---
title: "DiRAC 2.5y Supercomputer Upgrade"
ocid: "ocds-r6ebe6-0000563292"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-r6ebe6-0000563292"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000563292.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000563292.json"
source: "Public Contracts Scotland"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH"
published: "2018-11-09"
---

# DiRAC 2.5y Supercomputer Upgrade

Buyer: UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-r6ebe6-0000563292

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## Summary

The University of Edinburgh has recently completed a procurement process for the "DiRAC 2.5y Supercomputer Upgrade," aimed at enhancing the capabilities of their existing computing system. This procurement, which falls under the education sector, was executed through a limited method without prior publication, reflecting the institution's need for a seamless upgrade to their Hewlett Packard Enterprise SGI 8600 system. The contract was signed on 2nd November 2018, with a total value of £2,783,000, and significant integration requirements are stipulated to ensure compatibility with the existing technology. The upgrade is being delivered at the EPCC’s Advanced Computing Facility in Edinburgh.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses specialising in high-performance computing systems and advanced technology upgrades. Companies that offer systems compatible with Hewlett Packard Enterprise products, as well as those experienced in technical integrations and upgrades within the education and research sectors, may find this contract particularly relevant. With just one bid submitted, this highlights the potential for competition among niche providers aiming to establish or strengthen relationships with major educational institutions like the University of Edinburgh.

## Notice

See Annex D1

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Under Regulation Reg 33(4)(b) of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, a contracting authority may use the negotiated procedure without the prior publication in the case of a public contract, based on the following justification: Where a change in supplier(s) would mean that the University would have compatibility issues or disproportionate technical difficulties; this procedure can be used to acquire additional deliveries from the original supplier when needed to replace or increase supplies or installations. In this case, the contract or recurrent contract length must not exceed three years, other than in exceptional circumstances.

### Procurement Information

Upgrade to existing HPE SGI 8600. The original procurement of DiRAC 2.5x Parallel Supercomputer was called off under Framework for Servers, Storage and Solutions National Agreement (SSSNA) Ref 2016/2'. An offer was received from HPE and the Contract (reference MT0768) was signed on 19 December 2017. Further upgrade to existing HPE SGI 8600 system will require seamless integration without incurring any risk or additional cost for the machine room. In order to deliver the science effectively, (i) the required upgrade system must integrate with the existing parallel disk systems and net-work delivered by HPE in March 2018. (ii) the machine room level cooling system must be shared between the upgrade elements and the original system and operate at the same temperature. UoE has already committed additional investment to room level warm water cooling appropriate to the HPE8600 technology delivering an outstanding cooling efficiency. (iii) the combined system will deliver the best science if run as single, larger system requiring all nodes run inter-operably.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Public Contracts Scotland |
| Latest notice | https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=NOV336773 |
| Notice type | OJEU - F3 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 9 Nov 2018 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 2 Nov 2018 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £2,783,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH |
| Locality | EDINBURGH |
| Post town | Edinburgh |
| Postcode | EH1 1HT |
| Country | Scotland |
| ITL 1 | TLM Scotland |
| ITL 2 | TLM1 East Central Scotland |
| ITL 3 | TLM13 City of Edinburgh |
| Local authority | City of Edinburgh |
| Electoral ward | City Centre |
| Westminster constituency | Edinburgh East and Musselburgh |
| Delivery location | TLM75 City of Edinburgh |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 30 - Office and computing machinery, equipment and supplies except furniture and software packages

### Codes

- 30211100 - Super computer

## Release History

- 9 Nov 2018 at 00:00 - Award - OJEU - F3 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=NOV336773

## Documents

- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=NOV336773
  DiRAC 2.5y Supercomputer Upgrade - See Annex D1

## Notice URLs

- http://
- http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/procurement/supplying
- https://api.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/v1/Notice?id=ocds-r6ebe6-0000563292

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-r6ebe6-0000563292. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000563292.json.