PASS 2009 Presentation Outlines

Hi, and thanks for stopping by! I’ll be presenting 3 sessions.  Here’s abstracts and previews for each of ‘em.

• Presenting: DRP 101 on Wednesday 1:30PM
• Presenting: Social Computing on Tuesday 4:30PM
• Presenting: Yes, I’m Using the Cloud on Thursday 1PM
• Where to Find Me The Rest of the Time

DRP 101: Learn the Difference Between Your Log and Your Cluster
Wednesday 1:30-2:45PM in Room 609

Developers and accidental DBAs: if you know more about how SQL Server handles crashes and disasters, you’ll be able to make a better decision about how to prepare. In this session, I will cover all of SQL Servers backup and high availability options at a high level, including clustering, log shipping, mirroring, replication and more. I’ll show the pros and cons of each, and teach you how to pick the right method for your application. We won’t have enough time to dive into actual implementation demos due to the number of solutions we’ll cover, but we’ll show screen shots and give links to the best resources for each method.

Here’s a video preview:

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After this session, I’ll be in the SQLServerPedia booth in the exhibit hall for an extended Q&A session.

Social Computing for the Database Professional
Tuesday 4:30-5:45PM in Room 608 with Jason Massie

Until a few years ago, the online SQL Server community consisted of Usenet newsgroups, mailing lists and forums.  Conversations were mostly, “I have a problem” and “Here is the fix”.  In this session, you will learn what new services are available, how to leverage them to build your professional network, get involved in the SQL community and, most importantly, do your job better.  We will focus on the mainstay services of the forward thinking IT professional but will also give you a glimpse of the bleeding edge.

Be prepared for an interactive session that will involve the worldwide online SQL Server community in real time.  We won’t just tell stories about how social networking helped us do our jobs better – we’ll show how it works in real time.  We’ll show you how database professionals all over the world are staying in touch with the PASS Summit even as we’re presenting.

Read more about the social networking services we’ll be discussing.

After this session, I’ll be in the SQLServerPedia booth in the exhibit hall for an extended Q&A session.  This is also the opening night exhibition hall party.

Yes, I’m Actually Using the Cloud
Thursday 1:00-2:15PM in Room 201

There’s a lot of hype around cloud-based databases. After you get past the knee-jerk reaction about security, what else matters? Is it time to buy in, and what should you watch out for? Brent explains some of the pros and cons hes experienced running SQL Servers in the cloud, and will demonstrate how easy it is to fire up a new SQL Server in the cloud.

Here’s a video preview:

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Still not sure if you should spend your time at PASS watching me?  Here’s a couple more links:

• My webcasts at SQLServerPedia
• My SpeakerRate profile

Where to Find Me the Rest Of The Time

I’m hoping to sneak in at least a few sessions, but things are pretty tight already!  Last year I think I made it to a whopping three sessions.  The tentative stuff is in light gray text.

Sunday:

• 1:55PM CST – Flying from Chicago to Houston on Continental flight 547
• 5:25PM CST – Flying from Houston to Seattle on Continental flight 667 (yes, there are faster ways to get from ORD to SEA, but I needed the miles to make it to the next frequent flyer elite level)
• Staying at the Sheraton

Monday:

• 8:00-9:30 – Photowalk around Seattle (more info – this will go til lunchtime, but I’ll bail early to do the next appointment)
• 9:30-11:30AM – Virtual Chapter meeting in room 208
• 11:00-12:30 – Chapter Leader discussion in room 307-308 (yep, that overlaps with the first one, and I’m only on day one)
• 2:30-3:30PM – Volunteer Networking Seminar in room 3AB
• 5-6PM – speaker orientation with Lynda Rab in room 606
• 6-8PM – welcome reception & Quiz Bowl (I’m on a team with Kevin Kline)
• 8-10PM – dinner with the PASS Virtualization VC committee members Dylan Finney, Iain Knight, Ken Simmons (and whoever else wants to join us)

Tuesday:

• 7-8AM – volunteering as a PASS Ambassador – one of the red-coated guys roaming the halls offering help.
• 8-10AM – attending keynotes
• 10:30-11:00AM – Interviewing Bill Graziano, PASS VP of Finance (formerly the PASS VP of Marketing), in the SQLServerPedia booth
• 11AM-4PM – in the SQLServerPedia booth #407 in the Exhibit hall
• 4:30-5:45PM – presenting Social Computing for the Database Professional with Jason Massie (Blog – Twitter) in room 608
• 6-8PM – in the SQLServerPedia booth

Wednesday:

• 7-8:30AM – Quest breakfast seminar “Simplify SQL Server Management with DMVs” with Buck Woody, Kevin Kline, Louis Davidson, Tim Ford, and your humble author in room 611.  Register for the breakfast event.
• 8:30-10AM – keynotes
• 11AM-1PM – in the SQLServerPedia booth
• 1:00-1:30PM – Meeting with Val Fontama about data warehousing WSTCC 203-3
• 1:30-2:45PM – presenting DRP 101 in room 609
• 3-5PM – in the SQLServerPedia booth
• Evening – Quest Customer Advisory Board dinner (private).  Check out the Microsoft party at Gameworks at 7th and Pike from 7pm-10pm.

Thursday:

• 7:00-8:30AM – PASS Virtualization Virtual Chapter breakfast event sponsored by VMware in room 608
• 8:30-9:20AM – Dell keynotes.
• 9:20-10:20AM – David DeWitt keynote.  (You NEED to attend this guy’s keynote. Great speaker.)
• 10:30-11:30AM – interviewing Wayne Snyder, former PASS President WSTCC RM 203-2
• 11:30-12:00 – Meeting with Bob Erickson to talk about his company’s use of SQL Server WSTCC RM 203-1
• 1-2:15PM – presenting Yes, I’m Actually Using the Cloud in room 201
• 2:30-3:45PM – attending 2008 Performance Tuning by Buck Woody in room 4C1-2
• 4:00-5:15PM – attending SQLCat: Designing High Perf IO by Thomas Kejser of MS in room 602-604

Friday:

• Evening – MVP dinner (private)

Saturday:

• 6:10AM PST – Flying from Seattle to Houston on Continental flight 223
• 1:20PM CST – Flying from Houston to Chicago on Continental flight 146

See you at PASS!