Search results matching tag 'User Group Meetings'

T-SQL Tuesday #41 - Presenting and Loving it!

AllenMWhite — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 15:56:00 GMT

For this T-SQL Tuesday Bob Pusateri asked us to share how we came to love presenting.

Before I ever got involved in computing technology I had (and still have) a love for the theatre, specifically musical theatre. When I was little the majority of albums (this was the 1950s, kids) we had were cast albums from Broadway shows my parents had seen at Musicarnival. I performed in shows all through school, and was a Theatre Major at Kent State University before I realized I needed to make a living.

It was this love of "performing" that had employers sending me to the trade shows to talk with customers. I wasn't the typical programmer, I could talk with people, even people I didn't know! One company was so impressed in my performance when I'd played Harold Hill in the show The Music Man that they made me a salesman. That failed miserably.

About eight years ago I started attending meetings of the Cleveland SQL Server group, at the Microsoft office in Independence, Ohio. As people had questions I'd pipe up and answer when I could, and as they needed someone to present I offered to put together my materials as a presentation. The first few times were a bit rough - ok, they were very rough - but the group was gracious and I learned to organize the material better. In addition to the user group presentations I'd been giving training presentations to the staff at work, getting them to understand SQL Server better to make my job as the DBA easier. This helped me develop my skills a lot.

I was first selected to speak at the PASS Summit in 2006, and I presented a session on SMO (Server Management Objects) and my demos all used Visual Basic. After the presentation a number of people came up to me and said they were administrators and weren't allowed to have Visual Studio on their desktop. PowerShell had just been introduced and I adjusted my material to use PowerShell.

Also in 2006 I became a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT). In teaching the official Microsoft courses I learned how to work with material I hadn't created myself, which then helped me build better presentations of my own material. I also learned that having to teach material forced me to learn it better myself. Someone will always ask questions about an aspect of the topic I'd never encountered. I found the best way to learn any topic is to teach it.

In the course of events I became the leader of the Ohio North SQL Server Users Group and at each meeting I ask everyone there to think about putting together a presentation for the group, so we can learn from them, and they can learn it better. We've got a great group of people who now present not just at our group but at others in the area and at SQL Saturdays and even the PASS Summit as well! I can't tell you how pleased I am at how many from our group are regular presenters in the SQL Server community now. These people include Erin Stellato ( b | t ), Sarah Dutkiewicz ( b | t ), Brian Davis ( b | t ), Adam Belebczuk ( b | t ), Craig Purnell ( b | t ), and Colleen Morrow ( b | t ), but more are stepping up regularly, and for that I thank each one of them.

Presenting is one of those magic activities in which everyone benefits. I'm fortunate that I have a natural inclination towards it, but love to see new people stepping up and sharing their experience and knowledge with the rest of the community.

See you at the next event!

Allen

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!

Sep 10 Week - I'll be on the West Coast Speaking in Irvine and San Fran

RickHeiges — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 17:49:00 GMT

In my role as a Solutions Architect for Scalability Experts, I often get to present to customers about the work that we performed. Unfortunately, this is often on short notice and I can't coordinate a trip to participate in a User Group Meeting. Next week, I was able to coordinate my west coast trip to be able to present. I am heading to Irvine at the MTC on Sepember 11 and San Francisco at the MSFT offices on Sep 13 to speak to customers who want to learn more about SQL Server 2012.To register for the Irvine event, click here. To register for the SF event, click here.

Topics covered will include:

Always On Overview
Column Store Index
Licensing Overview
Upgrading to SQL Server 2012

All of this will be covered in about 3 hours and is geared for folks who have not spent a lot of time learning about SQL Server 2012 yet.

Since I knew about this ahead of time, I was also able to secure a chance to speak to the San Francisco SQL Server User Group on the evening of Sep 12. You can read more about it in my previous blog post located here.

Hope to see you there!

Presenting at the San Francisco SQL Server User Group - 12-Sep-2012

RickHeiges — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 22:25:00 GMT

I have a business trip scheduled out far enough in advance for a change. I was able to schedule a presentation at the San Francisco SQL Server User Group on Sep 12 about SQL Server Consolidation Strategies. If you will be in the SF area on Sep 12, I invite you to attend ar just drop by to say hello. You can find out more about the group at http://www.meetup.com/The-San-Francisco-SQL-Server-Meetup-Group/

Hope to see you there!

Speaking at Atlanta.MDF on March 12

RickHeiges — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 03:55:00 GMT

I am fortunate enough to be speaking to a user group with a really cool name - Atlanta.MDF (Microsoft Database Forum). Although I visit Atlanta often, it usually involves running from one councourse to another and rarely do I get the chance to visit the user group. I have made it to the user group on several occassions in the past, but it has been several years. This will be my first presentation to the group.

I will be speaking about Database Consolidation - something I have been doing for years. Here is my abstract:
SQL Server Consolidation Strategies - There are many approaches to SQL Server Consolidation. Each organization has unique business rules that impact the decision on which approach fits their needs best. This session will discuss the various approaches from Instance Stacking / Virtualization to Appliances and where they "fit". There will also be a discussion on the methods for data collection from Perfmon to Powershell and the Microsoft MAP Toolkit. Data Collection is only part of the process. Strategies to uncover the business rules are also discussed as these will be the true limiting factors of how far a consolidation effort can go.

Please register at http://atlantamdf.com/

Please join me if you can; I'd love to see you!

[Speaking] Manage SQL Server 2012 on Windows Server Core with PowerShell

AllenMWhite — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:26:00 GMT

This evening I'll be presenting a brand new session on installing and managing SQL Server 2012 with PowerShell. Here's the abstract:

Windows Server 2008 introduced Server Core, the operating system without the Graphical User Interface. SQL Server 2012 is the first version of SQL Server to support Server Core. To gain the maximum efficiency from your servers you want to make use of Server Core and with PowerShell you can effectively manage SQL Server in that environment. This session will demonstrate how to manage SQL Server 2012 on Windows Server Core and provide scripts to help you perform the common tasks you need to perform on that platform.

Please join us at the Triangle SQL Server User Group meeting in Raleigh, NC for this first look at making your servers more efficient.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Allen

Speaking about Performance and PowerShell

AllenMWhite — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:37:00 GMT

I'll be presenting at the South East Michigan SQL Server User Group (SEMSSUG) tonight. The session will be Gather SQL Server Performance Data with PowerShell.

We all know how important it is to keep a baseline of performance metrics that allow us to know when something is wrong and help us to track it down and fix the problem. We don't always know how to do this easily and consistently. This session will walk you through a series of PowerShell scripts you can schedule which will capture the most important data and a set of reports to show you how to use that data to keep your server running smoothly.

You can register for the meeting via this link: http://semssug20111208.eventbrite.com/

The meeting will be at the Raymond James Southfield Offices, 25900 Telegraph Rd, Southfield, MI 48033. (Actual entrance is on Civic Center Drive, just 100 meters east of Telegraph Rd.) Directions found by clicking here.

The meeting starts at 6pm and runs until 8pm, and DBSophic is the sponsor, providing the pizza.

I hope to see you there.

Allen

We Are SQLFamily

AllenMWhite — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 20:14:00 GMT

On Monday, Tom LaRock (b/@sqlrockstar) presented his #MemeMonday topic as What #SQLFamily Means To Me. The #sqlfamily hash tag is a relatively new one, but is amazingly appropriate.

I've been working with relational databases for almost 20 years, and for most of that time I've been the lone DBA. The only one to set things up, explain how things work, fix the problems, make it go faster, etc., etc., yadda, yadda, yadda. I enjoy being 'the guy', but at the same time it gets hard. What if I'm wrong? Is everything I've told people now taken with suspicion? Sometimes that's happened, and it sucks.

Since I started attending the PASS Summit I've gotten to know a lot more people who do the same thing I do. That's been wonderful, as I have people I can contact if I'm unsure of something. When I was awarded the MVP Award in July, 2007 I became a part of a smaller community, and really got to know many of the people whose work was instrumental in my development.

I met Tom at the PASS Summit in 2008, when I was moderating a panel discussion on automating databases. While the discussion was taking place, in front of a full audience, he and Brent Ozar (b/@BrentO) were typing into their laptops furiously, using this thing called Twitter. I was taken aback, and a bit put off. I've always known that when you're 'on stage', the audience comes first, and these guys were, in my mind, distracted and distracting. What I didn't realize until later was that they were communicating with the audience directly.

Twitter has changed the way we interact with each other. We still work mostly alone, but we have hundreds, even thousands, of people following whatever we choose to share. I can honestly say that I've actually become closer to the SQL community because of it. And yes, Tom, it's become a second family to me. We share our successes and our failures, we ask questions, we answer questions.

Not just SQL stuff, though. On my recent trip to the PASS Summit I drove first to Chicago (from Cleveland, where I live) and caught the train to Portland, my first stop on that amazing trip. I love taking the train, but it arrives in Cleveland, in both directions, at about 3am, and there's no public transportation here at that time. It's actually quicker to drive to Chicago than to take the train. The problem was always 'where do I leave my car'. I asked Wendy Pastrick (b|@wendy_dance) and she was kind enough to provide me driveway space for the 2 weeks I was out west. The return train was 5 hours late getting into Chicago, and Wendy went so far as to drive downtown to pick me up! That's family.

At the end of the week of the PASS Summit, I stayed in Washington to run the Poulsbo Marathon. Kalen Delaney (b/@sqlqueen) lives in Poulsbo and invited me to spend the weekend with her family. She took pictures of me running during the race and crossing the finish line. It was a wonderful weekend, and I truly felt part of her family.

Are there people in that family I don't get along with? Certainly. We all have family members who we don't care for, but they're still family, and this SQL family is no different. But I'll bend over backwards to help out any of them because I know they'll do the same for me, and that's what family is about.

(I won't go into details about Tech Ed 2010 in New Orleans, guys. You were there, you know.)

So, what does #SQLFamily mean to me? A lot. I've got this wonderful, world-wide group of people who all understand what I'm talking about when I talk tech, and who care about me, as I care about them.

What more could we ask for?

Allen

[Speaking] Lots of Speaking Engagements in September and October

AllenMWhite — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:38:00 GMT

As Adam Machanic said, Fall is the busy season for speaking, and it will be for me. Here's a brief list of what's coming up:

On Saturday, September 17 I'll be in Kalamazoo, Michigan for SQL Saturday #84, where I'll be presenting my Automate Policy-Based Management using PowerShell. The lineup of presenters for this event is amazing and I'll be looking to learn as much as I can from the other sessions that day.

The end of September takes me to Liverpool, UK where I'll be presenting at SQLBits 9. I'm thrilled to be a part of this great event, and excited to visit the UK for a short time. I'll be presenting a full day on Automate and Manage SQL Server with Powershell on Thursday, my Gather SQL Server Performance Data with PowerShell session on Friday and my Let Service Broker Help You Scale Your Application session on Saturday.

Saturday, October 8 brings me to Portland, Oregon, for SQL Saturday #92. They haven't published the schedule yet, but there'll be a LOT of great speakers there, and many of us are running in the Portland Marathon, Half Marathon and 10K on Sunday morning. I'll be running the full marathon, while most of the other people in the SQL Saturday group will be running the half marathon. Please come out and cheer us on. (Look on Twitter for the #sqlrun hashtag.)

The biggest SQL Server event in the world brings me to Seattle October 10-14, the 2011 PASS Summit. I'll be presenting two regular sessions this year, Automate Policy-Based Management using PowerShell and Let Service Broker Help You Scale Your Application, and one Lightning Session, So, You Want to Be a Consultant. I've attended every PASS Summit since 2003 and can't wait to see everyone there again this year.

As a side note, I'll be running the Poulsbo Marathon the Sunday after the Summit. I'm working on a goal of running a full marathon in all 50 states, and Portland and Poulsbo will allow me to cross off Oregon and Washington from my list. Wish me luck.

On October 29, I'll be in Louisville, Kentucky for SQL Saturday #87. Mala always does a great job with this event and I look forward to seeing everyone there. (They haven't published the schedule yet, so I don't know what sessions I'll be presenting there.)

Last, but certainly not least on my schedule, I'll be presenting a three-day course called Get to Know PowerShell: Analyzing and Managing SQL Server in Boston, Massachusetts for Data Education, November 14 - 16. I know of no other course that focuses specifically on using PowerShell to manage SQL Server, so sign up for this one as soon as you can. PowerShell is the tool effective administrators will use well into the future, and this course will bring you from zero to effective in three days. I look forward to seeing you there! (I also look forward to taking in a Bruins game while I'm there - they're playing the New Jersey Devils that Tuesday night!)

Well, that's everything I know of right now. I look forward to seeing you at one or more of these events.

Allen

[OT] On Community

AllenMWhite — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 16:47:00 GMT

Last fall, and winter, and spring I was part of the PASS Election Review Committee. It was interesting, sometimes fun, sometimes frustrating, but a very rewarding experience.

My first PASS conference was in the fall of 2003, and I've attended every one since then. The PASS community, as I've gotten to know it, has been supportive at all times, with the singular purpose of getting us, as data professionals focused on SQL Server, the best information we can get to help us succeed. Over the years I've been involved with PASS I've made friends around the world, and my professional life has progressed beyond any reasonable expectation. That would not have happened without PASS and the community around it.

In the last few years, as I've gotten to know people better, I've become privy to more "inside" information - personality traits, some conflicts, that kind of thing. I've become more aware of the 'political' aspect of the community, and the personalities behind it. It's not a 'bad' thing, it's the way life is. It's interesting, and sometimes disturbing. People who are my friends sometimes don't get along with other people who are my friends. It's ok, life is like that. It's part of maturing within an organization.

One of the things I've learned to do is to (mostly) keep my opinions to myself. (Trust me, if you'd known me for any length of time you'd find that incredibly hard to believe.) In 1980/81 I worked with a guy who'd gotten himself and his family out of Romania, when that was an extremely dangerous thing to do. I asked him once about living under such a regime, and he told me that in Romania 'You can think anything you want'. I've learned that that's a useful mantra here, today, in my everyday life.

Don't get me wrong, I value openness, and I think that it's good that we share our problems, because it allows us to help others who may encounter similar problems, or it may help to get those problems resolved. I also think that there's a lot of sharing that shouldn't be shared. It's one thing to rant, it's entirely another to be hurtful.

So, when the issue of openness came up in our ERC deliberations I listened, but I honestly believe that there are decisions that PASS must make that they must keep private. Sometimes decisions that on the surface don't seem to have any negative effect could hurt someone. I'm pleased with the balance we achieved on this topic with our recommendations to the board for the nominating committee. I think there must be a NomCom so some of the issues that should remain private can do so.

The call is out there now for members of the Nominating Committee. If you meet the qualifications - and yes, there are reasonable qualifications everyone must meet to be considered - then please consider taking the time to participate. It will help PASS select the best candidates for the board, and it will help you gain insight into how this great organization we all benefit from really works.

I look forward to seeing you at the PASS Summit in October.

Allen