Replacement of Trading Floor Network

UKF

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Replacement of Trading Floor Network

Invitation to Tender

You may wish to include a copyright statement – for example:

Copyright © 2017 by (UKF). All rights reserved. This document is supplied purely for the purpose of assisting suppliers to respond to this invitation to tender, no part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise) for any other purpose.

Contents

1INTRODUCTION.. 2

1.1Project Goals and Objectives. 2

1.2Purpose of this Invitation to Tender 2

1.3Form of Tenders. 2

1.4Procurement Timetable. 2

2BACKGROUND.. 2

2.1Institution’s Background. 2

2.2Technical Environment 2

3SCOPE AND SCALE OF SYSTEMS.. 3

3.1Scope. 3

4KEY REQUIREMENTS.. 3

5DETAILED FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS.. 4

6TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS.. 4

8COST INFORMATION REQUIRED.. 4

9SUPPLIER INFORMATION REQUIRED.. 4

10IMPLEMENTATION REQUIREMENTS.. 5

11INSTRUCTIONS TO SUPPLIERS.. 6


1 INTRODUCTION

UKF uses 2 trading floors in Manchester. The network in one of these is in urgent need of replacement. It no longer meets the stringent demands for availability and performance required for today’s trading floors. All hardware and cabling requires updating along with the design. We are looking for a solution that will not only meet current needs but will be future proof for the next 5 – 10 years, and so continue to deliver a service level that meets our needs for the foreseeable future.

1.1 Project Goals and Objectives

Key goals and objectives for the new network include: –

  • High performance
  • High availability
  • Flexibility, allowing for a range of devices including mobile devices
  • Manageability, a network that will be cost effective to run and provide a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) than our current network.

1.2 Purpose of this Invitation to Tender

This ITT lays out in detail the requirements for the new network, this includes any constraints and limitations. It provides all of the information required for the tender process including specific requirements.

1.3 Form of Tenders

Tenders will take the form of a report that will include all network diagrams and a detailed discussion of design decisions. The report will make clear links between specific requirements and how the design will address these.

1.4 Procurement Timetable

See the ICA for details of Tender submission date.

2 BACKGROUND

2.1 Institution’s Background

UKF is one of the leading financial institutions in the UK today, we own two of the key trading floors in Manchester. Our Head Office is based in central London, and we have regional offices in Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh. We provide financial services for a wide range of British businesses and industries.

2.2 Technical Environment

Our technical environment is as follows: –

  • Currently running with Windows on the desktop. Each desktop has 3 network connections.
  • Servers are a mix of Windows and Linux
  • Using TCP/IP – currently using IPv4
  • Networks –
    • Using Layer 2 switches, and router.
    • OSPF for internal routing

2.3Current Business Systems

Business systems that the new network must support: –

  • Email
  • Trading floor systems
  • Financial systems
  • Payroll
  • Purchasing
  • Office applications

3 SCOPE AND SCALE OF SYSTEMS

3.1Scope

The scope of this project is limited to our 2nd trading floor in Manchester. This includes the network services to the trading floor itself as well as services to the support office which must provide all services listed in section 2.3.

The trading floor will support 600 traders. There are 45 support staff and a management team of 15. All staff require a desktop PC. At present there are 30 networked printers in a room just off the trading floor. Management staff have their own networked printers.

The trading floor and support services operate on core hours of 6am to 6pm.

4 KEY REQUIREMENTS

  • Performance
    • All trading floor transactions must complete in less than 1ms
    • All supporting transactions must complete in less than 5ms
  • Availability
    • Trading floor availability must be 99.999%
    • Support services availability must be 99%
  • Flexibility
    • The network must be able to support wireless mobile devices, though not with the same availability requirements
  • Future Proof
    • The new design must guarantee to meet the above requirements for the next 5 years.
  • Security
    • Secure external link to the Internet
    • Secure connection for remote workers
    • Internal security mechanisms, including access controls
  • Cost effective
    • Overall TCO lower than current TCO
    • Manageable services that will reduce power usage and maintenance requirements
  • Protocols
    • IPv6 required
      • Subnet designs must be provided
    • OSPF or alternative internal routing protocol
    • Ethernet required
    • VLAN designs are required
    • Other protocols such as STP should be covered
  • Cabling – choice of cabling dependent on provider
  • A wireless segment must be provided, and secured
  • Security
    • Perimeter security is required
    • Internal security measures must be explained
    • An IDS/IPS is required
  • Ports
    • All desktops must have at least 3 ports

5 DETAILED FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS

We require a new network that will meet the key requirements outlined in Section 4. The network will handle all of the data traffic for one of our central London trading floors. The data traffic from traders themselves must be handled with high performance and availability requirements. The requirements for all other traffic are less rigorous.

The new network must continue to provide this level of service for a minimum of 5 years, and so must be designed with this in mind. The network must provide a cost effective solution. The organisation is aiming to reduce its overall power usage by 25% over the next 10 years and so the new solution must be able to provide significant improvements on power usage.

6 TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

Technical requirements

7 COST INFORMATION REQUIRED

For the purposes of this exercise no cost information is required though information on power saving can be included. An explanation of how TCO is being kept to a minimum is also required.

8 SUPPLIER INFORMATION REQUIRED

8.1General Information

8.2Proof of Supplier’s sound Financial and Company Standing

8.3Evidence of Capacity to Deliver Contract Requirements

8.4Other

9 IMPLEMENTATION REQUIREMENTS

An overview of how the network will be implemented is required however dates/times etc. are not required.

10 INSTRUCTIONS TO SUPPLIERS

See ICA for instructions on Submission.

APPENDICES

Appendices can be included in your Invitation to Tender – examples include Glossary of Terms, Organisational Charts, Process Diagrams, Interfaces, Strategy Documents, etc.