Fall 2013 Tour Dates

  • I was just looking at my upcoming tour dates, trying to get my head around the fact that I’ll be logging about 40,000 miles in just 8 weeks. What’s not to love about working with our fine TSA Agents dozens of times in the next couple months, I ask you?  I’m doing a few more webcasts for local user groups around the USA, as well as making appearances in Stockholm, Antwerp, and Tel Aviv.

    San Diego SQL Saturday

    September  21, UCSD Extension

    Stay classy, San Diego! I just finished  catching up with lots of old friends (and by that I mean “friends who are really old”) at SQL Saturday 249.  It was a lovely day at the UCSD Extension, where hundreds of us gathered for a big, ol’ nerdstravaganza. If you attended either of my sessions, I’ve posted the fully refreshed slide decks in my Slides.  Thanks for all of the great comments and feedback!

    Rochester SQL Server User Group (Webcast)

    September  25 (REGISTER)

    In this free session, I’ll be talking about Ten Dev Skills to Make Your DBA Happy.  What’s it about?  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.

    This session is specifically for the Rochester SQL Server User Group and PASS chapter, but anyone is free to attend.

    NashvilleTech (NCSS) Leadership Breakfast

    September  26, 8-10 AM CST; NashvilleTech, 120 White Bridge Rd, Nashville, TN 37205 (REGISTER)

    In this free breakfast workshop, Joe Webb and I will discuss the fundamental difference between influence and authority and how you can achieve a high degree of influence without having explicit authority. We’ll also share eight techniques for effectively influencing IT professionals so you can best win support for your initiatives. If you’re an IT pro in the Nashville area, then this is a session you won’t want to miss! Details and registration at Leadership & Influence.

    NashSQL

    September  27, October 25

    This is my hometown regular monthly SQL Server User Group and PASS chapter meeting, held at lunchtime on the last Friday of the month. Venue details are at http://nashville.sqlpass.org/, while discussions are on the NashSQL LinkedIn page.

    PASS Summit 2013

    October 15-18, Charlotte

    I’ll be taking part in four sessions at this year’s huge PASS Summit in Charlotte, NC:

    I’m also a mentor in the First Timers Program on Tuesday and, of course, spending lots of time in the exhibit hall at the SQL Sentry booth. Come see me in the exhibit hall if not in my sessions!

    If you haven’t registered, use our exclusive registration code SQLSUM13 for $150 off the registration cost.  And be sure to check out these informative blog posts about things to see in do in Charlotte and near the conference center during the event:

    DevIntersection

    Las Vegas, October 27-30 (REGISTER)

    I’ll be celebrating another birthday in Vegas at the DevIntersection conference.  And, if you’re trying to decide what events to go to, remember that everyone who registers for DevIntersection has their choice of a Surface RT or an XBOX One.  Wow! (REGISTER for the DevIntersection conference).  This is a great event for IT people with a wide skill set, such as developers, system admins, and IT pros with multiple areas of responsibility.

    My cohort in crime, Aaron Bertrand, will be presenting two sessions with me. The first, a regular session, is Ten Query Tuning Techniques Every SQL Programmer Should Know, which takes you through 10 of the most problematic patterns and anti-patterns when writing SQL queries and how to deal with them all. Loaded with live demonstrations and useful techniques, this session will teach you how to take your SQL Server queries from mundane to masterful.

    The second session is the Tuesday evening keynote, entitle Monitoring and Performance Tuning for AlwaysOn. In this session, we cover the basics of SQL Server AlwaysOn high availability technology.  With Availability Groups and FCIs, SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn has dramatically expanded the possibilities for high availability and improved resource management. However, to reach the full potential of these new features, better management tools are required. We show you how to do as much monitoring as you can using the native tools, then we present our revolutionary new software which, among many other things, provides enhanced visibility and manageability for advanced AlwaysOn topologies.

    And of course, we’ll be hanging out in the Exhibit Hall. Come see us!

    SQL Rally Nordic

    Stockholm Sweden, November 4-6 (SQL RALLY NORDIC HOME)

    This outstanding event just gets better every year. I’ll be presenting my popular session SQL Server Internals & Architecture on Day 2 of the event, along with Top Ten Administrator Mistakes on SQL Server.  If you register by Oct 5th, you’ll get 50 Euros off the registration price.  There are also some great pre-conference seminars on tap from outstanding speakers like Adama Machanic, Brent Ozar, Davide Mauri, and Kalen Delaney.  If you’ve never taken a class from one of them, you’re in for a treat!

    SQL Server Days

    Antwerp Belgium, November 7-9 (SQL SERVER DAYS HOME)

    Belgium is home to some of the most beautiful cities in Europe. And this fall, not only do I get to present at the SQL Server Days conference, I also get to deliver a pre-conference seminar!  My Thursday pre-con, Real-World Database Configuration and Tuning for SQL Server 2012is a full day of configuration, performance tuning, and troubleshooting advice, tips, and techniques. If you’re into serious SQL Server tuning, then this fast-paced, full-day session is for you!

    Then, on Friday, I’ll be delivering the session Ten Things Every Developer Should Know, which I often called “Ten Things Every Developer Should Know to Keep Their DBA Happy”, which is an important session for SQL Server users who spend most of their time on database development activities, rather than on administration.  DBAs and developers often clash. So this session is for you if you’ve ever had to deal with an annoyed or annoying DBA.

    NAYA College Training

    Tel Aviv Israel, November 22-27, (SQL SERVER MARATHON HOME and DETAILS for my 3-day course)

    I’m really looking forward to spending some time in Israel this fall. The session is put on by Naya College and is a three day class intended for database and IT professionals who want to build performance optimized systems from the bare metal up through the OS, SQL Server, and on into their application.  And if you have specific questions and you think you might attend, let me know so that I can prepare a solid answer for you. Spread the word!

    SQL Cruise 2014

    Miami, Jan 25 – Feb 2 (2014 SQL CRUISE DETAILS)

    Tim Ford (blog |twitter) has put together another outstanding roster of trainers for this 8-day cruise through the Caribbean isles.  In a testament to the growing popularity of the SQLCruise, the 2014 cruise was nearing peak capacity just a few days after Tim opened registration.  There are just a couple seats left, so get your registration soon to secure your seat.

     

     

  • New Windows and SQL Azure Resources for the IT Pro

    Here’s a new post from my website, with many thanks to Microsoft DPE for the Central Region, Keith Mayer (blog twitter), for these great tips!

     

     

    • Windows 8.1 RTM and Windows Server 2012 R2 RTM bits available on MSDN and TechNet subscription sites. This is the version I’m waiting for since it fully preserves the Start menu.
      • Note that updates are expected between RTM, now, and GA, October 18th.  Be sure to check Windows Updates 2-to-3 times weekly if installing these bits.  I’m not saying they’re unstable. But they are definitely changed frequently as the dev team makes final tuning and tweaking changes.
    • New Virtual Labs on Windows Server 2012 R2 and R2 Essentials:
    • TechNet Eval Center – Don’t forget that TechNet has been sunsetted and has only 90 days or so left before you’ll need to switch to MSDN for product bits.
      • Currently, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Office 2010 have been added with more expected in coming weeks: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/evalcenter/dn407368
      • Here’s an interesting new development – Microsoft has caught wind that many of us have to frequently install older versions of the bits.  For example, it’s not uncommon for a DBA to need to install SQL Server 2005.  You’ll now be able to get those bits from your TechNet/MSDN subscriptions under their “Previous Products” area.
    • Windows Azure Updates:
      • Scheduled Auto-Scaling of VM’s, WebSites and Cloud Services
      • Automated SQL Database exporting to Storage Account
      • SQL Database Premium Tier offers reserved capacity
      • Here’s a great blog (http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu) to stay on top of when SQL Server is your primary cloud focus.  New features in this release include SQL Server Always On Clusters Supported on Windows Azure – High Availability, Disaster Recovery, Read-Only Secondaries for Offloaded BI.
    • IE 11 Release Preview for Windows 7 releasing later this week – W3C Resource Prioririties, GPU acceleration, WebGL, ECMAScript 6, new “F12” Developer Tools. Look for details on the IE Blog ( http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/ ) later this week.
    • There’s a new App Studio for Windows Phone that’s entirely web-based.  Wow! No real coding and it’s all done on-line. It’s for Windows Phone Apps from Browser-based App Templates / Submit enabling you to directly upload them to the Windows Phone store.  Get involved with the program at http://apps.windowsstore.com.  There’s also a cool looking App Builder Rewards program where you get points towards prizes for getting involved with the program: https://build.windowsstore.com/rewards/.
    • Trade-in your iPad, Get $200 towards a Microsoft Surface: http://content.microsoftstore.com/en-us/offers.  Might be useful if you have an older iPad that’s just collecting dust.
    • “Early Experts” for Windows Server 2012 R2:

    Let me know if this info is valuable.  Many thanks,

    -Kevin

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