PORT OF SEATTLE 
MEMORANDUM 
COMMISSION AGENDA               Item No.      5b 
ACTION ITEM 
Date of Meeting    December 3, 2013 
DATE:    November 24, 2013 
TO:      Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
FROM:   Peter Garlock, Chief Information Officer 
Matt Breed, Assistant Director, ICT Infrastructure Services 
SUBJECT:  Network Switch Replacement (CIP #C800323) 
Amount of This Request:        $1,500,000   Source of Funds:       76.8% Airport
Development Fund;
Est. Total Project Cost:          $1,500,000 
23.2% General Fund 
Est. State and Local Taxes:        $100,000   Est. Jobs Created: 0 
ACTION REQUESTED 
Request Commission authorization for the Chief Executive Officer to (1) proceed with the
Network Switch Replacement project; (2) authorize the procurement of required hardware,
software, and vendor services; and (3) authorize the use of Port staff for implementation, for a
total project cost not to exceed $1,500,000. 
SYNOPSIS 
The Port of Seattle Enterprise network provides the backbone for all enterprise data transmission
across multiple Port facilities including P69, Seattle Tacoma International Airport (STIA) and
the secondary data center. The network consists of 96 network switches as well as supporting
infrastructure that includes routers, servers and racks. It supports over two hundred Port systems 
such as Peoplesoft Financials and Human Capital Management, Seaport Security Systems, Police
Records Management, Port Phones, Email, Sharepoint and many others. Core network
components are over nine years old and at the vendors published end-of-life, limiting our access
to support or replacement parts. 
The purpose of this project is to replace aging network components to ensure availability of
critical systems, support exponential data growth and network bandwidth requirements, and
improve manageability features. Information Communication Technology (ICT) resources will
complete the project. Total project costs are estimated to be $1,500,000. Funding for this project
was included in the 2013  2017 capital budget and plan of finance. Recurring hardware license
and maintenance costs will be budgeted within the ICT department operating budget. 


Template revised May 30, 2013.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
November 24, 2013 
Page 2 of 4 
BACKGROUND 
A network switch is a connection point allowing networked devices such as computers, servers,
and printers or network segments to communicate efficiently. Port switches can be managed and
monitored remotely to ensure the best configuration to meet security and performance
requirements. The Port's 7 core switches, 4 distribution switches, and 85 access layer switches
are dispersed between 16 locations. All were installed over 9 years ago and are long past their
published end-of-life. The systems that rely on this aging network are critical to Port operations. 
In the last ten years, technology has changed dramatically. Data growth has has increased 
exponentially, Internet access has become critical to the business, and application and
infrastructure technology has evolved to support an increasing reliance on the fast transmission
of large amounts of information. Our current switches cannot scale to support the communication
requirements our critical applications demand. 
PROJECT JUSTIFICATION AND DETAILS 
With no support or replacement parts available for our aging network switches, replacement of
this equipment is the only recovery for a catastrophic device failure. The impact of a failure in
the systems that rely on the switch range from lack of visibility for monitoring security events at
our terminals, increasing security and safety concerns, delay of financial operations, to a
catastrophic loss of access to all enterprise applications. 
There is also significant stress on our current aging network infrastructure because it can't
support data transmission speeds of our newer-technology systems such as the recently upgraded
Peoplesoft Financials. Corporate data is growing at a rate of 40% every year and the data
transmission requirements for our backup processes will soon be unsustainable with our older
equipment. 
Project Objectives 
Ensure the Enterprise Network environment will support critical Port systems by
replacing end of life equipment with devices that meet current and future Port technology
requirements. 
Deploy new components with no unplanned outages to critical operational systems. 
Scope of Work 
Replacement of approximately 96 Cisco access network switches in communication
rooms and data centers with devices that meet Port Technology Standards. 
Schedule 
Commission Approval                               December 2013 
System Design Complete                                 March 2014 
Procurement Complete                                   May 2014 
Installation Complete                                       March 2015

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
November 24, 2013 
Page 3 of 4 

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS 
Budget/Authorization Summary              Capital     Expense   Total Project 
Original Budget                      $1,500,000          $0    $1,500,000 
Previous Authorizations                       $0          $0          $0 
Current request for authorization            $1,500,000          $0    $1,500,000 
Total Authorizations, including this request     $1,500,000          $0    $1,500,000 
Remaining budget to be authorized               $0          $0          $0 
Total Estimated Project Cost              $1,500,000          $0    $1,500,000 
Project Cost Breakdown                This Request            Total Project 
Network Equipment                   $1,060,000             $1,060,000 
Vendor Services                         $15,000               $15,000 
Port of Seattle Labor or Contractors             $103,000               $103,000 
State & Local Taxes (estimated)               $100,000               $100,000 
Contingency ~ 18%                     $222,000              $222,000 
Total                                $1,500,000               $1,500,000 
Budget Status and Source of Funds 
This project was included in the 2013-2017 capital budget and plan of finance as a $1,500,000
business plan prospective project within CIP #C800323, Network Switch Replacement. The
source of funds is 76.8% Airport Development Fund, 17.9% General Fund, and 5.3% General
Fund-Real Estate. 
Financial Analysis and Summary 
CIP Category             Renewal/Enhancement 
Project Type              Technology 
Risk adjusted discount rate     N/A 
Key risk factors             N/A 
Project cost for analysis        $1,500,000 
Business Unit (BU)          Information and Communication Technology 
Effect on business performance  N/A 
IRR/NPV             N/A 
CPE Impact             $.01 in 2014; no change from business plan forecast as
this project was included in the plan 
Lifecycle Cost and Savings 
An estimated $31,000 reduction in Port labor to maintain the system and annual maintenance
agreement costs are expected as a result of this project.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
November 24, 2013 
Page 4 of 4 
STRATEGIES AND OBJECTIVES 
This project supports the following Century Agenda strategies: 
Meet the region's air transportation needs at Sea-Tac Airport for the next 25 years 
Position the Puget Sound region as a premier international logistics hub 
Over 200 systems, critical to Port of Seattle communications and operations, depend on the
Enterprise network infrastructure for data transmission. This project ensures the availability of
the infrastructure required to run these systems. 
ALTERNATIVES AND IMPLICATIONS CONSIDERED 
Alternative 1)  Replace Equipment As It Fails: There are significant operational impacts for
any outage of this equipment. This is not the recommended alternative. 
Alternative 2)  Replace All End-Of-Life Network Equipment: Replacement of all aging
network switches will reduce the risk of critical system outages as a result of equipment failure
and provide adequate transmission speeds to meet current requirements.  This is the
recommended alternative. 
ATTACHMENTS TO THIS REQUEST 
Network Switch Diagram 
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS 
None.