The Contracting Authority is seeking to procure enterprise-grade switching, wireless, and associated licences/support services. Suppliers must be authorised Aruba partners or otherwise demonstrate the ability to provide genuine equipment with full manufacturer warranty and support entitlement.
The Authority operates an existing Aruba network environment which has been deployed following Department for Education investment across our Trust estate. The purpose of this procurement is to expand and enhance that existing infrastructure. Solutions must therefore be compatible with the existing Aruba Central and ClearPass environment to maintain a consistent and centrally managed network architecture.
The Authority requires interoperability with its existing Aruba Central and ClearPass platforms to avoid operational duplication and to maintain centralised management across the Trust estate.
For the avoidance of doubt, interoperability means that proposed equipment must be capable of operating alongside the Authority’s existing switching, wireless, and network access control platforms during a staged migration and must not require the introduction of a parallel network management platform for day-to-day operations.