Have you taken the time to plan a fall get-away for some free SQL Server training? You can do this through some of the one-day SQL Server training event happening across the country.
These are great opportunities to learn more about SQL Server and network with your peers that are using it every day. Whether you are the utter newbie or the seasoned pro, there will be something for you at these events.
As part of the fall line-up, I thought I’d highlight a few that I’ll be at before the big show in November – the PASS Summit.
SQL Saturday #50
The first one to talk about is is happening in Iowa City, IA on September 18th, 2010. There are still some registrations available and it’ll be a great event in a small town. About 3-5 hours from everywhere. People will be coming in from Illinois and Minnesota to converge in Iowa.
I’ll be doing some sessions on the following:
Getting To Know Your Indexes
Without proper indexing SQL Server can be hard pressed to create efficient and performant execution plans. Dynamic Management Views (DMV) and system views provide a slew of information about indexes that can be used to analyze indexes within SQL Server. In this session we’ll go under the hood of SQL Server to look at DMVs and system views to know what indexes you have, should have, and how they feel about the way applications are treating them.
Are You Following Your Own Best Practices?
Everyone has their own best practices that they try to follow. But often times we aren’t sure how well we are following our own or industry best practices. In this session we’ll go into monitoring and managing best practices throughout your environment. The session will look at how to create a solution using policy based management and other tools to report on your compliance to best practices.
Using XML to Query Execution Plans
SQL Server stores its execution plans as XML in dynamic management views. The execution plans are a gold mine of information. From the whether or not the execution plan will rely on parallelism to what columns are requiring a key lookup after a non-clustered index seek. Through a the use of XML this information can be available at your fingertips to help determine the value and impact of an index and guide you in improving the performance of your SQL Server databases. In this session we’ll look at how you can begin to understand and query the structure of the execution plans in the procedure cache. Also, we’ll review how to uncover some potential performance issues that may be lurking in your SQL Server.
SQL Saturday #52
The second one is in Englewood, CO on September 25, 2010. If you are in the area, check it out – I’ll be there presenting a couple topics. There will be 36 sessions at the event from 25 local and national speakers. You can register here.
Extended Events, Work Smarter Not Harder
Often, as DBAs, we are presented with the prospect of resolving performance issues. Consider when Bob the Developer shows up accusing the server of inadequacies and expecting resolution. After hours digging through log files and traces and you are able to identify code that Bob deployed that was the root of the problem. What if there was a way to do this type of performance tuning before Bob the Developer shows up and before Sue the User figures out there are performance issues? In this session we’ll take a look at Extended Events and how you can leverage it in every day scenarios. We’ll discuss the ins and outs of how to get detailed information on the errors and events that occur within SQL Server and how to understand the information.
Do SQL Server Certifications Really Matter?
Microsoft has a number of certifications for SQL Server. They cover the DBA, developer and business intelligence skills. But, does anyone take them seriously? In this session, see the tracks for SQL Server certifications and discover what you need to know about the exams. Which track will be right for you? What steps should you take? How do you get going? And what value will they bring to your career?
SQL Saturday #58
The last, but definitely not least, SQL Saturday that I’ll be at will be the Minnesota event on Friday, October 29, 2010. That’s right – a Saturday event on a Friday. We won’t try to make you eat Lutefisk – but we will do you free training a little bit different.
I can’t tell you what sessions I’ll be doing – since the call for speakers is still open. But I can tell you that it’ll be a great time.
If you’ll be in town and want some free training – come and check it out.
Also, though this might be a free event… there are still costs involved. If you’re at a company looking for a way to give back and encourage the growth of both your employees and those in the community around you – take a look at our sponsor page.
We’ve got some great sponsors lined up but are looking for a few more to cover all of the costs. Also, if you are planning to attend – take some time to take a look at the sponsors. If it weren’t for them this event wouldn’t be happening.
Related posts:
- SQL Saturday on a Friday?!?
- Road Trip – Chicago or BUST #sqlsat31
- Webcast Next Week – Using XML to Query Execution Plans
