EDMPASS - August Meeting w/Aaron Nelson

admin — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 16:03:08 +0000

On August 25th 2010 the Edmonton Chapter of PASS is having it’s next meeting. Details below:

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/792195478

Please be sure to not only click the “Add to my calendar” but also the “Register” button so that we can plan accordingly for food and drinks.

Date: August 25th 2010
Time: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Location: Stanley A. Milner library
Map: 7 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Meeting Room: Centennial Room - Basement
Speaker: Aaron Nelson
Topic: Powershell for Database Professionals

Session Abstract:

In this session we will begin exploring the amazing world of the PowerShell language. We will learn to perform several everyday DBA tasks like backing up user databases, scripting table objects and evaluating disk space usage with PowerShell; then we will change these into multi-server scripts by adding only a single line of code. We will also take a look at some data visualization techniques that require only a small amount of code. Only a basic understanding of PowerShell or DOS is needed. This session should serve as a good introduction to PowerShell for database users. The goal is to get data professionals feet wet about PowerShell and ready to practice it when they leave. Yes you will get a copy of the scripts I use.

Presenter Information: Aaron Nelson (@SQLvariant)

sqlvariant.com/wordpress/
Aaron Nelson is a Senior SQL Server Architect with over 10 years experience in architecture, business intelligence, development, and performance tuning of SQL Server.
He has experience managing enterprise-wide data needs in both transactional and data warehouse environments. Aaron holds certifications for MCITP: Business Intelligence Developer, Database Administrator, Database Developer; as well as MCTS: Windows Server Virtualization, Configuration (meaning Hyper-V).

Agenda:
5:00 pm - Pizza and Socializing
5:30 pm - Sponsor Presentation
5:45 pm - Feature Presentation
7:00 pm - Wrap Up and Draws

If you haven’t signed up already at EDMPASS.com please do so now to receive meeting notifications, news, and updates from EDMPASS.

Hope to see you there.

EDMPASS - July Meeting w/Brent Ozar

admin — Mon, 31 May 2010 20:02:01 +0000

On July 7th 2010 the Edmonton Chapter of PASS is having it’s next meeting. Details below:

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/686883487

Please be sure to not only click the “Add to my calendar” but also the “Register” button so that we can plan accordingly for food and drinks.

Date: July 7th 2010
Time: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Location: Stanley A. Milner library
Map: 7 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Meeting Room: Centennial Room - Basement
Speaker: Brent Ozar
Topic: Virtualization and Magicians: Dealing with Virtual SQL Server

Session Abstract:

Virtualization and Magicians: Dealing with Virtual SQL Server

So the sysadmins told you they’ve learned a few tricks, and they’re going to virtualize your database servers. In this session, we’ll talk about our real-world experiences with virtual SQL Servers and how to help the sysadmins avoid implementation mistakes that will saw SQL Server’s performance in half.

How to configure CPU, memory and storage for virtual environments
How to benchmark your servers and make sure they’ll handle your loads
Common pitfalls like antivirus definition downloads that can cripple your servers
What to watch for after V-day

Presenter Information: Brent Ozar

Brent is a SQL Server Domain Expert with Quest Software. Brent has a decade of broad IT experience, performing systems administration and project management before moving into database administration. In his current role, Brent specializes in performance tuning, disaster recovery and automating SQL Server management. Previously, Brent spent 2 years at Southern Wine & Spirits, a Miami-based wine & spirits distributor.

Brent has experience conducting training sessions, has written several technical articles, and blogs prolifically at http://www.BrentOzar.com. He’s currently writing SQL Server Internals and Troubleshooting for Wiley/Wrox along with Christian Bolton, and Justin Langford. He’s Editor-in-Chief at SQLServerPedia.com, where he also records video podcasts.

Agenda:
5:00 pm - Pizza and Socializing
5:30 pm - Sponsor Presentation
5:45 pm - Feature Presentation
7:00 pm - Wrap Up and Draws

If you haven’t signed up already at EDMPASS.com please do so now to receive meeting notifications, news, and updates from EDMPASS.

Hope to see you there.

EDMPASS Meeting - May 26th w/Colin Stasiuk

admin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 23:30:44 +0000

On May 26th 2010 the Edmonton Chapter of PASS is having it’s next meeting. Details below:

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/623637316

Please be sure to not only click the “Add to my calendar” but also the “Register” button so that we can plan accordingly for food and drinks.

Date: May 26th 2010
Time: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Location: Stanley A. Milner library
Map: 7 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Meeting Room: Centennial Room - BASEMENT
Speaker: Colin Stasiuk
Topic: Policy Based Management… not JUST for SQL Server 2008

Session Abstract:

Policy Based Management… not JUST for SQL Server 2008

In this live session we’re going to be getting a quick overview of Policy Based Management for the people who are not familar with it but then the “guts” of the presentation will be showing how to work with Policy Based Management in previous versions of SQL Server (2000 and 2005).

The biggest misconception I’ve heard time and time again is…. “Policy Based Management sounds great but I’m still on SQL 2000 or SQL 2005″. Out of the box Policy Based Management can evaluate previous versions of SQL Server but we’re going to take that knowledge and with the use of PowerShell we’re going to expand on it and created an automated solution of evaluating and tracking not only your SQL 2008 instances but also your SQL 2000 and SQL 2005 instances.

Please be advised that this presentation may go over time as there will be alot of content covered and live demos and Q&A.

Presenter Information: Colin Stasiuk

Colin Stasiuk is an MCP, MCTS SQL 2005/2008, MCITP DBDEV, and MCITP DBA. Currently, he is an independent consultant contracted to Vantix Systems and working for the Government of Alberta.

Colin is an accomplished Microsoft SQL Server DBA who has been working with SQL Server since 1996. He is the founder of Benchmark IT Consulting and is always willing to lend a hand with questions in many SQL Server community forums and via Twitter (http://twitter.com/BenchmarkIT) . His specialties include SQL Server Administration, Performance Tuning, Security, Best Practice / Standards, Upgrades, and Consolidation.

Colin is a proud PASS member, President of EDMPASS, and has recently co-authored a book on SQL Server 2008 Policy Based Management.

Agenda:
5:00 pm - Pizza and Socializing
5:30 pm - Sponsor Presentation
5:45 pm - Feature Presentation
7:00 pm - Wrap Up and Draws

If you haven’t signed up already at EDMPASS.com please do so now to receive meeting notifications, news, and updates from EDMPASS.

Hope to see you there.

EDMPASS Meeting Tomorrow April 28th 2010

admin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:12:50 +0000

SLIDE DECK NOW AVAILABLE: http://spkr8.com/t/3063/

On April 28th 2010 the Edmonton Chapter of PASS is having a BONUS meeting. Details below:

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/620818886

Please be sure to not only click the “Add to my calendar” but also the “Register” button so that we can plan accordingly for food and drinks.

Date: April 28th 2010
Time: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Location: Stanley A. Milner library
Map: 7 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Meeting Room: 6th Floor - Room 7
Speaker: Aaron Bertrand
Topic: SQL Server Management Studio Tips and Tricks

Session Abstract:

SQL Server Management Studio Tips and Tricks

A collection of little things you can do with Management Studio so you can start faster, work smarter, prevent mistakes, and present better.

Presenter Information: Aaron Bertrand

I’ve been blogging on this site since late 2006, after selling the FAQ site I started almost 10 years earlier (aspfaq.com). My focus here is mainly on keeping people up to speed with updates for SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008, as well as deeper info on new features (such as Unicode compression in SQL Server 2008 R2), but I also post the occasional technical post. A recent series of entries I called “Bad Habits to Kick” tied for runner-up in the series category for the PASS Log Reader Awards (my “Stored Procedure Best Practices Checklist” post from last year took first place in the T-SQL category).

I’ve been a Microsoft MVP since 1997, have spoken at several user group meetings, SQL Saturdays and code camps, and this year was involved in a spectacular project with 52 other MVPs, where we each wrote one or two chapters for a unique compilation book called SQL Server MVP Deep Dives - with all author proceeds going to the charity War Child International.

In my day job I am a DBA for OTOLabs , a division of One to One Interactive. My official title is “Senior Data Architect,” but in addition to designing schema and writing data access code, I wear several other hats, including UI developer (C#), occasional blogger, and the target of many anti-Canadian jokes.

During my spare time, I tweet as @AaronBertrand and I try to help people out on StackOverflow. I also file a boatload of SQL Server issues on Microsoft Connect.

Agenda:
5:00 pm - Pizza and Socializing
5:30 pm - Sponsor Presentation
5:45 pm - Feature Presentation
7:00 pm - Wrap Up and Draws

If you haven’t signed up already at EDMPASS.com please do so now to receive meeting notifications, news, and updates from EDMPASS.

Hope to see you there.

EDMPASS Meeting on April 7th Cancelled

admin — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:44:26 +0000

Message from Colin Stasiuk:

“I’d like to apologize to everyone for the missed EDMPASS meeting last night. I was in Calgary for Easter weekend and had some severe abdominal pain that took me to the hospital Sunday and it kept me there on IV with a chance of surgery. I was discharged on Wednesday (last) night. I came back to Edmonton last night and am taking a couple days to recover. This is the first meeting that needed to be cancelled and I feel horrible about it. I hope to see everyone at the next meeting on April 28th

Details: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/620818886

Our May meeting is already booked as well and to go with my book release I’ll be doing a session on Policy Based Management.

Details: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/623637316

I’ll update EDMPASS.com when I get back on my feet a little more and look forward to catching up with all of you.
Thanks
~ Colin”

EDMPASS Meeting April 7th 2010

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:28:53 +0000

On April 7th 2010 the Edmonton Chapter of PASS is having it’s next meeting. Details below:

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/597067846

Please be sure to not only click the “Add to my calendar” but also the “Register” button so that we can plan accordingly for food and drinks.

Date: April 7th 2010
Time: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Location: Stanley A. Milner library
Map: 7 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Meeting Room: 6th Floor - Room 7
Speaker: Brent Ozar
Topic: Virtualization and Magicians: Dealing with Virtual SQL Server

Session Abstract:

Virtualization and Magicians: Dealing with Virtual SQL Server

How to configure CPU, memory and storage for virtual environments
How to benchmark your servers and make sure they’ll handle your loads
Common pitfalls like antivirus definition downloads that can cripple your servers
What to watch for after V-day

Presenter Information: Brent Ozar

Agenda:
5:00 pm - Pizza and Socializing
5:30 pm - Sponsor Presentation
5:45 pm - Feature Presentation
7:00 pm - Wrap Up and Draws

If you haven’t signed up already at EDMPASS.com please do so now to receive meeting notifications, news, and updates from EDMPASS.

Hope to see you there.

EDMPASS Meeting - January 27th 2010

admin — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:04:53 +0000

On January 27th 2010 the Edmonton Chapter of PASS is having it’s next meeting. Details below:

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/503789849

Please be sure to not only click the “Add to my calendar” but also the “Register” button so that we can plan accordingly for food and drinks.

Date: Jan 27th 2010
Time: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Location: Stanley A. Milner library
Map: 7 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Meeting Room: Centennial Room - Basement Level
Speaker: Buck Woody
Topic: Improvements in SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008R2

Live Meeting:

https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/join?id=55GG4M&role=attend&pw=q%5C%5C6%5B%23%22gD

Session Abstract:

“Come hear Buck Woody, Microsoft’s “Real World DBA”, explain the improvements in SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008R2 over SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005. He’ll show you what the new features are for developers and DBA’s and a quick overview of the new Business Intelligence features. He’ll show some practical examples of the new Transact-SQL statements, management features, and data types so that you can figure out where it fits in your organization.”
Presenter Information: Buck Woody (http://blogs.msdn.com/buckwoody/)

Buck Woody has been working with Information Technology since 1981. He has worked for the U.S. Air Force, at an IBM reseller as technical support, and for NASA as well as U.S. Space Command as an IT contractor. He has worked in most all IT positions from computer repair technician to system and database administrator, and from network technician to IT Manager and with multiple platforms as a Data Professional. He has been a DBA and Database Developer on Oracle systems running on a VAX to SQL Server and DB2 installations. Buck has a business degree and several industry certifications, including MCSE, MCDBA and Brainbench DBA. He is the author of over 400 SQL Server articles and five published SQL Server books; he is the site personality on InformIT.com’s SQL web, and was the President of the Tampa SQL User’s Group for 5 years. He was awarded the Microsoft MVP Award in 2006 for SQL Server, and started work in the SQL Server Team at Microsoft a year later. He has over twenty years extensive professional and practical experience in computer networks and database design. He also teaches a Database Design course at the University of Washington.

Agenda:
5:00 pm - Pizza and Socializing
5:30 pm - Sponsor Presentation
5:45 pm - Feature Presentation
7:00 pm - Wrap Up and Draws

If you haven’t signed up already at EDMPASS.com please do so now to receive meeting notifications, news, and updates from EDMPASS.

Hope to see you there.

December 16th SlideDeck and Notes

admin — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 01:21:56 +0000

A big thanks once again to Trevor Barkhouse for delivering a great presentation via Live Meeting on Leveraging PSSDiag/SQLDiag for Efficient Troubleshooting. Everyone in the room had great things to say about the presentation and didn’t mind at all that the meeting went longer then usual.

Here is the slidedeck from the presentation in pdf format. Download PDF

Also people were asking about a Twitter list for SQL Server Professionals…. this is the best list that I know of. SQLServerPedia Twitter List

Stay Tuned for our January 27th meeting announcement with the one and only Buck Woody!!

For those of you who are not in Edmonton and cannot attend this will be our first attempt at recording a LiveMeeting presentation and making it available to all… Live Meeting link to follow.

~ Colin

EDMPASS Meeting December 16th 2009

admin — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:50:55 +0000

** PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE IN ROOM LOCATION **

On December 16th 2009 the Edmonton Chapter of PASS is having it’s next meeting. Details below:

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/493354637

Please be sure to not only click the “Add to my calendar” but also the “Register” button so that we can plan accordingly for food and drinks.

Date: Dec 16th 2009
Time: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Location: Stanley A. Milner library
Map: 7 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Meeting Room: Centennial Room - Basement Level
Speaker: Trevor Barkhouse
Topic: Leveraging PSSDiag/SQLDiag for Efficient Troubleshooting

Session Abstract:

Over the years, Microsoft Customer Service and Support has developed a number of amazing tools for troubleshooting SQL Server. Thankfully many of these tools have been shared with the public. In this session I will demonstrate the configuration and usage of PSSDiag (for SQL Server 2000) and SQLDiag (for SQL Server 2005 and 2008), which collect valuable diagnostic data.

We will then analyze the data using PAL, SQL Nexus, and a few scripts of my own. Come and see how these tools can save you massive amounts of troubleshooting time!

Presenter Information: Trevor Barkhouse (http://sqlserversleuth.com/)

Trevor Barkhouse is a member of the Database Implementation and Escalations team at Terremark Worldwide, Inc., a leading global provider of IT infrastructure services. His team is responsible for the deployment, maintenance, and problem resolution for several hundred SQL Server instances belonging to Terremark’s customers. Trevor has a passion for automation, performance tuning, and troubleshooting. His years as a software developer (before realizing his love of database administration) led to being very comfortable with coding, T-SQL or otherwise, and his love for automating as much of his work as possible. Trevor is very active in the SQL Server community, presenting to the North Texas SQL Server Users Group (where he also serves on the board of directors) and the Greater Fort Worth SQL Server Users Group.

EDMPASS + Twitter = Hockey Tickets?

Agenda:
5:00 pm - Pizza and Socializing
5:30 pm - Sponsor Presentation
5:45 pm - Feature Presentation
7:00 pm - Wrap Up and Draws

If you haven’t signed up already at EDMPASS.com please do so now to receive meeting notifications, news, and updates from EDMPASS.

Hope to see you there.

It’s Bring Your Boss to EDMPASS Day

admin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:46:39 +0000

For the next EDMPASS meeting on November 25th I was thinking that you (as a SQL Server professional) might already know the value of the PASS Summit but it’s their boss that really needs to see/hear the value in order to approve that training request for the Summit in 2010.

So what we’re doing is this… if you get your boss to register and attend the next EDMPASS meeting BOTH you and your boss will be entered in a draw for….

If DJ Hero is not for you… with Christmas coming around the corner I’m sure there is someone on your list that would love it!

So whether it’s the free food, drinks, prizes, or a general thirst for SQL Server knowledge… do what you can to get your boss to register and attend the next EDMPASS meeting on November 25th.

Even if you don’t win DJ Hero, having your boss listen and understand what it means to attend the PASS Summit has more value then you could imagine.

Q: What if I’m my own boss (ie Independent Consultant)

A: Then bring a SQL friend new to EDMPASS for a chance to win