Training, training, fresh hot training, come get your free SQL Server training…. (It works for the peanuts and popcorn guys, and I figured it might work on the web. No? Okay, I’ll stick with my day job next time.) Here’s the presentations I’ve got coming up in the next month, and I’ve recorded video previews of some of ‘em.
September 30th – Hit the Ground Running with SQL 2008
I’m presenting this remotely for the Edmonton PASS Chapter, and you can watch it from the comfort of your own home. I’ll be covering how to set up a Central Management Server, Policy-Based Management, Group Query Execution and the Resource Governor. It’s about 50-75% demos.
The meeting starts at 5pm MDT (Edmonton time), 7pm EST, 11pm GMT. I’ll send a tweet with the meeting coordinates shortly before it starts.
September 30th – Diving Into Server Virtualization
Denny Cherry is actually presenting this one, not me, but it’s for the PASS Virtualization Virtual Chapter. Here’s the abstract:
We’ll be looking into the pros and cons of moving SQL Servers into a virtual server environment. We’ll be talking about when it’s a good idea, when it’s a bad idea, and why there’s no hard-set answers. We’ll focus on how to make this decision and how to gather the metrics you need to make a good decision.
The meeting starts at noon EST, 4pm GMT. To join the LiveMeeting, click here. Audio will come through your computer speakers.
October 1 – The Hidden Treasures of SQL Server
Want to make SQL Server run faster? Interested in stored procedures that’ll make your life easier? Join SQL Server experts Brent Ozar and Tim Ford as they reveal undocumented procedures as well as tricks and tips to make SQL Server do things it was never intended to do—for your benefit.
We’ll also be drawing the winner of the SQLServerPedia contest for an all-expenses-paid trip to the PASS Summit. Register for the webcast.
October 9 – Quest Day with the Experts in Aliso Viejo, CA
This time, I let you guys pick the sessions, and here were the top vote-getters:
SQL Server on Storage Area Networks (SANs)
SANs are expensive pieces of hardware that offer a lot of performance and failure protection. Brent knows firsthand: he managed data warehouses and SAN storage, and was able to wring much more performance out of his SANs when he learned tricks like multipathing. He’ll explain:
- SAN advantages & disadvantages for DBAs
- Shared versus dedicated disks
- The basics of multipathing
- The myth of active/active multipathing
Advanced Index Tuning: Free Performance Gains for Pros
Don’t just take the word of the Index Tuning Wizard or Database Tuning Advisor: if you rely on these tools, you can actually hurt your server’s performance! In this session, Brent will arm you with the tips and tricks he’s learned over the years managing multi-terabyte data warehouses and high-performing web sites. Attendees will learn:
- How to use DMV’s to demystify what indexes you should drop or add
- How to keep your indexes healthy with proper maintenance
- How to build on the wizard’s recommendations and take even smarter actions
You can register to hang out in person in Aliso Viejo, or register to watch the webcasts online.
October 19 – StackOverflow DevDays – San Francisco, CA
The team behind the popular programming question & answer site Stack Overflow is putting together a series of $99 one-day conferences around the world. Developers get together, talk shop, make connections and attend seminars by coding deities. I’m not a coder, obviously, but I’m going because I bet it’s going to be an awesome environment. If you wanna learn, you gotta get outside of your comfort zone.
October 21-22 – Quest Connect Virtual Conference
Quest is putting on a completely free virtual conference with sessions on SQL Server, Exchange, SharePoint, virtualization, and much more. Sessions will include:
- A Sysadmin’s Guide to SQL Server with Brent Ozar, Tim Ford and Tom LaRock – Scared to touch that SQL Server database? You can do it, and we can help. In this webcast, our SQL Server experts will show Windows administrators how to manage SQL Server with confidence. The experts will cover the basics of backup and restore, security and permissions, and performance tuning. Plus, they will show how a favorite Windows performance tool can help manage SQL Server.
- Understanding Execution Plans with Grant Fritchey and Brent Ozar – Mystified by why your queries are running slow? Don’t be stumped – learn what the fancy diagrams mean and how to make your schema work for you. Grant Fritchey, author of SQL Server Query Performance Tuning Distilled, will boil down the basics in this one-hour session.
- Top 10 SQL Server Administration Mistakes with Kevin Kline, Colin Stasiuk, Jason Strate, Mike Walsh – The defaults aren’t necessarily the best answer. Find out about things like autogrowth before they penalize your performance and risk your recoverability.
- Practical Approaches to Designing and Managing your Virtual Infrastructure with George Pradel
- Preparing for Your Upgrade to SharePoint 2010 Today with Joel Oleson
- And many more live webcasts and on-demand webcasts!
You can register for the free Quest Connect conference here.
October 21-23 – SSWUG Virtual Conference
Performance Tuning for Race Car Drivers
Times are tough even for the best drivers: Helio Castroneves is dancing for money and Danica Patrick is doing ads for what appears to be an adult services company. Maybe it’s time to switch careers, and Brent has just the thing. Use your hard-earned knowledge of high speeds, million-dollar hardware and surviving disastrous crashes to become a SQL Server performance tuner!
In this session, Brent will show you:
- Why Colin Chapman would check for indexes before adding new ones
- The importance of well-tested safety gear to performance tuning
- Why not monitoring your servers is like overdriving your headlights
- Just like races are lost in the pits, uptime records are lost during maintenance windows
The Top 10 Developer Mistakes That Won’t Scale
You’ve heard it before: “It worked fine on my machine, but the users say it’s too slow.” Don’t blame the developers: they’re using SQL Server features that look great on paper, but in reality, they won’t scale up to production loads.
Learn to recognize these common mistakes before they go into production, and be armed with easy fixes for:
- User-defined functions that go through too much data
- Triggers that perform business logic
- Cursors that process data row by row
Be Prepared for the New Virtual Reality
SQL Server does indeed work in virtual environments: the catch is that it doesn’t always work *well*. After years of working with SQL Servers running inside VMware and Hyper-V, Brent has gained valuable experience and learned some ugly lessons that he’ll pass on to you during his session.
In this session, Brent will show you:
- Why your sysadmins want to virtualize your servers
- The pros and cons of moving your SQL Servers into virtualization
- How to monitor your server performance after you make the switch
For one low price, you get access to all of my sessions, plus tons of other great sessions. Register today! If you use VIP code SPBOUVC09 during checkout, you get an additional $10 discount.
Hi! Where can i download the last session (September 30th – Hit the Ground Running with SQL 2008) ??
thx.
My sessions for PASS aren’t usually recorded, unfortunately. Sorry about that!