IT Operations for U.S. Department of Energy
Challenges
DOE ITSS is the largest mission services contract awarded to a small business in federal history. We manage over 350 employees along with thirteen subcontractors who partner with DOE to provide performance-based services and solutions to more than 7,500 end-users in the Washington, DC area and more than 12,000 nationwide. These services includes telephone, wireless, and network LAN, MAN, and WAN operations and data center services; a classified LAN system; systems administration; and project management.
The challenges we face include the following:
- Deliver reliable, high-performance, and cost-effective IT service solutions to DOE
- Consolidate IT contracts and related IT infrastructure and support services nationwide. Previously, DOE operated from a decentralized IT planning, acquisition, implementation, and services model
- Support multiple Program and Staff Offices including the Offices of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Information Officer (CIO), Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Environmental Cleanup and Acceleration, Fossil Energy, Health, Safety, and Security, and National Nuclear Security Administration
- Define, track, and consistently meet or exceed more than 200 Service Level Agreement (SLA) measures
- Consolidate five former DOE contracts and phase in 300+ people, 80 tasks, and all the subcontractors
Solutions
Network Operations Support
- WAN - Manage the DOEnet, a nationwide corporate WAN connecting 45 DOE sites in more than 25 states, using a high-speed, high-availability ATM backbone. We manage the network from a central location using enterprise resource management (ERM) tools and technologies that support secure, standardized device configurations while meeting or exceeding customer expectations. Network and configuration tools such as Cisco Works, HP OpenView, and Tivoli are used to distribute software and maintain operational compliance for the DOE Common Operating Environment (COE).
- MAN - Operate and manage the DOE Headquarters' metropolitan area network (MAN), which interconnects 13 satellite offices across the Washington, D.C., area. The MAN compromises an ATM SONET ring backbone and supplementary telecommunications circuits to connect the 13 distributed offices and facilities. Each satellite office has only one logical connection into the MAN, varying in size from DS-3 to T-1 and sized to meet traffic requirements.
- LAN - Operate and manage the LAN segments within each HQ site. We provide a standard network interface to the desktop using 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet (full duplex) capabilities. We also use Gigabit Ethernet to interconnect applications servers for special applications. We manage the edge devices on the HQ LAN and provide 802.1q VLAN support for all distribution and core switches and routers. To enhance DOE's collaboration capabilities, 1 Source developed and engineered a Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) pilot deployment at DOE HQ. We currently support the business case analysis to modernize the DOE HQ LAN and telephone infrastructure including VoIP solutions.
Consolidation/Relocation Support
- Provide Web site migration into the RedDot CMS, Web site hosting environment support, RedDot CMS configuration administration and support, Web site maintenance and technical IT support
Applications Hosting Environment and Data Center and Facility Management
- Operate and maintain an applications hosting environment and data center that houses 250 IBM, HP, Microsoft, and Sun file servers supporting critical DOE Corporate applications systems, remote computing capabilities using CITRIX environments, and e-mail servers for Microsoft and Lotus Notes
- Support various UNIX operating systems including all AIX, Solaris, Red Hat, SuSe and other open-source Unix program products
- Services covered include end-to-end hardware and software planning, engineering, acquisition, development, and implementation activities, with the aim of creating a fast, useful experience for the customer user
Telephone and Network Services
- Operate and maintain two city class Nortel MSL-100 switches and customer premises equipment at seven locations in the greater Washington, D.C., metropolitan area
- Provide 24x7 telephony services for 14,000 lines, providing voice and fax stations, 2 eight-hour battery backup systems, five unity controllers, cable distribution system, and two Octel voice messaging systems
- Personal support for designing, documenting, implementing, and managing switched voice communication networks
- Maintain and repair infrastructure, e.g., file servers, router hubs, telephones, and line cards; and perform moves, adds, and changes
- Manage subscriber equipment to maintain an acceptable grade of service
- Document and test the physical plant
- Provide training on equipment
- Provide on-site support for cellular, paging, and BlackBerry devices
- Manage DOE calling cards
- Provide telephone operator services as well as locator service, operator information assistance, connections and tracking for international calls, conference call support for logging, assigning, and tracking meet-me conference call numbers, and tracking for the facilities for meet-me conference calls
- Audio, video, and Web conferencing support across 15 DOE HQ and field sites
- Use proven solutions and industry standards
- Support resource scheduling, operation setup, configuration, and troubleshooting
- Implement IP video and interface it with existing legacy systems as a migration path
- Support for online meetings, point-to-point, and multi-site for instant sharing of ideas, presentations, and documents
- Support collaborative Web services that are in keeping with eCommerce and eGov guidelines
Results
- Consolidation of common IT systems and services promoted collaboration, improved efficiency, increased IT purchasing power, and reduced overall IT expenditures
- Recognized by DOE with commendations for service and performance
