIL related processes like Incident Management, Problem
Management, Change Management, Release Management, Asset management, Configuration
Management, SLA Management, etc
Will you extend these tools/software to the chosen vendor for ongoing use?
Can you share the current process of the tools used?

A: We use a custom ColdFusion application to store configuration and location data for each of
web applications and asset management that details the hardware configuration of each server.
This site will be shared with you.

We dont use any tools for the other ITIL-related processes.

47. Is the application support / development / maintenance in-scope for Adobe Coldfusion, JIRA 4.1,
Wordpress, MediaWIKI, Subversion SVN, APLAWS etc
A: As requested by UNDP, we would require just the patching of Adobe ColdFusion, JIRA 4.1,
Wordpress, MediaWIKI, and Subversion SVN. No other needs are required.


48. Please specify if production hours differ from development and testing hours.
A: None

49. Can data about the incident & service requests of last 6 months received by windows L2 & L3
team be provided.
A: This cannot be provided for security reasons.

50. Can data about the incident & service requests of last 6 months received by DBA (Oracle, Mysql ,
sql server seperately) L2 & L3 team.
A: This cannot be provided for security reasons.


51. Can Data about the incident & service requests of last 6 months received by Unix L2 & L3 team.
A: This cannot be provided for security reasons.

52. Is there any tool for job scheduling?
A: Just the built-in tools via Windows Task Scheduler for Windows and cron utility for Linux

53. Is there any tentative schedule for changing hosting provider?
A: Nothing has been defined for any possible migration move to any possible hosting provider.

54. Please specify if the Database and OS backups are in-scope.
A: Yes, database and OS backups are in-scope.

55. Please specify if there is a Disaster recovery site and its maintenance is in-scope.
A: There is no disaster recovery site and the maintenance could be potentially in-scope

56. Please specify if CA Siteminder Webagent Software support and maintenance in-scope.
A: CA Siteminder Webagent Software support and maintenance would be desired.

57. Please specify the number of Webservers in the environment. Also provide the distribution of
webservers in production/development environments.
A: There are 32 webservers.

58. Does the production support window changes during peak time (Oct March)
A: Nothing change during peak times. Everything remains the same.

59. Please specify if the Voip services / telephone of UNDP be extended to the chosen vendors
offshore premises?
A: No. The vendor needs to provide telephone infrastructure for their employees.

60. In Annexture 3 it is mentioned that 24X7 Support is required, but without employing 3 shifts.
Can some light be thrown on this?
A: You can read it as 24x7 support and strike out 3 shifts

Vendor G

61. To understand the environment better, please share the organization structure of OIST.
A: N/A

62. How are the Database Servers currently maintained? No. of person hours currently being
utilized for Database Administration
A: Fixed at 100 person hours per month

63. Please provide details on Existing Support Infrastructure, resources etc.
A: This cannot be provided for security reasons.

64. Can the support be provided from offshore / Offsite?
A: Yes, support can be provided from offshore / offsite.

65. Please provide details on the present call volume.
A: This cannot be provided for security reasons.

Page 14, Environmental Context
66. What is the version of Oracle and SQL server in use?
A: See the answer to questions #2 and #8

67. Please confirm if ATS from OEMs available for the RDBMS?
A: UNDP will pay for all licensing costs for all RDBMS software.

68. Knowledge about Size of the Database, No. of table, No. of Indexes, Procedure, Functions,
packages, Schemas, Triggers will help in keeping a good health of the system
A: Will be provided as part of knowledge transfer

69. No. of applications running on this DB server?
A: Will be provided as part of knowledge transfer

70. Are the applications 2 tier or 3 tier?
A: 3 tier

71. Any performance issue currently have?
A: No.

72. Please provide details on tools, utilities, procedures currently being used for backup.
A: Will be provided as part of knowledge transfer

Page 15

73. Please provide the name of present ticket tracking tool used.
A: It is a custom ticket tracking tool provided by the current provider

74. Please provide details on other Windows and Linux variants.
A: There arent any right now. You need to be able to administer different versions (Windows
2008, Red hat, Centos, Ubuntu, etc.)

75. Please provide the present infrastructure diagram.
A: Will be provided as part of knowledge transfer.

76. Please provide details of the middleware software.
A: See the list of applications in the RFP under Appendix A.

77. (page 16, Scalability and services provided) Please provide details on how are you trying to
reduce the number of servers, is it by virtualization?
A: We have not determined how the reduction will happen. It could be either through
consolidating applications on physical servers or by virtualization or by migrating applications
out to a new platform.

78. (page 18, Telephone support) What is the level of support required on telephone?
A: 7 days x 24 hour support is needed. All levels of support should be addressed by telephone.

Vendor H

79. Appendix A- Qualification and Composition of Key Staff, Does the Account Manager need to be
technology oriented or a administration oriented?
A: The account manager needs to be technology oriented

80. Is the contractor expected to supply his own monitoring platform or should he use the existing
one?
A: The contractor can supply their own monitoring platform (at their cost) or use the existing
system Nagios.

81. Are there any High Availability solution which are not described in the RFP (Clustering, Load
Balancers, etc.)? If so, which solutions exist?

A: There are no high availability solutions.

82. Is there a virtualization technology implemented or all servers physical?

A: All servers are physical.

83. Page 15, first and second bullet: it is not clear which designs are required. We are assuming that
in a case of new implantations, design will be required. We would like to verify this.
A: Yes, in case a new system (server or datacenter environment) needs to be implemented,
design will be required.

84. Page 15, last two bullets: Is there a backup software implemented? If so, which software?
A: Backup software is implemented by the hosting provider. It is not the responsibility of the
sysadmin vendor.

85. Page 15, last two bullets: What is required in Maintenance of disaster recovery document?
were assuming that in case of infrastructure changes, the document should be updated. Need
to verify if thats the case
A: Yes, in case of infrastructure changes, the disaster recovery document will be updated and
provided to SA and DBA vendor.

86. Page 16, SA specific activities, first bullet what is required in System networking
infrastructure maintenance? the RFP does not discuss networking solutions and components.
Are we expected to maintain network at an infrastructure level, or at a host level?

A: Maintain the network at the host level. For example, you need to be able to determine if
traffic to and from a server is being prevented at the firewall level or at the network card level.
From there present your findings to the hosting provider or the firewall provider.

87. Page 16, SA specific activities, fifth bullet which middleware could be required?
A: Adobe ColdFusion, PHP, ASP, and etc. are some examples of middleware that could need to
be installed.

88. What versions of Oracle is being used (8i, 9i, 10g, 11g) and what edition (standard, enterprise)?
A: See the answer to question #2

89. What versions of MySQL is being used?
A: 5.0.58

90. Are there any DR solutions on the databases (e.g. Oracle Dataguard/Standby database) not
mentioned in the RFP?

A: See the answer to question #2

91. Is there high availability solutions such as RAC/MS Cluster or any other clustered solutions not
mentioned in the RFP?

A: There are no high availability or cluster solutions being used.

92. Are there advanced Oracle features such as streams or GoldenGate?

A: There are no advanced Oracle features being used.

93. Is there a monitoring application for the databases part (e.g. Oracle Grid control or other
application)?

A: There is a monitoring application for the databases but it is a custom application provided by
the current DBA team. A monitoring application will need to be provided .

94. Are there Oracle middleware application that need support in the environment?
A: There are no Oracle middleware applications that need support. There is one ColdFusion
application and one J2EE application (APLAWS) that uses the Oracle databases.

95. Telephone support: What are regular business hours in UTC time?

A: 24-hour telephone support is needed.