Aloha DBA

PASS’s SQL Server Standard Latest Edition Available

Brad M. McGehee — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:09:29 GMT

Although it’s buried on the SQLPASS website, the newest edition of the SQL Server Standard is now available here in the PDF format. The goal is to publish two articles a month on the website. The first article is from Thomas LaRock (aka SQLRockstar), and it is called “The Trouble With Triggers.”

The editor of the SQL Server Standard is Grant Fritchey, and if you would like to write for the publication, please check out the following webpage to found out how.

SQL Server Connections Schedule

Brad M. McGehee — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:54:30 GMT

SQLServerCentral.com is sponsoring a track at SQL Server Connections this Wednesday and Thursday, November 11th and 12th. If you are attending this event, be sure to check out these sessions. Here they are:

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

8:00 AM – 9:15 AM—Joe Celko: Darling, Your SQL is Sooo Last Season!

9:30 AM – 10:45—Grant Fritchey: Scouting Out Execution Plans

11:45 AM – 1:00 PM—Brad M McGehee: Optimizing tempdb Performance

2:30 PM – 3:30 PM—Brad M McGehee: Introduction to the SQL Server 2008 Performance Data Collector

4:30 PM – 5:30 PM—Joe Celko: TBA

Thursday, November 12, 2009

8:00 AM – 9:15 AM—Grant Fritchey: MUQT: More Unnecessary Query Tuning

9:30 AM – 10:45 AM—Joe Celko: Naming and Modeling Data Objects

11:45 AM – 1:00 PM—Grant Fritchey: DMVs for Performance Tuning

2:45 PM – 4:00 PM—Brad M McGehee: Free Software for SQL Server DBAs

Give SQL Server 2008 R2 CTP a Quick Try for Free

Brad M. McGehee — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 07:01:12 GMT

You have probably heard that the SQL Server 2008 R2 CTP is available, but you may not have given it a try yet because it is such a pain to download the huge install file, find a test server to run it on, and then install it. Under the best of conditions, this is at least a 3 hour job.

Now, if you want to check out the new features of SQL Server 2008 R2 (the August 2009 CTP), you can without going through all this hassle. Instead, you can go to www.sqlserverbeta.com, create a virtual instance of the software, and try it out, all for free.

All you have to do is fill out a short registration form, and shortly thereafter, you will have your own personal instance of SQL Server 2008 R2 to play and experiment with. So now, you don’t have any excuse to learn about, and try out for yourself, all the cool new features in R2.

This offer is sponsored by PASS, Microsoft, Dell, and MaximumASP.

Thursday at the PASS Community Summit

Brad M. McGehee — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:40:09 GMT

The last full day of the 2009 PASS Community Summit was the first day I have had at the conference to attend sessions all day long. My day started with two keynotes. After the obligatory vendor keynote, Dr. David DeWitt presented a keynote on future trends in data and storage technology in SQL Server, which was well-received by the audience. See Steve Jones’ blog for more information on the keynote.

After the keynote, I attended these sessions:

Capturing and Analyzing File & Wait Stats by Andrew Kelly
Troubleshooting Applications Accessing SQL Server by Microsoft CSS Experts
Solid State Disks and SQL 2008: High Availability and Performance by Jamon Bowen
Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics by Gail Shaw

While I have been attended anywhere from 3 to 6 conferences for the past 4 years, I always find out something in a session that I never knew before. I like to select sessions on topics I know (always looking for some new tidbit), sessions on topics that are completely new to me, or sessions from people I know, like Andrew Kelly and Gail Shaw.

After the day was over, I attended the Friends of Red Gate Software Dinner with about 45 people, including many SQL Server MVPs, and many people who write for SQLServerCentral.com and Simple-Talk.com.

I was unable to stay for the post-con sessions because I had to attend a Red Gate Publishing Department meeting Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, I will be flying to Las Vegas to make three presentations at SQL Server Connections.

Wednesday at the PASS Community Summit

Brad M. McGehee — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:28:12 GMT

The second day of the full PASS Summit was packed with sessions. If fact, it was hard to select from the 56 sessions that were available.

The day started with the Rushabh Mehta announcing the 2009 PASSion Awards, an annual award given by PASS to those volunteers that have given a lot of their time volunteering. This year, two awards were made. For the North American award, it was given to Allen Kinsel , who gave a lot of time volunteering for the PASS Program Committee.

The international award was given to Charlie Hanania, for his volunteer work putting together the European PASS Conference. I meet Charlie last spring at the European PASS Conference, and I have to say that he really deserved the award. He is a great guy who helped make the 2008 European PASS Conference a great success.

After the PASSion Awards, and a keynote by Tom Casey, I gave a presentation on “Identifying SQL Server Performance Problems Using SQL Trace.”

Immediately after my presentation, I headed to the SQL Server MVP Deep Dives autograph party, where about 30 SQL Server MVPs were on hand to sign copies of this new book. The royalties for the book will be donated to the War Child International charity. Myself, and the other MVPs, signed over 200 books.

I spent the rest of the afternoon in meetings before heading back to the hotel to catch up on work. Tomorrow will be my first fully free day at the PASS Summit, and I hope to take in a lot of sessions.

Tuesday at the PASS Community Summit

Brad M. McGehee — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:52:24 GMT

Today was the first official day of the full (3-day) conference, with about 2,200 full conference attendees. Officially, PASS claims there are 2,998 registrations from 46 countries, but that number includes pre- and post-con attendees (who are also attending the full conference), plus Microsoft employees.

As you might expect, the Seattle Convention Center was packed with DBAs all wearing their orange and brown lanyards with their attendee badge, many carrying bags of swag they picked up from the various vendors attending the conference.

Lots of attendees bought books at the PASS bookstore.

The morning started with opening remarks from Wayne Snyder, current PASS president, and then was followed up by Microsoft keynote speakers Bob Muglia and Ted Kummert.

Immediately following the keynotes, the first sessions began. Attendees had 14 different sessions to choose from, often making it a difficult choice of which presentation to attend. Fortunately, all the sessions are being recorded, and they all will eventually be available on the PASS website for later viewing.

At lunch, there was a Birds of a Feather Luncheon, where about 50 tables were staffed with volunteers in various areas of SQL Server expertise. Attendees could pick any available table, eat lunch, and discuss the SQL Server topic assigned for that table. I sat at the Professional Development table, which was lead by Arnie Rowland, who did a great job of leading a discussion on the many various aspects of DBA career development.

Arnie Rowland, top center, lead the Professional Development Birds of a Feather table over lunch.

Right after lunch, I did a session in the Professional Development tract called, “Manage Your DBA Career: Don’t Let it Manage You.”

After the session, I headed down to the Red Gate Software booth and signed a bunch of copies of my book, How to Become an Exceptional DBA, which Red Gate Software was giving away free to attendees. After that, I headed back to the hotel to prepare for my Wednesday presentation.

What Do You Do When Your Employer Doesn’t Want to Support Your DBA Career?

Brad M. McGehee — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:11:25 GMT

At the 2009 PASS Community Summit, I have gotten the opportunity to talk to many DBAs, and to find out about what it is like to work for their organizations. In my book, How to Become an Exceptional DBA, and in many of my presentations, I highly recommend DBAs get as much training as they can so that they can stay at the top of their game; and to also get involved in the SQL Server Community as much as possible, such as posting in forums, speaking at user group meetings, writing articles, blogging, or whatever most interests them. I feel these two activities, among many others, can help enhance one’s career.

Today, at the PASS Summit, I had two discussions with DBAs that left me a little sad. One DBA, who was really interested in sharing his knowledge of SQL Server with others, told me that his company banned him from doing anything outside of work, including speaking at his user’s group, participating in forums, or getting involved with the SQL Server Community at all. The company was afraid of any potential liability they may have if one of their employees might say or do anything politically incorrect.

In another conversation, a DBA told me that they had the opportunity for three days of free SQL Server training, but the DBA’s organization would not let the DBA off from work to attend it. The DBA even offered to take the time off without pay, but the organization still said no. The DBA was told that if they made an exception, that other employees of the company would also want to follow suit and take off days without pay for training, and that would be a problem for the organization.

This is a terrible attitude for employers to have. Organizations need to support their employees in their career development, not hinder it. Unfortunately, these DBAs have no choice but to cooperate, or to look for another job. In fact, each of these DBAs told me that they were looking for a new job, and I wish them the best of luck.

If there is any lesson to be learned from these two DBA’s experience, is that when you are interviewing for a new job, be sure you find out what the organization’s policies are for training and career development. If you discover an organization won’t support your career, then you need to keep on looking, until you find an organization that believes in cultivating its employees.

If you have had a similar negative experience with an organization that doesn’t support its employees, please share your story with us (anonymously, of course).

PASS European Conference 2010 to be Held in Germany

Brad M. McGehee — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:42:09 GMT

The 2010 PASS European Conference will be held in Neuss, Germany, April 21-23, 2010. Details are currently scarce on the event, but it will include one day of pre-conference sessions, and the full conference will include over 30 technical sessions over two days. The URL for the event is www.european-pass-conference.com, but the website is currently not active as of this date. More information on this event, and the updated website, should be available soon. As I find out more, I’ll keep you posted.

Monday at the 2009 PASS Community Summit

Brad M. McGehee — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:24:52 GMT

Monday at the 2009 PASS Community Summit, for the most part, was reserved for pre-conference sessions, Microsoft Customer Insider sessions, and lots of meetings for the many people who put the Summit together. Monday evening, on the other hand, was devoted to networking and relaxing, with the PASS Welcome Reception and Quiz Bowl, the insider party sponsored by SQLServerCentral.com, and many other informal parties and get-togethers.

I spent most of the day attending Microsoft Customer Insider sessions, learning more about StreamInsight, Gemini (now known as Microsoft SQL Server PowerPivot for Excel 2010), and Madison.

Immediately following these sessions, I attended the PASS Speaker’s Meeting, where PASS speakers learn about the logistics of being a PASS presenter.

Volunteer PASS Speakers learn about the logistics of the event.

Shortly after than meeting, the PASS Welcome Reception began, along with the Quiz Bowl. The Welcome Reception served food and drinks, and was a great opportunity for networking. The Quiz Bowl, which occurs during the Welcome Reception, is a regular PASS event where six volunteers put their SQL Server knowledge to the test in front of hundreds of people (for the audience’s fun and entertainment). The event was hosted by Tim Ford, and operated, behind the scenes, by Louis Davidson. Contestants this year included Kimberly Tripp, Paul Randal, Brent Ozar, Kevin Kline, Joe Webb, and Grant Fritchey. (See photo below.)

After the Welcome Reception, SQLServerCentral.com held its own insider party, where attendees got to attend a casino night and win lots of prizes. In addition, the Exceptional DBA of the Year Award was given to Josef Richberg, during a brief ceremony.

Attendees at the SQLServerCentral.com party.

After a long day, I headed back to my hotel to get rested for Tuesday, the official starting day of the 2009 PASS Community Summit.

Free Books at Red Gate Booth at PASS Summit

Brad M. McGehee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:52:26 GMT

Red Gate Software will be handing out a limited number of free paperback books at their booth at the 2009 PASS Community Summit. They include:

Protecting SQL Server Data by John Magnabosco
SQL Server Tacklebox by Rodney Landrum
How to Become an Exceptional DBA by Brad M McGehee

If you can’t make the PASS Summit, or the booth runs out of copies before you visit it, you can always download the free PDF versions at www.SQLServerCentral.com.

2009 PASS Community Summit Registration Starts Out Strong

Brad M. McGehee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:06:37 GMT

Registration for the 2009 PASS Community Summit started out strong with many attendees registering early the Sunday evening before the Summit’s commencement. What really surprised me was seeing so many familiar faces so soon. Lots of attendees were already catching up with each other and networking, even before the event officially starts. In fact, I had to turn down several dinner invitations because I couldn’t be at the same place at the same time. I have a feeling that this entire week will be more of the same: too much to do, and too little time. Below are a few snapshots of some of the attendees I saw when I registered.

Attendees are greeted with colorful signs as they enter the 4th floor of the Seattle Convention Center.

Allen White (and his wife), Bill Graziano, and Denny Cherry.

Sean McCown, Grant Fritchey, Pinal Dave, Jacob Sebastian, and Gail Shaw.

Blogging From the 2009 PASS Community Summit

Brad M. McGehee — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 05:08:11 GMT

Like a lot of other SQL Server bloggers, this week I will attempt to write regular blog entries each day, and hopefully include some photographs of the activities I attend. I am not an “official” PASS blogger, but I will try and offer my perspective of the event, with my own particular slant.

And next week, at SQL Server Connections in Las Vegas, I’ll try to do the same.

To prepare for this, I recently purchased a new netbook computer and digital camera, and hopefully I won’t be too loaded down with technology and wear myself out carrying it around. It will be an interesting experiment that I hope to learn from, and I hope you will find some of it interesting as well.

I flew from Hawaii Friday night, and arrived in Seattle Saturday at noon. The photo is the view of my hotel room at the Sheraton Hotel.

If you are attending PASS, be sure to track me down and say hello.

Amazon.com Author Central Page

Brad M. McGehee — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:56:41 GMT

If you are a book author, Amazon.com now allows authors to promote their books with a new author’s page. The new feature is called Author Central.

Mine is at:

http://www.amazon.com/Brad-M-McGehee/e/B002RWVEB8/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

The page allows you to add a photograph, a short bio, your blog RSS feed, and even a discussion forum. So if you are a SQL Server, or other author, be sure to take advantage of this new feature to help promote your books.

2009 PASS Community Summit and SQL Server Connections Conference, Both in November

Brad M. McGehee — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:51:54 GMT

If you will be attending either the 2009 PASS Community Summit in Seattle, WA, from November 2-5; or the SQL Server Connections Conference in Las Vegas, NV, November 9-12, please stop by and say hello.

I will be making two presentations at both events, and I hope that you can attend them.

At PASS, my presentations include:

“Manage Your Career: Don’t Let It Manage You”, Tuesday, November 3rd
“How to Use SQL Trace”, Wednesday, November 4th

At SQL Server Connections, my presentations include:

“Optimizing tempdb Performance”, Wednesday, November 11th
“Free Software for SQL Server DBAs”, Thursday, November 12th

Get Your SQL Server Questions Answered at ASK.SQLServerCentral.com

Brad M. McGehee — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:12:44 GMT

While the SQLServerCentral.com forums have always been a popular way to get your SQL Server questions answered, and to participate in the greater SQL Server Community, SQLServerCentral.com is now offering a new feature called Ask.SQLServerCentral.com, which is a new way to find answers to your SQL Server questions. You can either find a question that already has answers, or ask any question that has not been covered.

The major difference between Ask.SQLServerCentral.com and the regular SQLServerCentral.com forums is that Ask.SQLServerCentral.com focuses on questions and answers, and not the social community aspects of the forums. In addition, it is built upon the popular Stack Exchange codebase, which allows the best answers to questions to be highlighted, helping you to focus your time on reading the best answers, and avoiding the chaff.

So the next time you have a SQL Server question you need answered fast, and with authority, ask it at Ask.SQLServerCentral.com.