Domain Name System Replacement Solution
The purpose of this Request for Proposals (RFP) and any resulting contract award is to acquire software or a combination of hardware and software for accomplishing the following four major functions:
Domain Name System (DNS)
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
Dynamic Domain Name System (DDNS)
Internet Protocol Address Management (IPAM)
The intent is to replace the existing DNS with a new application that supports both DHCP and DDNS. The proposed system will be housed at the State's centralized computing and communications facility operated by Information Technology Services (ITS) in Raleigh, North Carolina and ITS' second data center (used primarily for disaster recovery services) in Forest City, North Carolina. ITS currently manages the State's Executive Branch L3 infrastructure and the Internet protocol (IP) addressing schemes associated with the 20 plus agencies in this branch of state government. The Executive Branch is comprised of approximately 90,000 employees. Some additional government organizations (such as county governments and K-12 public schools) use the DNS services provided by ITS; however, ITS does not have L3 oversight of these organizations. ITS currently manages a 10.0.0.0 255.0.0.0 private address schema and four class B 255.255.0.0 public subnets for the State.
ITS currently has two start of authority (SOA) DNS servers (Bind 8) and various cache engines at numerous client sites. Both of the authoritative primary and backup DNS servers are in the public domain and are located at two different facilities, which are approximately 10 miles apart. Hundreds of public and private top level and sub-level domains exist and thousands of host entries reside in the two public-faced authoritative servers. No private authoritative DNS servers exist at this time, but private cache engines are used in the internal domains. The current system is very reliable and stable. However, the system neither adapts well to internal private address routing models nor offers GUI features for assisting in management activities.
Key considerations for offered products are: functional capabilities and technical soundness to satisfy business requirements, including security; availability and reliability performance; ongoing operations and support (manageability); resiliency; scalability for growth; and cost. The goal is to replace present resources and capabilities with an enterprise-scope system that provides high availability services, incorporates industry best practices, improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the management of this activity, satisfies security and business functionality needs, and delivers the most value at a cost-effective price.
