Tag Archives: SQL Server

SQL Server Social – Movember Edition!

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7609782-wooden-barrelIt’s back! After a very successful pilot event back in May this year, SQL Server Social has been confirmed for November, so it’s time to save a date in your diary so you don’t forget.

Event Details

Date 24th November 2011
Time 5:30pm onwards
Venue The Sherlock Holmes Inn,
415 Collins Street,
Melbourne,
Australia
Special Theme Movember!
Eventbrite link for registration http://sqlserversocial.eventbrite.com/

 

If you are not sure what SQL Server Social is all about, you can either read about the first event here, or check out the following recap:

What is SQL Server Social

SQL Server Social is a monthly event that has been created to provide SQL Server Professionals with a chance to network with industry peers, discuss predefined topics, have a little fun, have a beer and make some new friends.

What is the aim of SQL Server Social

SQL Server Social aims to build local SQL Server communities through regular social meetings, where database professionals can share their experiences and learn from their peers through open discussion.

Movember Edition

This month’s edition is a special one. It’s Movember and that means Mos! Here’s what the campaign is all about:

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces in Australia and around the world. The aim of which is to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and depression in men.

For all the guys planning on attending, let’s see who has the best Mo by the 24th of this month. There’ll still be 6 days remaining until the official end of the campaign, but it’ll be good to see how you are all faring by that stage. This will be my first year participating; you can follow my ‘progress’ on my Mo page – mobro.co/lukehayler. If you feel so inclined, I have also put together a team for SQL Server Social, so show your support for the cause and join in!

Facebook Page!

SQL Server Social now has it’s own Facebook page. This page will be used to keep all the fans in the loop with updates about future events, photos from past events, links to interesting SQL-related sites, and so-on and so-forth…So if you are on Facebook why not tag along and keep up-to-date. Check out the page here.

Twitter!

SQL Server Social is also all over twitter like a bad rash. Follow us for updates – @sqlserversocial

SQL Crosswords

One of the [optional] challenges for the event is to complete a SQL Server Crossword. The SQL Server Crosswords have been generously donated to our cause by John Sansom (blog | @JohnSansom). John is a DBA in the UK and is a frequent blogger at www.johnsansom.com. John has had several awards bestowed upon him including Microsoft’s Community Contributor 2011 and SQLServerPedia’s Professional Development 2010 Winner as well as being a Rock Star Blogger (in Tom La Rock’s rankings). John has a wealth of information on his blog, so do yourself a favour and go check it out.

See you there!

Journey to the PASS Summit 2011 – Part 7 – Day 2 Precon PowerShell

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Today was PowerShell day for me at the PASS Summit. After just 3 hours of sleep last night, I did not expect too much (from myself). However, the coffee was good and the realisation of a new skill was enough to keep me going.

It’s fair to say that, although the presentation was a little disjointed, I have seen the PowerShell ‘light’ and what it is capable of. I intend to follow up this precon with a hefting helping of new blogs to read and scripts to write.

The following are some of the notes from the precon today.

What is PowerShell?

According to Wikipedia, PowerShell is a task automation framework, that consists of a command-line shell and an associated scripting language. With PowerShell, administrators can perform administrative tasks on both local and remote machines.

  • Cmdlets
    • Are specialised commands in the PowerShell environment that implement specific functions.
    • Use a verb-noun naming pattern. i.e.
      • Get-Command
      • Get-Children
    • Sets of commandlets can be combined into scripts and executables.
  • Pipeline
    • PowerShell implements a pipeline, which enables the output of one cmdlet to be ‘piped’ as an input to another; this is done using the ‘|’ character.

 

Variables in PowerShell

Variables in PowerShell are declared (using ‘$’) and set in-line. There is no need to declare them up front, or set their data/object type. The variables will take on the appropriate data/object type for the result(s) that are returned. I don’t know about you, but I think that is all kinds of awesome.

 

PowerShell Profiles

These help to load up certain modules/snapins when you load up PowerShell. This means you can port your profiles to any environment and be able to load into a familiar setup.

 

Comparison operators

Operator Description
-eq Equal to
-ieq Equal to (case-insensitive)
-ceq Equal to (case-sensitive)
-ge Greater than or Equal to
-gt Greater than
-le Less than or Equal to
-lt Less than

Logical Operators

Operator Description
-and And
-ne Not Equal to
-not Not
! Not
-or OR

more operator notes over at http://ss64.com/ps/syntax-compare.html

 

PowerShell Resources – great for those just starting out in PowerShell

Journey to the PASS Summit 2011 – Part 5 – MUST have app ‘Guidebook’

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If you are one of the lucky ones who get to attend this year’s PASS Summit, then this is the Guidebook for your PASS Summit week. Literally – there’s an app called ‘Guidebook’. If you have an iPhone/Android smartphone. Guidebook is the awesomeness that organises your week at the Summit. No question.

When you download Guidebook  and search for ‘PASS’: Bingo! There was the guide for the PASS Summit 2011. W00t! I downloaded the guide, and after having created my schedule for the week all on my phone, I figured you lot need to know about it too. The app and the guide, not my schedule; although if you really want that too then I guess I could share it with you. Just ask.

Here’s why you need Guidebook with the PASS Summit 2011 Guide:

  • Session Schedule builder
  • After hours activities
  • About Seattle
  • Maps (floor plans) of the Convention Centre
  • Twitter (for the #sqlpass hash tag)
  • Sponsor listings
  • Speak listings
  • Exhibitor listings
  • My Schedule

I have no idea who created the guide for the PASS Summit, but it’s great. Thank you!

If you are still not convinced, here are a couple of screen shots:

GuideBook Home Screen

iPhone 977

iPhone 978

iPhone 979

iPhone 982

iPhone 980

iPhone 981

iPhone 984

iPhone 988

iPhone 986

iPhone 987

iPhone 983

iPhone 985

See? It’s awesome. Go get it.

Journey to the PASS Summit 2011 – Part 4 – My Pre Conference Session Picks

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PASS_2011_button_180x180This is Part 4 in a series I am writing about my journey to the PASS Summit 2011. If you missed the previous entries, you can read about them here [Part 1, Part 2, Part 3]. Follow the journey on twitter with the #j2pass2011, and feel free to use the tag for your own journey!

Pre Cons!

Choosing a pre conference session for Monday/Tuesday was rather difficult. Do you choose something completely new to learn, or do you learn something new about a subject area in which you are already fairly familiar? Not to be outdone by my own questions, I chose to do one completely new subject area and one deeper dive into something I am fairly good at (but know I could be even better). Here are my picks:

It’s my belief that you can always improve the skills you already have and that’s why I’m going to Rob’s Pre-con. My T-SQL is pretty good, but I know there are areas that could do with some improvement. I hoping to get quite a bit out of this session. No pressure Rob!

I also believe that you should stretch yourself and try to learn something new every now and again. Especially when it comes to software or processes. Learning something new gives you a broader perspective and you’ll be better equipped to make the right decisions. This is why I’m taking Aaron’s Pre-con. I have only ever heard the great things about PowerShell can do. I’ll be looking to apply this new knowledge immediately for all the BI projects I work on.

New York Microsoft BI User Group Presentation by Nadav Rayman

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My colleague, Nadav Rayman (Blog | @nrayman | LinkedIn), will be giving a presentation to the New York Microsoft Business Intelligence User group on Monday September 12th 2011.In his talk, titled Future Proof your SQL Server Data Warehouse Process, Nadav will explore some of the key questions on the design and organization of your SSIS Packages including:

  • How do we quickly deploy builds to the data warehouse without a big configuration overhead?
  • How do we adapt to timing issue with data availability without pushing out the entire processing schedule?
  • How do we prove the data is right with each refresh and anticipate issues before they are raised by a business user?

So if you are in Manhattan tomorrow, take the time and go and meet Nadav and hear what he has to say. You can find out more about the event here.