Toad and I go way back.  I first started with Toad as a user on the Oracle DBMS back in the early 1990′s.  When I started at Quest Software back on January 2nd of 2002, one of the first products I tackled as a SQL Server product architect was Toad.  How do we make this very popular Oracle product one that users in the SQL Server world will love too?  And this challenge was made that much harder by the fact that Microsoft SQL Server ships with fantastic tools right there in the box.  I haven’t worked directly on Toad for many years now, but the tool marches on with new features and capabilities that push the envelop with each new release.

I want to applaud the product manager, David Gugick (center below), the developers and testers, and the active and supportive community who loves and embraces Toad.  It’s always a thrill when your hard work and efforts are recognized.

L to R: Jason Hall, Qsft head of SC's; David Gugick, director of Architecture; and me

Want to try Toad for SQL Server for free?

The 5.0 version of Toad for SQL Server that we showed at TechEd is the latest beta, available at ToadWorld.com (build 387 at the time of this writing). It can coexist with Toad for SQL Server version 4.6, if you’re already using it. The beta is quite stable and has a bevy of new features, including:

• SQL Azure support for most modules including data compare and schema compare, including comparing regular SQL Servers to SQL Azure and back, also with Firewall management (under Server Security properties panel).
• Much improved code completion that’s faster and allows for column selection, multi-table selection, with tooltips for parameters.  Don’t forget, all of these features work on SQL Server 2000, 2005, 2008, and 2008 R2.
• Updated Schema Compare with better exposed snapshots.
• Group Execute enhancements that include database-level selection so you can execute across databases, an option to only show selected servers/databases, option to merge results (or not), improved merging, etc.
• New Idle Connection Timeout – to close connections after a period of inactivity.
• Result Set Pinning.
• Improved Trace support with features like Import Trace File to Table and Open in Profiler capabilities.
• New Debug Trace – traces all activity occurring inside of Toad, including storing all variable info in a replayable file.
• Twitter Integration (under the View – Collaboration panel) with Yammer integration coming in a future beta release.

You can also see a lot more details about the tool here.  And my long-standing offer still stands.  If you want to try Toad for SQL Server or its brethren (such as Toad for Data Analysts, Toad Data Modeler, or Benchmark Factory), drop me an email and I’ll get a long-term license key straight over to you.

But wait, there’s more!

There are so many great resources for you to tap into.  And best of all, they’re all free!  Check these out:

White Paper: How Managers Can Help Their Developers Write Excellent Code

In this white paper, renowned Oracle PL/SQL expert and fellow O’Reilly author Steven Feuerstein provides dev managers with guidance on how to help developers write the best software possible.

Live Product Demo: Toad® Data Modeler
Date: Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Time: 11:00 a.m. PT / 2:00 p.m. ET

Modern Analyst Webinar: Stress-free SQL Queries for the Analyst
Date: Thursday, June 17, 2010
Time: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM PST

Live Product Demo:  Toad® for Data Analysts
Date: Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Time: 11:00 a.m. PT / 2:00 p.m. ET

Live Product Demo: Benchmark Factory® for Databases
Date: Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Time: 11:00 a.m. PT / 2:00 p.m. ET

I look forward to hearing from you.  Enjoy!

-Kevin

Let me be direct with you.  I love SQL Saturday.  If it were a woman, I’d marry it.  (Avoiding all extraneous thoughts of what my real wife would say, etc etc).

Check out this fun Flickr Feed from the recent SQL Saturday in Chicago or these picks by Jorge Segara (blog | twitter) to see the sort of fun that’s in store.  But who can argue with a day of free SQL Server training and a chance to network with great presenters and a wide swath of your peers?

Keynotes are more fun when the put-downs fly!

I’ve tried to support SQL Saturday as much as I can since Andy Warren (blog | twitter) launched the program a couple years back and have spoken at several.  You might say to yourself, “Self, Kevin works for a vendor. Don’t they want him to speak at as many SQL Saturdays as is humanly possible?”  Well, Mr. Self, you’d be mistaken.  You see there’s a keyword in the name that might reveal why my employer doesn’t provide unlimited enthusiasm for me to speak … it’s the SATURDAY part of the whole thing.  Yes, of course, my employer wants me there.  But they also recognize that Saturdays are my own and that, if I spend a day or two there on the weekend (including the travel time), then that’s a sacrifice of my own choice.  I would still need to be at work and on task bright and early on Monday morning.  Not that they’d make me, it’s just that my job is the sort that work is never simply skipped, it is only ever deferred.  So if I took a comp day, which they’d gladly provide, I’d still have to finish the work somehow, someway.  All of this goes to say that I really, really love SQL Saturday, the community vibe that it creates, the volunteers who drive it, the folks who attend.  So I’m happy to give up a few days throughout the year to support it.

Come to Nashville in August!

Guitar, Cowboy Boots, Cowboy Hat, and Tight Denim NOT Required

My good friends Joe Webb (blog | twitter) and Louis Davidson (blog | twitter) have been angling to host a SQL Saturday here in Nashville for quite a while.  As co-leaders of the local PASS chapter in middle Tennessee, it made a lot of sense to host an event like this.  I wasn’t at all resistant to the idea, I just didn’t want to do the work myself.  However, they did a great job of getting the ball rolling and even took on the majority of work themselves.  Together with other volunteers in our local chapter – Shelton Dickson, Roberto Lopez, and Christina Leo – we’ve all set to work to host SQL Saturday #51.

The event will be hosted on Saturday, August 21st at the shiny new facility of Nashville State Community College located at 120 White Bridge Rd. Nashville, TN 37209:

• If you’d like to attend, check out all the details here.  Joe Webb and Christina Leo get all the credit for logistics.

• If you’d like to speak, read the details in our call for speakers here.  Louis Davidson is running the program selection process.

• If you’d like to sponsor, sign up on-line here.  This one is my responsibility.

• It’s free to register, there is a $10 fee if you want us to provide lunch.  And remember, seats always fill up fast!

• If you’re going to attend and you have a twitter account, be sure to tweet using #sqlsat51!

I hope to see you there in August!

June 7-10, 2010

New Orleans Morial Convention Center
900 Convention Center Boulevard
New Orleans, LA USA

I'll be there with bells on! Look for me at the Ask-the-Experts lounge or the Quest Software exhibit.

CONFERENCE AGENDA

Wondering if you should go?  It’s all about the education.  So check for the most current and detailed conference agenda at https://northamerica.msteched.com.

TECH·ED ONLINE – www.microsoft.com/teched

Can’t make it in person?  There’s still good things in store for you!  Tech·Ed Online offers on-demand technical sessions recorded at our Worldwide Tech·Ed events that explore all aspects of current and soon-to-release Microsoft technologies, tools, platforms and services. View TechTalks, Panel Discussions, and Breakout sessions delivered by industry experts and leaders, engage with community influencers on Tech·Ed Blogs, and share your onsite Tech·Ed experience on the photo page.

I hope to see you there!

-Kevin

-Twitter @kekline

Join Us for 24 Hours of SQL Server Training

(with a special focus on SQL Server 2008 R2)

Did I mention that your Cohorts in Crime (that be me and Brent Ozar) are presenting?!?

The FREE 24 Hours of PASS event is bringing an exceptional lineup of SQL Server and BI experts to your computer starting at 12:00 GMT (UTC) on May 19.

Get an in-depth look at the hottest SQL Server and BI topics, including (but not limited to!) – the new SQL Server 2008 R2, with its business intelligence and data management innovations, and much more.

When does it start? 12:00 GMT (UTC):

New York: 08:00
Chicago: 07:00
San Francisco: 05:00
London: 13:00
Paris: 14:00
Moscow: 16:00
Mumbai: 17:30
Singapore: 20:00
Sydney: 22:00

The roster of phenomenal speakers features many MVPs and top-rated presenters, including Adam Machanic, Andy Leonard, Brad McGehee, Brent Ozar, Brian Knight, Chuck Heinzelman, Dean Richards, Don Kiely, Don Vilen, Donald Farmer, Glenn Berry, Greg Low, Jacob Sebastian, Jessica Moss, Kevin Cox, Kevin Kline, Louis Davidson, Maciej Pilecki, Peter Myers, Peter Ward, Rushabh Mehta, Sean McCown, Simon Sabin, Thomas Grosher.

Check out all the great SQL Server sessions you can attend for FREE. Share this information with a friend or colleague.

PASS is looking forward to having you join us all for this exceptional event. Please contact us at 24hrs@sqlpass.org with any questions.  You can also find lots of general details at http://www.sqlpass.org/24hours/2010/.

Isn’t it funny how life gets in the way of the stuff we want and intend to do?  As they say – “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”, or was that Detroit?  But I digress.

A New Translation!

I don’t like to toot my own horn.  [sarcasm on] You can tell that I’m completely honest when I say that since I have a couple blogs and a twitter account. [sarcasm off]  But one thing I’m really proud of is how popular SQL in a Nutshell is.  It’s now translated into approximately eight languages, with Russian being the newest language:

I'm even more proud of my lil' girl than that book!

I also had the pleasure of working with another translator and I’m looking forward to having a copy of the book in simplified Chinese soon too!

Lots of Speaking Events Coming!

There will be more details on my Events page soon, but here’s the run down on what’s just around the corner:

• May 4; recording a spot for TechNet Radio
• May 13-14; Louisville, KY; Two sessions – SQL Server Internals & Architecture, and Ten Things DBAs Want .NET Developers to Know
• May 20; 24 Hours of PASS; Top 10 Mistakes on SQL Server
• May 22; Indianapolis, IN; SQL Server Internals & Architecture
• June 7-11; Microsoft TechEd Conference in New Orleans, LA; Birds of a Feather and Ask The Experts
• June 23; Knoxville, TN; ditto the Indy event
• Aug 5-7; DevLink in Nashville, TN; several sessions throughout the conference

I also have three “Pain of the Week” webcasts schedule with Quest over the next couple months, with great co-hosts like Buck Woody and Grant Fritchey.  The sessions aren’t officially scheduled yet, but you can find them here.

Also, a big thanks to the local PASS chapter in Houston for the warm welcome they put out when I spoke there on April 12 and to the fine folks in Chicago for their awesome SQL Saturday on April 17th.

New Articles and Session Recordings

I had a couple new articles come out last month which I either wrote or added commentary too, including Master Data Services could spur SQL Server 2008 R2 migrations appearing at SearchSQLServer.com.

The PASS DBA Virtual Chapter just posted a recording of my session on SQL Server Internals and Architecture.

I made an appearance on Microsoft’s Thrive website as their IT Pro of the Month for March.  I also had the opportunity to work with Steve Wynkoop at his SSWUG.org vConference in March.

And don’t forget about the incredibly popular Quest vConference that Brent, Ari, and I did on troubleshooting and performance tuning using SQL Server DMV’s.  You can get the code samples, download the slides, and rate the presentations at http://questkb.com/live and/or http://www.vconferenceonline.com/shows/spring10/quest/conference/ondemand.asp

Notice the bluetooth ear piece fashion faux pas? Yes, she's truly a geek.

I’m happy to report that Barbie is now a cognizeti, a digerati, … yes even an IT Professional! This year’s new Barbie is Computer Engineer Barbie.

Several months back, I encouraged all my friends and followers on Twitter to vote for the IT job for Barbie in Mattel’s recent public job selection for the eponymous doll.  That encouragement was founded in an experience I’d had years earlier – becoming a dad to a very beautiful baby girl.  When I was growing up as a kid, I clearly recall how odd it was for a woman to have a career outside of a handful of “traditional feminine jobs” like teacher, nurse, telephone operator or secretary.  It wasn’t until years later, as a new dad, that I realized how asinine this preconceived notion really was (and, in fact, still is in many cultures around the world). I even wrote about this a few years ago in my personal blog, where I mentioned how I’d love to see my daughters grow up and take on an IT career.

Sadly, many IT professional societies report dramatic imbalances in gender demographics.  For example, the IEEE Computer Society reports that their membership is only 7% female. Similarly, universities in the USA shows about a 10% representation of female faculty and 14% of their students in computer-related majors.

One of the things I’d always found to be rather amazing about PASS was it’s strong emphasis on Women in Technology (WIT).  In fact, as far as database professional societies go, PASS was the first to work hard to make WIT prominent within its culture (although I believe that the International Sybase User Group had a WIT group before PASS).  I’d like to also give credit to the women within PASS who made this happen.  I can’t even begin to list them all here, but without them, WIT at PASS would not have been possible.  A few women who immediately come to mind include Rebecca Laszlo, , Kalen Delaney, Denise McInerny, Kathi Kellenberger, Stefanie Higgins, Lynda Rabb, Kimberly Tripp, and many many more.

All of these outstanding women deserve accolades for making PASS a welcoming place for women.  Don’t think that it’s a big deal?  You should attend an IT conference without a strong WIT community – you’ll see the difference in 30 seconds flat.  (I’m not going to name any names here.  But attend the top conferences for certain IT companies headquartered in Redwood City, California or Armonk, NY and you’ll see what I mean).

So, thank you ladies, for making PASS in particular and the overall Microsoft SQL Server community much better for everyone by making it better for women.  I hope to see this trend continue and for your contributions to continue to improve our community.

-Kevin

Everybody Needs Training

Everybody enjoys a little free training now and then.  I’ve got mountains of free training in the works.  Some of it is in-person and local while some are in webcast format.  Please join me as you’re able!

Tomorrow – Wednesday!

Wed, Feb 10, 2010 at 12 pm (noon) MST – PASS DBA Virtual Chapter; Top 10 Administration Mistakes on SQL Server

There are a short list of mistakes that, if you know of them in advance and prepare for them, will make your life much easier.  This presentation shows you these mistakes, the “low hanging fruit” of database administration.  Once you apply the lessons learned from this session, you’ll find yourself performing at a higher level of efficiency and effectiveness than before.  Quest is sponsoring this and raffling off a copy of my book, SQL in a Nutshell, and O-M-G a KINDLE!!!  (Free, but registration required.)  And if you haven’t already done it, join PASS!

Day After Tomorrow – Thursday!

Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 11 am EST – Quest Software Pain of the Week; Understanding & Preventing SQL Injection Attacks – with Kevin Kline and K. Brian Kelley

SQL Injection attacks is the most common hacker trick used on the Web and yet, one of the easiest to prevent. Learn what they are and why you need to be concerned about them. In this webcast, I and SQL Server MVP K. Brian Kelley (blog | twitter) will demonstrate different types of SQL injection attacks. You’ll learn how to find and block them to keep your databases safe, preventing disruptions to your organization. Quest is sponsoring this as well and raffling off more goodies.  (Free, but registration required.)

Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 6 pm CST – Nashville .NET User Group; Ten Things DBAs Want .NET Developers to Know

Stereotypes abound for different types of people in the IT world. Developers think DBAs are control freaks. DBAs think developers are unruly cowboys. How do we overcome these differences? If you’re a developer, your best strategy is to manage your DBAs’ anxieties and demonstrate your competence and credibility. Attend this session to learn about 10 techniques that developers can apply to their code which will calm your DBAs’ fears and earn their admiration. Techniques include how to analyze a query plan and how to make sure your query is taking advantage of the best available indexes.  Attendance is free although registration is encouraged so we can get a good count for the food, plus there’s free pizza and a raffle at the end.  Drinks afterwards at Chilis.

Coming Soon

Mar 03, 2010 >>>FULL DAY OF FREE TRAINING!<<< – Quest Software SQL Server vConference; Troubleshooting and Performance Tuning with Kevin Kline, Brent Ozar, and Ariel Weil

Join SQL Server MVPs, Kevin Kline and Brent Ozar (blog | twitter), along with Quest Product Manager Ari Weil —all from Quest Software—as they interactively present tips and tricks to help you monitor your SQL Server environment with ease. You’ll learn how to use Dynamic Management Views (DMVs) to simplify troubleshooting and significantly enhance SQL Server performance. The day consists of eight sessions with live Q&A – a great way to get answers to your questions straight from the source. Chat live with Quest experts. Plus, you can visit the Quest booth to download helpful resources like white papers, watch demos and more.  This virtual training day is free and you can attend the sessions that fit your needs – perfect for tight budgets and busy schedules.

Mar 06, 2010 – PASS SQL Saturday, Charlotte, SC

The SQL Server Community will experience an event like no other in the Southeast region. Renowned speakers from around the world will gather in Charlotte, NC to share their knowledge on Microsoft SQL Server. This is your opportunity to meet, network with and learn from the SQL Community leading experts such as Andrew Kelly, Rick Heiges, John Welch, Brian Knight, Geoff Hiten, Andy Warren, Jessica M. Moss, Rafael Salas, Sergey Pustovit and Tim Ford. Also scheduled to present are current SQL PASS President Rushabh Mehta and former SQL PASS Presidents Wayne Snyder and Kevin Kline.

Mar 24, 2010 – PASS DBA Virtual Chapter; SQL Internals & Architecture

Apr 08, 2010 – Quest Software Pain of the Week; The Admin’s Guide to SQL Server w/ Buck Woody

Apr 12, 2010 – PASS Chapter, Houston; topic TBD

Apr 17, 2010 – PASS SQL Saturday, Chicago; Keynoting w/ Brent Ozar

May 13, 2010 – Quest Software Pain of the Week; SQL Server for the Oracle DBA w/ Buck Woody

May 13, 2010 – PASS Chapter, Louisville; topic TBD

May 15, 2010 – PASS SQL Saturday, Louisville; topic TBD

May 22, 2010 – Indy Tech Fest; SQL Internals & Architecture

Security as an Afterthought Issue: November 2009

The Big Keep Getting Bigger Issue: October 2009 

Getting Up to Speed on the SQL Server Social Media Scene Issue: September 2009 

The Ebb and Flow of SQL Server Instrumentation Issue: August 2009

A Look at Upcoming Enhancements in SQL Server 2008 R2 Issue: July 2009 

Is it Time for a Professional Code of Ethics for DBAs? Issue: June 2009 

The Trouble with Third-Party Applications Issue: May 2009 

SQL Server in the Clouds? Issue: April 2009 

The Future of Coding for SQL Server, Part 2 Issue: March 2009 

The Future of Coding for SQL Server Issue: February 2009 

Reaching for Highly Scalable Systems with SQL Server 2008 Issue: January 2009

Long-Term Changes Resulting from Policy-Based Management Issue: December 2008 

The New Master’s Certification from Microsoft Issue: October 2008 

What to Expect at the PASS 2008 Summit Issue: September 2008

The November article just went live this week. The site traffic is 79% North America, with India and the UK as the next largets readership markets. It was heartening to see a relatively high level of interest in the “Code of Ethics for DBA’s” among other topics.

If you are perceiving a trend or overarching issue in the SQL Server world, I’d love to hear your input.  Drop me a note here or use one of the methods available on http://KevinEKline.com/Contact/ to get in touch with me directly.

Thanks,

-Kev

Fortunately, those grueling marathons are fading into the past. I still have a busy slate ahead of me for next week.  But it looks like I’ll even have time to attend some sessions.  Yeah!  Here’s what I’ve currently got planned:

Monday, Nov 2

Depart for Seattle, 5:10 am.  O.M.G. – that means I have to get up before I go to bed.

Noon, arrive in Seattle

Lunch with the PASS board of directors

Networking Seminar, by Don Gabor, from 4:30 – 6:30 pm

PASS Quiz Bowl & Welcome Reception, playing in a team with the mighty BrentO, from 6:30 – 8:00 pm

SQLServerCentral Party, from 8:00 – 10:00 pm

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Tuesday, Nov 3

Keynote, 7:45 – 10:00 am

Birds of a Feather Luncheon, 11:45 – 1:00 pm, hosting the table “Moving from Technologist to Manager”

Exhibit Hall at the Quest Software booth, 11:00 – 4:00 pm

Session “The Ultimate Free SQL Server Toolkit”, 3:00 – 4:15 pm, Room 615-617

Book Signing at the Quest Software booth, 6:00 – 8:00 pm, giving away signed copies of Database Benchmarking

Microsoft MVP Insider Event, until 10:00 pm

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Wednesday, Nov 4

Quest Breakfast seminar and live webcast, Simplify Management with DMVs, 7:00 – 8:30 am, along with other SQL Server luminaries BrentO, Buck Woody, Louis Davidson, and Tim Ford.

MVP Deep Dives Book Signing, 11:30 – 12:00 pm, Come out get a book signed by all the authors!

PASS Board Q&A, 4:30 – 6:15 pm, Room 6E

I’ll also be popping out for meetings with various Microsoft PMs, a dinner with my Quest colleagues, and plenty of time in the exhibit hall at the Quest Software booth.

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Thursday, Nov 5

Session “Team Management Crash Course”, 10:45 – 12:00 pm, Room 612

Chapter Luncheon, 12:00 – 1:00 pm, Expo Hall 4b.  Come and join me, especially if you’re anywhere near the local PASS chapter in Music City – Nashville, TN.

Friday, Nov 6

Early departure back to Nashville.  In years past, I always had to stay until Saturday morning because of all of the important PASS work going on.  The important PASS work still goes on, but it’s in the able hands of a new generation of leaders.  As for me, I get to head home to be with my family one day early.  Yippee!

I hope to see you there.  Don’t forget the really awesome and cool SQL Twitter Bingo, if you’re in to Twitter.  The rules are HERE and the bingo cards are HERE.

Cheers,

-Kevin

Twitter @kekline

• Andy Leonard (blog here)
• Andy Warren (blog here)
• Brian Knight (blog here)
• Buck Woody (blog here)
• Chad Miller (blog here)
• Joe Celco (blog here)
• Joe Webb (blog here)
• Jonathan Kehayias (blog here)
• Kendal Van Dyke (blog here)
• Ken Simmons (blog here)

Not only do we have SQL Saturday coming up, but Andy & company put together five world class seminars the week leading up to it! Use code “KKLINE” to get a 20% discount if you register for two or more seminars!

• Oct 12 – Essential SQL Server Administration By Andy Warren
• Oct 13 – Learn BI In a Day by Brian Knight
• Oct 14 – Real World Performance Tuning by Kevin Kline
• Oct 15 – Zero to SSIS by Andy Leonard
• Oct 16 – Performance Tuning Methodology by Buck Woody

Seminars will be held at the Embassy Suites in Altamonte Springs, FL. Each seminar is $149 and includes a full lunch. Seating is limited, register today!

Attendees of my seminar will get a free copy of my book, Database Benchmarking: A Practical Approach for Oracle and SQL Server, plus other free goodies from my employer, Quest Software. As an added note of explanation, Buck’s excellent seminar centers around detecting and troubleshooting performance problems, while my seminar focuses on writing high-performance and highly scalable SQL and Transact-SQL code.  Why not sign up for both of them to get comprehensive education on the entire process of writing great code, deploying it, and monitoring it for continued excellent performance?

Finally, I’ll be speaking at user groups in the area leading up to SQL Saturday.  If you can join me at my seminar or at SQL Saturday, maybe one of these other events better fits your schedule:

• Tuesday, Oct 13, Tampa SQL Server User Group (http://www.tampasql.com)
• Wednesday, Oct 14, Orlando SQL Server User Group (http://www.opass.org)
• Friday, Oct 15, Jacksonville SQL Server User Group (http://jacksonville.sqlpass.org)

I hope to see you there!

-Kevin

Twitter @KEKline

More content at http://KevinEKline.com