The City of Cedar Rapids is modernizing its enterprise network as part of a broader Network Redesign Initiative that emphasizes high availability, resiliency, and security. The firewall component of this initiative will form the foundation of a segmented, redundant, and policy-driven architecture designed to protect City operations while supporting future growth and flexibility. The City seeks a next-generation firewall solution that will: • Provide scalable performance and redundancy across core, public safety, and edge environments. • Integrate with the City’s existing and planned infrastructure, including Microsoft Entra ID, Active Directory, and centralized SIEM platforms. • Enable clear segmentation and compliance with CJIS, PCI DSS, and other regulatory requirements. • Support centralized management, logging, and reporting to enhance network visibility and operational efficiency. • Allow secure expansion to future network segments, such as SCADA or other specialized systems, without requiring wholesale replacement of hardware or licenses. The selected solution must be architected to support independent deployment and testing, ensuring that implementation can occur alongside existing systems with minimal disruption. The design should demonstrate how the proposed architecture contributes to the City’s long-term goals for availability, disaster recovery, and scalability. The City is committed to a fiscally responsible procurement strategy that prioritizes lifecycle value over initial cost. The ideal solution will balance performance, costeffectiveness, and sustainability, offering predictable maintenance and support expenditures. To support this approach, vendors must provide bundled 3-year and 5-year pricing options for hardware, software, and support. Multi-year proposals should consolidate all maintenance, licensing, and warranty costs into single, transparent line items to simplify financial planning.
