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PASS

Mid April Free Training from PASS VCs

www.sqlpass.orgBuilding Applications That A DBA Will Love
All About Analysis Services
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Building Applications That A DBA Will Love
April 12, 2011, 12 PM Eastern
Presenter: Andy Warren
Attendee URL:
LiveMeeting

It’s natural for the focus to be on the end user when we build applications, but it’s important and worthwhile to build into our design some things that make it easier for the DBA to provision, tune, and support the product we deliver. So what does a DBA care about? Performance of course, but also security, scalability, space usage, and yes, even documentation. This presentation will cover tips in a number of areas that address the concerns of the DBA, and we’ll talk about why you should care about making the DBA happy too!

Andy Warren

Andy Warren is a SQL Server consultant and trainer who occasionally writes some code too. He’s on the PASS Board of Directors, was a founding partner in SQLServerCentral.com, started the SQLSaturday event format, and is currently a SQL Server MVP. Andy blogs at www.sqlandy.com, and can be reached via Twitter as @sqlandy and on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/sqlandy.

How do I attend?
Attendee URL:
LiveMeeting
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Efficient and effective processing of OLAP CUBES with AMO and XMLA
Fri April 15th 12PM EST (US)
Speaker: Steve Simon

Topic Description:

Within the financial industry, rapid and effective decision making is critical to our client relationships. Analytical tools such as OLAP cubes help make this a reality. In many 24 X 7 enterprises, data capture and cube updates occur on an ongoing basis throughout the business day. We are able to achieve this through the innovative utilization of SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS). This intermediate level hands-on presentation will show the attendee how we have utilized Analysis Management Objects (AMO) commands and SSIS to ‘fire’ our OLAP CUBE updating processes. The presentation will discuss the high level concepts behind Analysis Management Objects (and the XMLA that is generated from the commands) and the scenarios under which we can benefit from their usage. Topics covered will be the updating of dimensions, measures, partitions, the cube and more.

Bio:

Steve Simon is an Assistant Vice President with State Street Corporation in Boston. He has been involved with database design and analysis for over 26 years. Steve has presented papers at eight North American PASS Summits (in Orlando, Seattle WA (4), Denver CO (2) and San Francisco CA), two at PASS Europe 2009 and one at PASS Europe 2010. He has just recently presented his PASS 2008 Summit presentation in Johannesburg South Africa. Steve is actively involved with the SQL Server community within the Boston area and is a regular presenter at the New England Code Camps and SQL Saturday events and participates actively on many of the Microsoft User Forums. He is also the Virtual Chapter leader of the Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS) Oracle – SQL Server Virtual Chapter and is a PASS regional mentor. He will also be presenting a data mining paper at SQL Teach in Montreal between May 31st , 2011 and June 3rd 2011.

URL: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/join?id=RPN4J9&role=attend&pw=J%25%7E*7r%229d

Help Promote SQLRally!

SQLRally_Logo_Dell_WebIn case you’re in need of some images to help us promote the largest PASS event on the East Coast this year, I’ve gathered some together for you Smile For all you chapter leaders I’ve also included a flyer that you can print out and hand out at your user group meeting or SQL Saturday. You can right-click save-as on these or just grab this zip with everything.

This one would look great in your email signature!

SQLRally

This one would look great in the tight-hand column of your blog Smile

SQLRally_Banner_240x120_1

Or this one:

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If you’re using the PrimePress theme like me you’ll want to put this under /wp-content/themes/primepress/headers

SQLRally_Banner_728x90

Early December 2010 Free Training From PASS VCs

  • pass_logoUnderstanding Join Operators
  • How to Use Dynamic Management Views to Monitor and Diagnose Performance Issues With High Volume OLTP Workloads
  • Using OLAP to Optimize and Maintain Predictive Analytics Models


Understanding Join Operators
December 7, 2010 12 PM noon Eastern Time (GMT -5)
Ami Levin

SQL Server implements three different physical operators to perform joins. In this session, we will examine how each of these operators works, including its advantages and challenges. Using real life examples, we will better understand the logic behind the optimizer’s decisions on which operator to use for various joins. Finally, we will learn how to avoid some common join related pitfalls and how to get better performance from our queries.

Ami Levin
Ami is a Microsoft SQL Server MVP, with over 20 years of experience in the IT industry. For the past 12 years, he has been consulting, teaching and speaking on SQL Server worldwide. He manages the Israeli SQL Server user group, leads the local support forum, and is a regular speaker at Microsoft conferences. Ami is the CTO and co-founder of DBSophic, a company that develops workload tuning solutions for SQL Server applications.

How do I attend?  Live Meeting link


Dr. DMV: How to Use Dynamic Management Views to Monitor and Diagnose Performance Issues With High Volume OLTP Workloads
December 8, 2010 12 PM noon Mountain Time (GMT -7)
Glenn Berry

SQL Server 2005 introduced Dynamic Management Views (DMVs) that allow you to see exactly what is happening inside your SQL Server instances and databases with much more detail than ever before. SQL Server 2008 R2 adds even more capability in this area. You can discover your top wait types, most CPU intensive stored procedures, find missing indexes, and identify unused indexes, to name just a few examples. This session (which is applicable to both 2005, 2008 and 2008 R2), presents and explains over thirty DMV queries that you can quickly and easily use to detect and diagnose performance issues in your environment.

Glenn Berry

Glenn works as a Database Architect at NewsGator Technologies in Denver, CO. He is a SQL Server MVP, and he has a whole collection of Microsoft certifications, including MCITP, MCDBA, MCSE, MCSD, MCAD, and MCTS, which proves that he likes to take tests. His expertise includes DMVs, high availability, full text search, and SQL Azure.

How do I attend?  Live Meeting link


Using OLAP to Optimize and Maintain Predictive Analytics Models
December 10, 2010 12 PM noon Eastern Time (GMT -5)
Eugene Asahara

In complex Predictive Analytics (PA) scenarios where it is being applied to a complex system or the players involved are actually trying to undermine the predictions (ex: credit card fraud), the sophistication of the PA must be taken up a notch or two. In this Webcast I will describe techniques for building sophisticated PA systems on the Microsoft BI Stack by using OLAP to:
• Analyze, validate, and optimize PA models.
• Manage and Monitor the performance of the PA models in a Performance Management style.
• Surface PA results to end users in a manner that allows them to work through the ambiguity that remains around predictions.

Eugene Asahara
Eugene specializes in high-end Analysis Services implementation and performance tuning, predictive analytics, and overall BI architecture. He has thirteen years of experience on the Microsoft BI stack; including one year on the SSAS product team and seven years as a Lead DB/BI Architect at Microsoft Consulting Services. Aside from consulting on BI engagements by day Eugene develops bleeding-edge BI software by night. Many of his thoughts around BI and that bleeding-edge space can be found at www.softcodedlogic.com.

How do I attend?  Live Meeting link

Announcing the New PowerShell Virtual Chapter of PASS!

pass_logo_thumbWe are very excited to announce the new PowerShell Virtual Chapter of PASS!  What is a Virtual ChapterPASS Virtual Chapters are forums where SQL Server Professionals from around the world can communicate with others who have similar interests and face similar challenges.  Think of it this way, PASS Chapters unite the SQL Server Community from a geographical perspective, Virtual Chapters unite the community based on common interests in a specific discipline.

What will the new PowerShell Virtual Chapter do?  Our primary mission is holding Live Meetings every month featuring free training from around the world.  We plan to archive the presentations for you to watch on demand and highlight articles and blogs that will interest our members.  This Virtual Chapter is headed up by top professionals from around the US: Ben Miller ( blog | twitter ), Chad Miller [no relation that I’m aware of] ( blog | twitter ), Lars Rasmussen ( blog | twitter ), Peter Schott ( blog | twitter ), and Aaron Nelson ( blog | twitter ).

 We will start things off next Wednesday with our first presentation. Here is the schedule through the end of the year.  Smile We are currently looking for speakers for next year.

Wednesday October 20th 12 pm EDT (GMT-4) – Presenter Chad Miller
Wednesday November 17th 1 pm EST (GMT -5) – Presenter Aaron Nelson
Wednesday December 15th 1 pm EST (GMT -5) – Presenter Peter Schott

Chad Miller will get us started with an introduction to PowerShell as a command line for one-off tasks or automation in the DBA world. Basic PS principles and syntax will be covered. Get your proverbial DBA feet wet with a tool that can make your database and sysadmin life better than it was before! Bigger, stronger, faster. (Cue Bionic Man theme)

Chad Miller
Chad hails from the land of rocket launches, oranges, and alligators where he started the Tampa PowerShell User Group. Chad is the DBA for SQL Server and Manager of Database Administration for a shop supporting SQL Server, Oracle, and Informix, acts as coordinator for the SQL Server PowerShell Extensions CodePlex project, and maintains an active blog at http://sev17.com/author/chad-miller/ .

How do I attend? Registration for the event is now open.
*When you register you’ll get a calendar reminder for the event.

End of September Free Training from PASS VCs

pass_logoNext-Level SQLCLR: Parallel Processing and Bulk Load
SSRS R2: The New Stuff
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Next-Level SQLCLR: Parallel Processing and Bulk Load
September 28nd 12:00 PM EDT (GMT -4)

Presenter: Adam Machanic

The power of SQLCLR as a performance tool has been well-documented at this point; certain queries, when re-written the right way using SQLCLR components, can run an order of magnitude more quickly. If you’re already using SQLCLR, or need that extra push, attend this session to discover how to take things one step further using advanced techniques and a custom SQLCLR component that will help you leverage the power of parallelism to burn through your rows more quickly than you ever thought possible. This session includes some of the material that will be covered in Adam Machanic’s full-day PASS Summit post-conference seminar, “A Day of Doing Many Things at Once: Multitasking, Parallelism, and Process Distribution.” More information on the seminar is available here: http://sqlpass.eventpoint.com/topic/details/AD311P

Adam Machanic

Adam is a Boston-based independent database consultant, writer, and speaker. He has been involved in dozens of SQL Server implementations for both high-availability OLTP and large-scale data warehouse applications, and has optimized data access layer performance for several data-intensive applications. Adam has written for numerous web sites and magazines, including SQLblog, Simple Talk, Search SQL Server, SQL Server Professional, CoDe, and VSJ. He has also contributed to several books on SQL Server, including “SQL Server 2008 Internals” (Microsoft Press, 2009) and “Expert SQL Server 2005 Development” (Apress, 2007). Adam regularly speaks at user groups, community events, and conferences on a variety of SQL Server and .NET-related topics. He is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for SQL Server, Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP), and a member of the INETA North American Speakers Bureau.

How do I attend?
Attendee URL: LiveMeeting Link
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SSRS R2: The New Stuff
September 29th 12:00 PM EDT (GMT -4)

Presenter: Mike Davis

In this session Mike shows you the new features in Reporting Services 2008 R2. You will learn how to use the Map control, Sparkline, Indicator, and Data Bars. See the new report builder 3.0. Learn about shared Data sets and report parts. Learn how to drill down from the US level to the state level using the map controls.

Mike Davis

Mike is a MCTS, MCITP, Senior BI consultant, and Trainer at Pragmatic Works.  He is an author of two Business intelligence books.  Mike is an experienced speaker and has presented at many events such as several SQL Server User Groups, Code Camps, SQL Server Launches, and SQL Saturday events. Mike is an active member at his local user group (JSSUG) in Jacksonville, FL.

URL: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/join?id=H2JWQQ&role=attend&pw=tS3%24Gtj%60z

Late August 2010 PASS VC Presentations

pass_logoWriting a better Where Clause
SQL Storage for Performance: Best Practices
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Writing a better Where Clause
August 24th 8:00 AM EDT (GMT -4)

Presenter: Scott Gleason

This session will cover the basics of writing optimized query’s with focus on the ‘where clause’ and ‘having clause’ of a select statement. If you have never attended a query performance session before, you’ll learn a lot!

Scott Gleason
Scott has worked in Jacksonville Florida exclusively as DBA for over nine years. He is currently the Vice President of the Jacksonville SQL Server Users Group (JSSUG) and actively speaks about SQL at SQL Saturdays and Code Camps.

How do I view the presentation?
Attendee URL:  Live Meeting Link
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SQL Storage for Performance: Best Practices
August 25th 12:00 AM EDT (GMT -4)
Presenter: Amy Styers

SQL Storage Planning for Best Performance What are the different storage optimizations available for SQL server? What are some techniques that can be used to determine performance bottlenecks? Amy will discuss tips and tricks from the field on how to answer these questions for planning and designing your SQL infrastructure from disk up!

Amy Styers
Amy is a Microsoft Infrastructure Architect in the EMC Commercial Solutions Advisory Group where she has been engaged for the last three years discussing with customers their options for highly available, highly scalable, high performing Microsoft applications. She regularly addresses customers with regards to their virtualization initiatives and helps customers make decisions regarding architecting their Microsoft infrastructures both in physical and virtual environments.

Meeting Link: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/8000181573/join?id=S2G482&role=attend

PASS Summit 2010 Graphics

For those of you that need to get your hands on the graphics for the 2010 PASS Summit in Seattle here they are:

PASS Summit Banner 468x60

PASS Summit Banner 950x75

PASS Summit Banner 944x250

PASS Summit Email Signature

PASS Summit Crest_small

PASS Summit Crest 100X130

PASS Summit Banner 300x250

PASS Summit Banner 300x300

Early July 2010 PASS VC Presentations

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Loops, Lookups and Splits: SSIS Beyond the Basics
Managing Teams

Why Should I use Stored Procedures?
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Loops, Lookups and Splits: SSIS Beyond the Basics
July 13th 9:00 PM EDT (GMT -4)

Presenter: Tim Mitchell

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In this session, we’ll explore some of the useful tasks and data flow components of SSIS. Join in as we review the File System Task and the SSIS looping containers, as well as data flow components including the Lookup Transformation, the Conditional Split, and the Derived Column. This session will include various demonstrations using SSIS 2008.

Tim Mitchell

Tim Mitchell is a Microsoft SQL Server consultant, developer, and speaker. He has been working with SQL Server for over 7 years, working primarily in business intelligence, ETL/SSIS, and reporting. He has earned numerous certifications and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from Texas A&M at Commerce, and is a Microsoft SQL Server MVP. Tim is a business intelligence consultant for Artis Consulting in the Dallas, Texas area. See his full profile and blog at www.timmitchell.net.

How do I view the presentation?
Attendee URL:  Live Meeting link

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Managing Teams
July 13th 1:00 PM EDT (GMT -4) / 10:00 AM PDT (GMT -7)

Presenter: Andy Leonard

AndyLeonard

Are you a member of a team of database professionals? Are you part of a developer team? Do you manage or lead a team? This presentation is for you. Andy Leonard shares experiences, war stories, and lessons learned from years of managing and leading teams.

Andy Leonard
Andy is an Architect with Molina Medicaid Solutions, SQL Server database and Integration Services developer, SQL Server MVP, PASS Regional Mentor, and engineer. He is a co-author of Professional SQL Server 2005 Integration Services and SQL Server MVP Deep Dives. Andy blogs for SQLBlog.com. His background includes web application architecture and development, VB, and ASP; SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS); data warehouse development using SQL Server 2000, 2005 and 2008.

Click here to join the Live Meeting.

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Why Should I use Stored Procedures?
July 14th 12:00 PM MDT (GMT -6)

Presenter: Jack Corbett

JackCorbett

With the proliferation of ORM Tools like Linq To SQL, NHibernate, there has been a move to no longer use stored procedures for Data Access, I personally disagree. This will be a professional and polite open discussion starting with why I believe stored procedures are the best way to access data in SQL Server. Alternate view points welcome.

Jack Corbett
Professional who has worked with SQL Server for 10 yrs (6.5-2008) and experience in .NET development as well. Author of several articles for SQLServerCentral and video author for SQLShare.com. Speaker at several SQLSaturday’s and Florida User Groups. Co-President of OPASS. Lover of all things SQL except Analysis Services and MDX.

Live Meeting Link: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/8000181573/join?id=7FKD56&role=attend

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