May 2009 - Posts

• New Swiss PASS Chapter Logo

  The brief was to create a logo for the Chapter that represented Swissness as well as being part of PASS. Something subtle, yet effective.  We had 29 respondants submit 49 entries over the course of 7 days and there were some really good entries in there as well! The winner was awarded $150 USD, so both them and we are happy :o) In the end I chose the image below, and I hope you like it too. To see it context of the website, just go to www.sqlpass.ch Let me know what you think, I'd be very interested in your feedback!     Posted May 28 2009, 08:50 PM by Charley Hanania with no comments Filed under: Swiss PASS Chapter, PASS

• SQL Server 2008 R2 CTP

  You may have read my post on the next version of SQL Server coming out called SQL Server 2008 R2, which is expected to launch Q2 next year (2010). Well the CTP will be made available soon for people to play with, but as Simon Sabine has mentioned in his post spaces will be limited, so register soon if you want to get in!  http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/r2.aspx   Posted May 24 2009, 12:19 PM by Charley Hanania with no comments Filed under: SQL Server 2008 R2, CTP

• SQL Server 2008 Books Online - May Update

  SQL Server Professionals are lucky to have what I believe to be the most comprehensive set of product documentation available to them FREE from the vendor through SQL Server Books Online. Added to that is the wealth of Community Content provided to us from Blogs and online information sources like MSDN, TechNet, MSSQLTips, PASS Chapter Websites, SQLServerPedia, SQLMag (etc...) and we really have no excuse for saying that we can't find info on any particular topic :o) The latest Update to Books online has been released and is available here My preference is to always have it installed on my local workstation in case the online (web) version is unavailable due to browser connectivity issues etc...... Posted May 23 2009, 06:14 AM by Charley Hanania with no comments Filed under: SQL Server 2008

• Swiss SQL Saturdays - Update

  "Swiss SQL Saturdays" organisation is well underway and I've spoken now to a good number of stakeholders and possible contributors. I've been lucky now to have lined up some speakers, both from within Switzerland and without, and am now looking at whether anyone from the Swiss regional areas and communities would like to come aboard to help out. Remember, this is the general theme, overview and idea of the event: Free event for SQL Server professionals or those looking to get more insight into it; 3 tracks :: DBA, Developer and BI Location 1st time round - Zurich, kindly provided by Digicomp : They're giving us a whole floor in their Zurich Academy offices which allows us to run the 3 tracks in parallel and host over 100 people. Its a community event : This means that the main reason for it is to give you all a platform to learn, network and communicate with like- minded/skilled/experienced people. We're still deciding between Saturday 19th and 26th of September 2009, register on www.SQLPass.ch and let me know your preference via msn messenger or the feedback pages. Sponsors will be exhibiting at the event, current expectation is that you'll have access to recruiters, software vendors, training providers and service providers. Exactly what we need in recessive economies. After-party drinks! To be sure! The website is coming along nicely now too, I've got a brilliant designer working on it and she's doing a great Job! Stay tuned.. :)   Posted May 22 2009, 09:03 PM by Charley Hanania with no comments Filed under: SQL Server 2008, Swiss PASS Chapter, PASS, Free Offer, SQL Saturday

• Help offered: SQL Server 2005 / 2005 Certifications

  I recently met up with one of the Swiss PASS Chapter members who is looking to undertake his SQL Server 2005 Certification exams. Apart from wishing him the best of luck, we reviewed a lot of the content generally covered within the MOC syllabus' (I'm an MCT), SQL Server architecture and walked through a lot of areas that he wasn't 100% clear on. We did this over a few hours in the evening after work, and it looks like a great thing for me to do again for any Chapter member who needs that "review" in preparation for the exams. I am by no means encouraging people to come to me to to take them through the whole technology base, but if you're motivated and have done enough of your own groundwork then I'm happy to have a free evening session where we could have a 1:1 discussion, walkthrough and hands-on review of the SQL Server topics of interest. If enough people subscribe to the offer for help, then we could look into having a workgroup type approach to it, similar to what we used to do at Uni, order in some pizza and work through it all together. Ping me if its relevant or of interest, my contact details are on the Swiss PASS Chapter Website. Remember the offer is free, this isn't a money-making scheme, but don't abuse it ;) Posted May 10 2009, 11:15 PM by Charley Hanania with no comments Filed under: SQL Server 2008, Swiss PASS Chapter, PASS, SQL Server 2005, Certification, Free Offer, Training

• Prepare for the NEXT Version of SQL Server

  I just got back from the May Chapter meeting and found out some great stuff that I've done a little more digging into the post to you about! We know that Microsoft has stated that within its product release cycle for SQL Server we should expect to see a new version of SQL Server every 3rd year. Starting with with SQL Server 2005, it proved tru with SQL Server 2008 and so SQL Server's next release (codenamed Kilimanjaro) should be expected in 2011. For those of you who are constantly looking at updating your skills, experience and certifications that means proves to be a pretty dificult task. SQL Server is in itself a rich and broad platform with SQL Server Database Engine, SQL Server Analysis Services, SQL Server Integration Services and SQL Server Reporting Services each having their own experience bases and focus areas. Would you then be surprised to hear that the 2011 date might slip? How far I hear you say? Well prepare yourself for a shock. Instead of slipping the date back, say to 2012 its said that its going to be moved forward! How far? 2010's 1st half of the year! So will we then have SQL Server 2010? No, similar to what's happening in the Windows space its believed that it will be called SQL Server 2008 R2, with some great enhancements to the product line for scaleability and performance.   Posted May 06 2009, 01:37 AM by Charley Hanania with no comments Filed under: SQL Server 2008, New Features, Swiss PASS Chapter, SQL Server 2008 R2