Rick Heiges : SQL Community, SQL 2008

September 12 in San Fran

RickHeiges — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 02:04:00 GMT

Just a reminder that I will be speaking at the SF UG SQL Server User Group on Sep 12. Here is a link with all of the details. If you are in the area, It would be great to see you!...(read more)

Speaking at Richmond

RickHeiges — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:32:00 GMT

I am honored to be the guest speaker at the Richmond SQL Server User Group on Monday, Sep 15. They usually have their meetings on the 2nd Thursday of the month, but they made a special exception. I will be speaking about SQL Server 2008 and Consolidation....(read more)

Webcast on Enhancing your SQL Server Skills with SQL Server Express

RickHeiges — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:56:00 GMT

Chuck Heinzelman and I are on the Advisory Board for the THRIVE Campaign by Microsoft. The THRIVE campaign is about getting people to use tools that they already own or are FREE to download in order to learn/enhance new skills. I thought right away about...(read more)

Heading to TechEd in about 6 weeks

RickHeiges — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 03:16:00 GMT

I have been attending Teched every year since 2005. Last year, I really did not like the separation that was "forced" between IT Pro and Dev. I like to attend sessions from both areas - SQL covers both areas. I am glad they combined it this year (as it should be IMHO). Once again, I will be in the TLC area where I LOVE to be. The TLCs (Technical Learning Centers) allow you an opportunity to get questions answered by MSFT and User Experts. They also give away some pretty good SWAG too.

Another reason that I like TechEd is that it allows me to expand my education on areaa of SQL Server that I usally do not have normal contact with. This is another reason that I like the combined version.

If you are heading to TechEd, please spend some time in the TLCs and say "HI".

SQL Server 2008 Firestarter Event - Charlotte, NC on Jan 15

RickHeiges — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:54:00 GMT

If you are in the Charlotte area, please come by for a FREE half-day event. You need to register first though at the following link:

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032400468&Culture=en-US

Here is what the schedule looks like.....

	Room Mt. Kilimanjaro	Room Mt. Everest
Noon	Lunch and opening remarks by Peter Shire, Charlotte SQL Server User Group President, and Wayne Snyder PASS President
1:00 PM	SQL Server 2008: Enabling Consolidation for the Enterprise. Rick Heiges (SQL Server MVP). Scalability Experts.	Introduction to Dimensional Modeling. Wayne Snyder (SQL Server MVP), Rafael Salas (SQL Server MVP). Mariner
2:15 PM	T-SQL Improvements And Data Types. Alejandro Mesa (SQL Server MVP). Bank Of America	Accelerating SSAS Design and Performance. David Botzenhart. Mariner.
3:30 PM	SQL Server 2008: Policy-Based Management and Auditing. Paul Waters. Ameco	Creating More Flexible and Richer Reports. John Welch (SQL Server MVP). Mariner
4:30 PM	Prizes and networking

Hope to see you there!

This past Tuesday Night at the Triad SSUG

RickHeiges — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:46:00 GMT

This past Tuesday, I was finally able to attend my local user group meeting. My travel schedule never seemed to match up with the meeting dates this year. It was good to see old friends and meet new faces. John Welch, SQL Server MVP, from Mariner presented on SSRS 2008. The audience had some good questions which made for a great presentation. John will be speaking at the PASS Community Summit in November. This was his second time presenting to this group as he lives just over an hour away in Charlotte. With the price of gas, this is even more appreciated by everyone.

I had started up this group back in 2002 and handed over the reigns to a great team in 2004 as I was going to travel quite a bit with a new position with Scalability Experts in 2005. The group now has an elected Board of Directors and have grown ties with local sponsors and other related user groups in the area. I was happy to see the growth and how it has changed. If you haven't attended a local user group meeting in a while, you are missing out on building your own network , learning something new, and probably FREE Pizza. :-)

Happy Launch Day!

RickHeiges — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 16:56:00 GMT

It's Official, today!

We have a party for SQL Server 2008 in LA! The product may not be shipping, but that won't stop us from having our party.

Seriously, Today marks the beginning of a more useful Launch than the 2005 launch. What am I saying? The Launch Events will probably be more educational for you this time around because there hasn't been as much focus on having a lot of events on 2008 as of yet. Signup today for a launch event near you!

In case you did not hear, PASS Call for Speakers is now open!

RickHeiges — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:39:00 GMT

In the latest PASS Community Connector, there is a call for Speakers for this year's summit in Seattle in November. If you have never been to Seattle in November, it really makes you want to learn more about SQL Server in the breakout sessions. ;-) But seriously, it is a great venue to meet other SQL Server professionals and meet the MSFT who actually write the code for SQL Server itself. You know that since MSFT is located in nearby Redmond that the place will be very accessible to MSFT developers and managers.

Also, did you know that the abstracts that are submitted are reviewed/selected by a committee of PASS Volunteers just like you?

Join other industry professionals and help build the SQL Server community as a 2008 PASS Community Summit speaker in Seattle, Washington, November 18-21. Act now and submit an abstract by the March 28^th Deadline.

All speakers receive:

Complimentary registration to the 2008 PASS Community Summit
Industry recognition
Networking opportunities with thousands of attendees

Microsoft employees are encouraged to submit presentations using the online submission website. Please note that any Microsoft submissions will be reviewed and abstract status will be determined by Microsoft.

For more information, please visit our Call To Speakers website at http://calltospeakers.sqlpass.org/ or e-mail any questions to calltospeakers@sqlpass.org.

3 More Weeks 'til Launch!

RickHeiges — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:57:00 GMT

3 weeks from today, the launch party for SQl Serve 2008 will be on! If you are in Southern California, you will be in the "happening" spot. Enjoy!

Why have a launch without the release of the product? SQL Server 2008 is more of an incremental release. There are some great new features in the product, but the bulk of the change was going from 2000 to 2005. From my point of view, there were many more events and opportunities for education on SQl Server 2005 than 2008. I was at the Launch of SQL Server 2005 in San Francisco. It was a great time, but the content at the launch was not new (at least to me). The content at the launch events over the next few months will most likely be more useful than the content at the 2005 events. If you are like many folks who still have 2000 in your environment and have some servers running 2005, these launch events will be useful. If you haven't seen it already, there will be opportunities in your area to sign-up for a launch event. Another great source of information on SQL Server 2008 will be the local user groups across the nation and worldwide that will be involved in launches.

Get Ready for SQL Server 2008!

RickHeiges — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 14:13:00 GMT

On Jan. 24, there is a FREE virtual conference focused on SQL Server 2008. This is not just a webcast that you can view online. The sessions are scheduled at specific times with Live Q&A following the session from the speakers. Grab one of your SQL buddies and sign-up to attend virtually on Jan. 24!

Drop by the Virtual PASS Booth and say Hello!

Try out SQL 2008 without downloading it!

RickHeiges — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 02:25:00 GMT

In case you have not heard yet.......

SQL Server 2008 CTP5 Beta Now Available for Free in a Secure Hosted Environment!

PASS, MaximumASP, Dell and Intel have partnered to offer this advance preview...

Try out real-world data online in a secure, hosted environment - you don't have to download or install a thing - and your feedback will influence the final version!

Get started today at www.sqlserverbeta.com and discover the powerful functionality of the latest version of SQL Server 2008 including:

Reporting Services
Language Integrated Query (LINQ)
Predictable Query Performance
Transparent Data Encryption
Integrated Full Text Search
Sparse Columns
Spatial Data Types
Grouping Sets

Visit www.sqlserverbeta.com today!

No More HCL - in 2008

RickHeiges — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:25:00 GMT

The old Hardware Compatibility List which was renamed the "Windows Catalog" is no more. When creating a Clustered Solution, you need to have a system that is Certified for clustering or there will be no official support. This has been a point of pain in the past as organizations purchased a clustered solution and then one of the nodes has issues after a year or two. Getting an exact replica of that node is often impossible and impractical. Try explaining to the big wigs that you need to purchase a new system that is 2 years old - not very compelling.

In Windows 2008 and SQL 2008, there is no need for a certified solution. There is a program called clusprep.exe that you run on the nodes of the proposed cluster to test/prepare the nodes. If your system passes, it can run on a cluster.

One drawback of this is that when failing over to a node of lesser "girth", the user experience may suffer. Also, with this change, the base of clustering is changing which means that your upgrade to the 2008 flavor will take some more planning.

If you attended the PASS Community Summit in Denver, you can view the streaming session online on Clustering. It was very educational.

Seemless Upgrade or "seem" less like an upgrade

RickHeiges — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 10:37:00 GMT

Last week at the PASS Community Summit, I was so busy that I did not get a chance to blog about anything. Looking back, I had a great time and learned a few things. In one of the keynotes, I heard MSFT say that the upgrade experience from 2005 to 2008 would be seemless. When I repeated this information to a few other MSFT folks, I got a chuckle. This combined with my experiences and dialogues with friends, colleagues, and other MVPs has led me to this point. SQL 2005 to 2008 upgrade will "seem" less like an upgrade after going through the 2000 to 2005 upgrade.

With so many installations of SQL Server 2000 still out there, the customers are asking for an easier upgrade. I was very happy when I saw the Upgrade Advisor tool for 2005. I think it helped many customers in preparing for this revolution to the current generation of DB engines. I know that MSFT will have tools available for the 2008 upgrade as well. Just as there was more work to go from 6.5 to 70 and less from 7.0 to 2000 typically, there was more work going from 2000 to 2005 than there will be going from 2005 to 2008. Your mileage may vary.

PASS is next month!

RickHeiges — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 14:45:00 GMT

I can't believe it. The PASS COmmunity Summit is only a month away!

Check out the strong SQL Server content at www.sqlpass.org and register today. BI is a growing part of your business and is also a growing part of the content that you will find in Denver this year. Plus Microsoft will have several sessions on SQL Server 2008.

Pre-cons - One of the most popular events at PASS is the pre-conference sessions that take place on Monday and Tuesday. These sessions take a particular topic and dive deep on it for an entire day. Register early so that you get your first choice.

Speakers - Once again, PASS will feature top speakers fro the SQL Community including names that you know from SQLBLOG.com (Kalen, Andrew, Kevin to name a few) and some soon to be well-known names too.

I hope to see you there!

Caught by the roving eye at TechEd, Catching Up on Katmai

RickHeiges — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 01:52:00 GMT

I was in Orlando for Tech for 2.5 days. It was great to see some old friends and make new ones too. I saw fellow SQLBloggers like Kalen, Kevin, and of course Peter to drop a few names. Today, a colleague of mine on the Board of Directors with PASS shot me an e-mail. On the red-gate website, there is a video testimonial by a Sr. DBA from United Health Group. I am caught lurking in the background. Just go to www.red-gate.com and play the video to see me lurking.

Now, on to more SQL Stuff.... I was able to speak with PMs while hanging out in the SQL area about Katmai. I attended 2 sessions on SQL Server 2008. From my first impressions so far, SQL 2005 was the meat and 2008 is the sizzle. There are some really cool things going on in 2008 like the Policy based management functionality to help enforce best practices as well as additional Performance and Scalability enhancements. Usability has also been improved with "Intellisense" finally getting in a release (it was in Beta 1 of Yukon, but got cut). The most general session with an overview of Katmai - SQL 2008 is available for viewing at www.virtualteched.com - I encourage you to view this webcast to get the "big picture" and a few morsels. I have not been able to find the other recorded TechEd sessions on SQL 2008 thus far.

And now for something completely unrealted. This morning, we got a Wii. It was hard to find, but we finally got one at an electronics store by being lucky. Anyway, the Wii has a very different interface that makes game playing very interesting. It tracks the movements of the controllers to enable more "life like" gaming. It isn't going to improve my golf game, but it was still a lot of fun to play by actually swinging your arms like a golf club. Although I only got about an hour to spend with the game system tonight, i felt like I knew what i was doig when first playing the games. i wonder if this will influence the interfaces that we will utilize in the future to conduct business. Will we virtually take out a credit card from our wallet and swipe it to complete a transaction? Will some type of controller movement be our new signature? Where will we store all of the data need for this to happen?