9AM -> 5PM
Saturday, April 10

8:30 - REGISTRATION
 
9AM - INTRODUCTION / WELCOME
 
Analysis Services - Introduction to Business Intelligence with SQL 2008
Justin King
 
What is LINQ – and what the heck is it doing to my database?
Ivan Towlson
 
Database Index investigation with DMVs
Leo Miller
 
Common Misconceptions about Clustering
Leo Miller
 
SQL Server Integration Services 2008
Ben Gracewood
 
12:30 - LUNCH
Hell Pizza, Subway Sandwiches, Giapo Gelato
 
36 to 6 SQL Servers – Consolidation from the Trenches
Peter Ward
 
Data warehousing & BI on SQL Server 2008
Douglas Barrett
 
Comparing SQL in large vs small environments
James Stewart
 
10 things you didn't know about SSMS
Dave Dustin
 
Training for SQL Server 2008 certification, and why it's worth it
Amanda Jackson

5PM - PRIZES / FAREWELL
Software and Licenses from Microsoft, Red-Gate & SQL Sentry

There will be short breaks between each session for toilet or fresh-air.

If you haven't already registered, please do so here:  http://aucklandsql.com/sqlsaturday
Information about the speakers can be found at: http://aucklandsql.com/sql-saturday/speakers.aspx
More details about the sessions can be found at: http://aucklandsql.com/sql-saturday/sessions.aspx

Please note: Pens / Paper are not being provided, so please bring your own in order to take notes.

The venue:  Wolters Kluwer, 41 Centorian Drive, Mairangi Bay.  Map
Free onsite parking is provided all around the building, but please enter using the front steps.

Any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me
 
Cheers
 
Dave Dustin
dave@aucklandSQL.com
+64 27 323 4670

The Microsoft MVP Award is an annual award that recognizes exceptional technology community leaders worldwide who actively share their high quality, real world expertise with users and Microsoft.

I knew about the program, and some people had asked / were surprised I wasn't already tapped given what I do in the SQL community.  I wasn't fussed about being recognised. 

Sure I joked about it with people that it seemed like people who (in my opinion) didn't seem to do anything were being rewarded, but I never expressed a desire to be tagged; I was (and still am) having fun and enjoying helping others.  Being able to help somebody solve a problem with SQL was my reward.  I mean it.  I can’t count the number of “clients” who I have helped by introducing them to generic scripts like index defrag or automated backups without charging them for my “consulting services”.

MVP award announcements come out at the beginning on January, April, July and October.

At 3:40am this morning, an email from the MVP program arrived in my inbox, and for some reason was classified as spam and thus wound up in the Junk Mail folder.

Dear Dave Dustin,

Congratulations! We are pleased to present you with the 2010 Microsoft® MVP Award! This award is given to exceptional technical community leaders who actively share their high quality, real world expertise with others. We appreciate your outstanding contributions in SQL Server technical communities during the past year.

Now I must admit when I checked my email on my phone at 6:30am I was a little disappointed to only see work related material sitting there, but it quickly passed.  It’s not a popularity contest.  If I’m helping people, that’s what’s important.

After spending the morning playing with my son I headed downstairs to my laptop where I could perform my regular checks and tasks.  One of those was checking the junk mail for false positives.  And the above email was there.  Remembering it was still April 1 in the US, I thought some of my friends might have been playing a trick. But no, the links actually lead to the Microsoft servers, and my MVP url was valid.

I knew that a couple of people on Twitter had nominated me throughout the year, and for that I am forever grateful, but it takes more than “give this guy the nod” emails.  So to everybody that backed up these statements, I am in your debt.

As I stated on twitter earlier today…

It’s an honour just to be nominated. I don’t have the words to actually describe being awarded.

Paul Randall (Blog | Twitter) summed it up really well in his renewal post:  “It's a privilege being recognized as a top contributor to the SQL Community, not a right.”

I’m not an eloquent man, so I will finish with this.

Thank you.  Very much.  Please don’t let me let you down.

Hi all,

I’d like to invite you all to the Auckland SQL Saturday, being held on the North Shore of Auckland, on Saturday, April 10th.
 
This is a FREE, full day of sessions covering real world scenarios and situations along with information relevant to current as well as future projects and positions.

• 10 things you didn't know about SSMS 
• 36 to 6 SQL Servers – Consolidation from the Trenches 
• Analysis Services - Introduction to Business Intelligence with SQL 2008 
• Common Misconceptions about Clustering 
• Comparing SQL in large vs small environments 
• Database Index investigation with DMVs 
• Solving the "Running Total" & "Ordinal Rank" Problems 
• SQL Server Integration Services 2008 
• Training for SQL Server 2008 certification, and why it's worth it 
• What is LINQ – and what the heck is it doing to my database?

Plus more...  A full schedule, including session times will be available after Easter.

This event runs from 8:30am -> 5pm, includes lunch and is FREE for all attendees.

Further information and registration can be found here:  http://www.aucklandsql.com/sqlsaturday

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

More info to come VERY soon

In conjunction with the AucklandSQL User Group, we present:

PowerShell for Data Professionals
Tuesday, February 23rd at noon (NZ time)

In this session we will learn to perform several everyday data tasks including user database backups, scripting table objects and evaluating disk space usage with PowerShell. For each task we will explore the benefits of using PowerShell over the standard method. 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 help everyone get their feet wet using PowerShell.

Presenter:
Aaron Nelson is a Senior SQL Server Architect, Database Developer, DBA, and Business Intelligence Developer with over 10 years experience in architecture, development, maintenance, and performance tuning of SQL Server.

He has Experience managing enterprise-wide data needs in both a transactional and data warehouse environment.  He also holds certifications for  MCITP: Business Intelligence Developer, Database Administrator, Database Developer; as well as MCTS: Windows Server Virtualization, Configuration (meaning Hyper-V). Aaron blogs at SQLvariations

LiveMeeting link:
https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/join?id=BJ5M5D&role=attend

If you're on the North Shore and would like to get together to watch this (and have some Pizza & drinks for lunch) drop me a note and I'll sort out a suitable location here.

SQL Server encompasses a wide variety of domains – administrative, development, and design.  But despite years of experience with relational databases, SQL Server practitioners frequently make the same mistakes over and over again.  Wouldn’t you like to learn about those mistakes before they ever happen?  This session will answer questions like:

• What’s the most common Transact-SQL programming mistake and how do I fix it?
• How do database designers cause problems for future generations of application developers and database administrators?
• Why do inexperienced database administrators make their own job more difficult and less efficient?

There are a short list of mistakes that, if you know of them in advance, will make your life much easier.  These mistakes are the “low hanging fruit” of application design, development, and administration.  Once you apply the lessons learned from this session, you’ll find yourself performing at a higher level of efficiency and effectiveness than before.

 
1 hour LiveMeeting session, starting at 8am on Thursday 11th February, 2010.  (NZ times)
 
http://www.sqlpass.org/Events/ctl/ViewEvent/mid/521.aspx?ID=291

A big party is being held to honor relational database systems & their impact on the modern society.  Outside the hotel, the host awaits the guests.

The first limousine arrives and out steps Oracle followed by 4 people

Host: Who have you brought along?
Oracle: I have 4 DBA's in tow. One to install me, one to design the databases, one to administer me and the other to justify the cost.

A second limo arrives and out steps DB2 followed by 40 people

Host: Who have you bought along?
DB2: I have 2 DBA's, 2 hardware specialist and 36 consultants.

A third limo arrives and out steps SQL Server all on his own.

Host: Why haven't you brought anyone?
SQL Server: I didn't bring anyone because I am easy to install and am basically self managing. But I did bring the #sqlhelp twitter hashtag for when the sh*t hits the fan.

20 minutes later, up rushes MySQL, unshaved, hair a mess.

Host: Where have you been MySQL
MySQL: Sorry, I thought it was February 31st

A SQL Query walks into a bar. Walks up to 2 tables and says, "May I join you?"

Look, I'm not dead.  Just been very busy, and unfortunaley have neglectied this blog.

I've made a list of resolutions for the new year, and keeping this site updated is one of them.  I plan on a lot more technical (SQL, .NET development and Windows server products) posts. 

Also, the date on this post will say 2009/12/31 becuase it's hosted in the US.  This will be corrected in the new year.

Brad M. McGehee is the Director of DBA Education for Red Gate Software; an accomplished Microsoft SQL Server MVP with over 14 years’ SQL Server experience, over 6 years’ training experience, and has been involved in the industry since 1982.
 
A well-respected and trusted name in SQL Server literature, Brad is the author or co-author of more than 14 technical books and over 100 published articles.
 
 
Auckland
Monday 19th
http://aucklandsql.com/Meetings/Brad-McGehee.aspx
 
DBA 101: Best Practices Every DBA Should Know
This session focuses on key fundamentals, such as: Installing & Upgrading SQL Server; SQL Server Configuration; User Data and Log File Management; Database Configuration Settings; Configuring Critical Maintenance Jobs; Setting Up Alerts for Critical Errors; Security Basics; Implementing a Backup Strategy; Creating a Disaster Recovery Plan; Testing; Monitoring; and Documentation

Wellington
Tuesday 20th
http://wellington.sqlpass.org/Home/tabid/1764/Default.aspx
 
How to Optimise tempdb Performance
DBAs often don’t spend a lot of time watching tempdb performance. They think of it as a black box that takes care of itself. What many DBAs don’t fully realize is how tempdb performance can affect SQL Server’s overall performance. In this session, we will cover how tempdb is used; tempdb internals; how to monitor tempdb; and how to optimize tempdb for best performance.

 
Christchurch
Wednesday 21st
http://www.dot.net.nz/Lists/Events%20Calendar/DispForm.aspx?ID=144
 
Want to become an exceptional DBA?
Becoming a DBA doesn’t have to be just a job; it can be a very rewarding career. While many DBAs are happy with just getting by, the Exceptional DBA is not only outstanding in their knowledge of SQL Server, they are consummate professionals who are in high demand, and command high salaries.
 

Dunedin
Thursday 22nd
http://www.dot.net.nz/Lists/Events%20Calendar/DispForm.aspx?ID=137
 
Best Practices Every SQL Server DBA Must Know 
With the continued popularity of SQL Server, more and more people are becoming SQL Server DBAs, whether they planned to or not. Many of these DBAs don’t have formal training, but are doing the best they can under the circumstances. Most of these DBAs want to do a good job, but just don’t know where to start. While Books Online is a great reference tools, it doesn’t tell someone what they need to know about commonly established best practices that experienced DBAs know by heart.