Defense Innovation Unit Seeks Data Mesh Solution to Bolster DoD Network

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is seeking commercial data mesh solutions to improve the distribution of information across the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) network.

“DoD is looking for a commercial solution that can reliably and efficiently distribute data across multiple, geographically-dispersed network enclaves that can communicate with each other using routing protocols and devices. The solution should also allow for data sharing between different classification levels and prevent unauthorized access to data,” the DIU said in a solicitation.

The DoD aims to prototype a data distribution solution that will handle the transport and caching of data across a global infrastructure, utilizing an asynchronous publisher-subscriber (Pub/Sub) messaging system.

The agency currently manages several network transport layers, each serving distinct information domains and depending on multiple message brokers for data stream management.

“Furthermore, given the nature of operating in Denied, Disrupted, Intermittent and Limited Impact (DDIL) bandwidth areas, these issues are compounded and flood the network with retries when disconnected and re-transmissions of messages when connectivity is restored. This lack of control and management of data distribution results in inefficient usage of network resources and decreased performance for high priority mission data,” the solicitation further stated.