Objectives

The primary objective of this tender is to procure a service provider for the management, monitoring, maintenance, and support of the eThekwini Municipality's carrier-grade network infrastructure over a period of 36 months. The service aims to ensure continuous, reliable network operations, support network upgrades, and facilitate skills transfer to municipal staff.

Scope

The scope includes:

• Monitoring and maintaining the entire network infrastructure, including MPLS core, distribution, access, datacenter, and fiber optic links.
• Supporting network equipment from Cisco, Huawei, and other vendors, including hardware, software, licenses, and spare parts.
• Supporting network services such as Pseudo wire, VPLS, VRF, multicast VRF, and Layer-3 services.
• Managing licenses, warranties, and equipment lifecycle, including handling End-of-Life (EOL) hardware.
• Performing fiber optic testing, splicing, and installation verification.
• Providing 24/7 network monitoring, fault detection, and incident management.
• Supporting network expansion, configuration, and deployment of new equipment.
• Skills transfer and office space provision within municipal boundaries.

Technical Requirements

The technical requirements include:

• Monitoring of approximately 398 network devices, circuits, and interfaces across MPLS, fiber, and datacenter networks.
• Support for Cisco, Huawei, and other vendor equipment, including routers, switches, and optical devices.
• Implementation of network monitoring tools capable of fault detection, performance analysis, and reporting.
• Support for network configuration changes, firmware updates, and license management.
• Fiber testing using OTDR equipment, with weekly reporting and documentation.
• Support for network security, access control, and incident response.
• Provision of a network management system capable of database management, fault logging, and performance tracking.
• Support for integration with existing municipal systems such as GIS (ArcGIS) and IP address management (PHPIPAM).
• Support for equipment warranty, swap-out, and local spares holding with 2-hour response time.

Skills Requirements

The skills and resources required include:

• Dedicated technical resources with relevant certifications and experience, including:
• Senior Core Engineers (CCNP Service Provider, CCIE, HCIP Routing & Switching)
• Core Engineers (CCNP Routing & Switching, Enterprise)
• Junior Engineers (HCIA Routing & Switching)
• Fiber Optic Technicians (CFOT, Fiber Testing Specialist)
• Fault Administrators (ITIL Foundation)
• Network Operations Managers (CCNA)
• Experience in managing carrier-grade networks, supporting multi-vendor equipment, and fiber optic infrastructure.
• Proficiency in network monitoring tools such as SolarWinds, Nagios, or equivalent.
• Ability to perform fiber testing, splicing, and installation verification.
• Skills transfer capability, including training municipal staff on network management and troubleshooting.
• Office space within municipal boundaries, equipped with necessary infrastructure.
• Availability of local spare parts, equipment swap-out, and 24/7 support services.

Summary

This tender seeks a technically competent and experienced service provider capable of managing a complex, multi-vendor network infrastructure, ensuring high availability, security, and ongoing support, while transferring skills to municipal personnel over a three-year period.