BOARD MEETING DATE: October 2, 2009
AGENDA NO. 44

PROPOSAL:

Authorize Purchase of Three Web Servers

SYNOPSIS:

The public, as well as schools, hospitals, other public agencies, youth sports organizations, day care operations, and news organizations, rely on the AQMD website (www.aqmd.gov) for accurate, readily available, up-to-date air quality information. AQMD’s current web servers lack the necessary capacity to provide this information in a timely manner under high demand situations (e.g. wildfires, Stage 1 smog alerts, high temperatures, etc.). This action is to request approval to purchase three (3) additional web servers to provide the necessary scaled-up, load-balanced computing resources that will ensure critical pollution information is readily available to the public at all times. Funds for this recommended purchase are available from the undesignated fund balance.

COMMITTEE:

Not Applicable

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:

1. Transfer $23,140 from the Undesignated Fund Balance to the Capital Outlay Account in the Information Management FY 2009-10 Budget.
2. Authorize the Procurement Manager to purchase three HP ProLiant DL360 G6 servers, at a cost not to exceed $23,140.
    

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

AQMD’s website has become an important source of information about current air quality levels for the public and for other organizations such as schools, hospitals, public agencies, youth sports organizations, day care operations, and news organizations. On December 7, 2007, the Board approved actions to dramatically improve air quality monitoring during wildfire events and to enhance the presentation of current air quality data on the AQMD’s website. The new wildfire monitoring program was put into action with the recent Station fire in the Angeles National Forest that began on August 26, 2009.

AQMD’s current air quality map was cited on many local news channels and linked from the Los Angeles Times website and numerous other news websites and webpages for schools and local sports organizations. Average daily visits to our air quality map jumped from about 400 per day to over 40,000 during the peak of the fire danger. There were times when our server was overloaded and visitors could not access the information they needed. AQMD’s existing web servers lack the necessary capacity to provide the current air quality map in a timely manner under high demand situations (e.g. wildfires, Stage 1 smog alerts, high temperatures, etc.).
 

Proposal

Information Management recommends the purchase of three HP ProLiant DL360 G6 servers, at a total cost of $23,140, to provide additional computing resources to ensure air pollution information is readily available to the public at all times. The upgraded servers will support more users and the load will be distributed across all three servers. The servers will be purchased from a vendor on the current Board-approved qualified vendors list that was established on February 1, 2008.
 

Resource Impacts

This expenditure was not planned for in the FY 2009-10 Budget. Funds for this purchase are being requested from the Undesignated Fund Balance.