Title
a. Approve and authorize the Acting Director of Information Technology to accept a donation of network equipment and associated hardware support valued at $21,424.44 from Arista Networks Inc., to evaluate and plan for network upgrades; and
b. Authorize the Information Technology Department to use the equipment for testing and research in the Information Technology Department's laboratory.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Approve and authorize the Acting Director of Information Technology to accept a donation of network equipment and associated hardware support valued at $21,424.44 from Arista Networks Inc., to evaluate and plan for network upgrades; and
b. Authorize the Information Technology Department to use the equipment for testing and research in the Information Technology Department's laboratory.
SUMMARY:
Arista Networks Inc. sells network switching devices for migration of storage and large data archives to the cloud. Arista Network Inc.'s "seed program" is part of its marketing campaign, through which it provides free equipment with the purpose of competing with Cisco Inc. devices. Arista wishes to donate a "starter kit," consisting of 4 network switches, to the County for testing purposes. Pursuant to the Government Code, the Board of Supervisors is empowered to accept this gift to serve a public purpose, here, feature testing and research.
DISCUSSION:
If the Board authorizes acceptance of the donated Arista Networks Inc. equipment, the Infrastructure Division of the County Information Technology Department has an opportunity to test network equipment at no cost to the County. The Information Technology Department is currently in the process of implementing a network refresh project, involving major procurements and upgrades to the County network to improve security and functionality. Using the Arista switching equipment will enhance that effort, as it enables the County to evaluate and plan f...
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