Schedule

Day 1

Time Room 1 Room 2 Room 3
8:30 - 9:00 Check-In
9:00 - 9:10 Welcome
9:10 - 10:10 Keynote - Key Database Trends
Paul Nielsen
10:10 - 10:20 Planning Your Days - Eric Johnson
10:30 - 11:40 Introduction to SSIS
Eric Johnson
What's New is SQL Server 2008
Kevin Cox
Changing Role of the DBA
Bryan Oliver
11:40 - 12:40 Lunch
12:40 - 1:50 Bi-Temporal Database Issues
Wolfgang Baeck
Introducing the SQL Server 2008 Data Collector
Brad McGehee
A New Encoding Scheme for Representing Materialized Path Hierarchies in SQL Server
Troy Ketsdever
2:00 - 3:10 Replication 101
Tom Norman
Compression in Katmai
Steve Jones
Mastering Data with the Power of MDX
Joe Lax
3:20 - 4:30 Getting the Most Out of Profiler
Brad McGehee
Spatial Data in SQL Server 2008
David Gollob
Pragmatic Data Architecture
Paul Nielsen

Day 2

Time Room 1 Room 2 Room 3 Room 4
8:00 - 8:30 Check-In
8:30 - 9:30 Keynote - CS Techcast Live Roundtable - www.cstechcast.com
9:40 - 10:50 No Session
Mission Critical Applications on SQL Server 2008
Kevin Cox
Comparing and Contrasting Designs for Hierarchy Representation in T-SQL
Troy Ketsdever
Understanding SQL Server Profiler
Joe Lax
11:00 - 12:10 LINQ Up With Developers
Ben Hoelting
Policy Based Management of SQL Server
Josh Jones
Getting Started with Analysis Services
Mike White
12:10 - 1:00 Lunch
1:00 - 2:10 Nordic
Paul Nielsen
A Peek Behind Excel Data Mining
Mike White
Creating an encrypted data store
Pat Suppes
2:20 - 3:30 Understanding SQL CLR
Ben Hoelting
Auditing and Compliance
Russ Tuttle
SQL Server in VLDB projects
Kevin Cox
3:45 - 4:30 Q & A and Give away

Session Descriptions:

Topic Description
Keynote - Key Database Trends
Paul Nielsen
This is a season of change for the database community – “Beyond Relational”, XML, new versions, new technologies, and new hardware capabilities. Do the old ways still apply? This session takes a hard look at these changes and makes sense of this season of change.
Replication 101
Tom Norman
Policy Based Management of SQL Server
Josh Jones
One of the most difficult tasks that administrators face in managing complex database environments is ensuring that all elements of the system conform to their company's established security and usage policies. Administrators need to constantly monitor the security surface area of the entire database server, along with permissions and settings for every database, table, user, role, and schema. Policy-Based Management is a policy-based system for managing one or more instances of SQL Server 2008. Policy-Based Management consists of three components: policy management, policy administrators who create policies, and explicit administration. Administrators select one or more managed targets and explicitly check that the targets comply with a specific policy, or explicitly force the targets to comply with a policy. Throughout this session, we'll see three examples of how Policy-Based Management can help administrators effectively establish and monitor policies for their database environment.
What's New is SQL Server 2008
Kevin Cox
Getting the Most Out of Profiler
Brad McGehee
One of the most powerful tools available to the SQL Server DBA is SQL Server Profiler. While many DBAs are familiar with the fundamentals of this tool, they often lack a complete understanding of how they can use it to identify and troubleshoot many different types of SQL Server problems.
In this session, attendees will learn specific techniques that they can apply to solving common SQL Server problems. These include: slow performing queries, blocking, deadlocking, sort warnings, excessive auto stats activity, excessive stored procedure compilations, excessive table/index scans, and SQL Server Profiler best practices.
Attendees should be very familiar with the basics of using SQL Server Profiler, as they will not be taught. The emphasis is on learning advanced techniques to solving real-world problems.
Pragmatic Data Architecture
Paul Nielsen
This session unpacks the Data Architecture Principle into the six measurable attributes of a data-centric application; Data Integrity, Performance/Scalability, Usability, Extensibility, Security, and Availability, and discusses the benefits and lifecycle costs of each attribute.
Based on the premise that it’s possible to achieve a balance of all six attributes though the pragmatic application of principle-driven data architecture, the specific tasks and designs patterns that result in each attribute will be presented as they relate to each of the five database related roles (data architect, data modeler, database developer, database administrator, and data quality analyst) that contribute to the six properties.
This session will be presented at Microsoft TechEd Developer.
Introducing the SQL Server 2008 Data Collector
Brad McGehee
The SQL Server 2008 Data Collector (also sometimes called the Performance Studio) allows DBAs to collect and analyze a wealth of SQL Server performance information.
In this session, attendees will learn what the Data Collector does, how to set it up, and how to create your own data collection objects.
Attendees should have a basic understanding of SQL Server performance tuning using DMVs, Performance Monitor and Profiler.
A New Encoding Scheme for Representing Materialized Path Hierarchies in SQL Server
Troy Ketsdever
A number of different designs have been proposed for storing hierarchical data using SQL, with certain implementations taking advantage of T-SQL extensions to simplify the model and improve performance. In this presentation, we take a look at a new means for representing hierarchies in a high-performance way for SQL Server, complete with reference example. Includes comparisons with materialized path representation.
Changing Role of the DBA
Bryan Oliver
Compression in Katmai
Steve Jones
Mastering Data with the Power of MDX
Joe Lax
You consider yourself a master of data able to code SQL queries in response to all user requests regardless of complexity. But you wonder, “Isn’t there a better way? Isn’t there some other technology that would make my life easier?”
Then the coffee break is over and thoughts of getting home at a normal hour evaporate as you tackle yet another request. Well, having dinner with your family isn’t an idle daydream anymore. Joe Lax, the President of DB Directions, will demonstrate:
1. Questions that are important in understanding business that are difficult to answer in SQL
2. Concepts behind the MDX language
3. How using the power of MDX one can build cubes in SQL Server 2005 that answer these questions
Spatial Data in SQL Server 2008
David Gollob
A Peek Behind Excel Data Mining
Mike White
Excel 2007 introduces a number of easy to use data mining functions. This session focuses on the functions provided here and explains what happens when you push the button. Examine the common data mining tasks exposed through the Excel interface. Explore the algorithms used in performing these tasks and understand some of their strengths and weaknesses. Plus get a preview of data mining outside in Analysis Services in case your task extends beyond the functionality exposed in Excel.
Comparing and Contrasting Designs for Hierarchy Representation in T-SQL
Troy Ketsdever
Starting with brief review of various proposed models for representing hierarchies in SQL Server (including SS2K8's new HierarchyID), we will characterize different information patterns and assess the pros and cons of each design against various criteria. After studying reference examples, we end with a summary of our findings in a "hierarchy scorecard" matrix.
Understanding SQL Server Profiler
Joe Lax
SQL Server Profiler has always been a powerful tool for DBA’s to diagnose performance issues. In SQL Server 2005, Microsoft has added even more bells and whistles to it. In this session we will demonstrate just how effective a tool it can be. You’ll learn
1. How to automate the execution of trace scripts.
2. How to use new features such as XML show plan, dead lock graphs, blocked processes, and more
3. How to use the wealth of information provided by the tool to understand performance trends
Mission Critical Applications on SQL Server 2008
Kevin Cox
SQL Server 2008 will be very useful in building Mission Critical Applications. This talk presents an to using some the best features for high uptime and disaster recovery – database mirroring, encryption, compressed backup, resource governor and others. This is a great architectural presentation to supplement the more detail talks on the same subjects.
LINQ Up With Developers
Ben Hoelting
See the new data access technologies provided by the .Net Framework from a developers point of view. See why developers want to use them. Finally, and most important of all, see how to configure the SQL Server database to allow developers to use these technologies without compromising security and control of the database. Join us to see how developers and DBAs can just get along. (No hell won’t freeze over)
Bi-Temporal Database Issues
Wolfgang Baeck
Nordic
Paul Nielsen
Nordic (New Object Relational Design), a SQL Server open source project, first documented in the Microsoft Architecture Journal No. 8, solves the object-relational impedance mismatch by transforming SQL Server into an object-oriented database. Nordic uses T-SQL code generation to create a T-SQL API façade that supports classes with multiple inheritance, attribute inheritance, polymorphism, inheritable class roles, inheritable class snap-shot profiles, object morphing, and inheritable class-defined workflow state.
Associations within Nordic use a master-detail style allowing for multiple classes within any association / collection. Associations also include workflow state restrictions, trigger workflow state updates, and enable some very cool data mining or spidering of multiple levels of associations. Additionally, financial rules may be applied to associations allowing for financial transaction to be applied to object to object associations.
What’s new? A generic C#.Net UI demonstrates the ease of the Nordic API. The sample application used to demonstrate Nordic is an open source complete solution for organizations serving children in developing nations. The application demonstrates the flexibility of data modeling classes in 3D vs. relational 2D modeling, and the extensibility of Nordic by modifying the class model with several additional classes and associations without modifying the .NET application. The demo will conclude with a scalability test using 10 million objects.
Introduction to SSIS
Eric Johnson
SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) is the new extraction, transform, and load (ETL) tool in SQL Server 2005. SSIS replaces and improves upon Distributed Transaction Services (DTS) from previous version. Now a truly powerful enterprise level ETL tool is available with SQL Server. SSIS provides graphical tools for designing, building, and debugging SSIS packages. This presentation will provide an overview of SSIS and a look into the many functions for merging, cleaning, and aggregating data. In addition, we will look at options for scheduling and running SSIS packages both with and without SQL Server.
Creating an encrypted data store
Pat Suppes
With the evolution of PCI requirements and an ever growing recognition of need for careful handling of sensitive data, my company has developed a centralized repository to manage our sensitive data. The solution emphasizes scalability and reliability. This presentation describes the architecture implemented and identifies a few of the decision points encountered along the way.
Getting Started with Analysis Services
Mike White
If you do any reporting or data analysis but have not yet (or just) started using Analysis Services (OLAP Cubes), get a jump start in understanding the technology. Learn what Analysis Services can do and its advantages over competing approaches. Understand the problems that Analysis Services addresses and how it is relevant to you. Plus get an overview of using Data Warehousing as a foundation for Analysis Services.
Understanding SQL CLR
Ben Hoelting
Auditing and Compliance
Russ Tuttle
Is your database audit management system designed to provide maximum visibility into your database activities and confidence that your data assets are secure? "Auditing and Compliance" addresses the issues of database control, and discusses a way to enforce the requirements of external regulations, internal policies, and database best practices. How to measure the effectiveness of existing controls on database intrusions, theft, fraud, and corruption, and also identifies new threats and exploits that require additional control solutions.
* Reduces operational risks from unauthorized changes
* Increases IT efficiency by automating audit policy and compliance work flows
* Centralizes real-time, policy-based controls and auditing for your entire database infrastructure
* Provides separation of duties by storing all audit information in a secure tamper proof repository
* Enforces control policies for your entire database environment
* Monitors all SQL changes without impacting performance
SQL Server in VLDB projects
Kevin Cox
SQL Server has accomplished some of the largest database projects in the world. Find out about these projects and the architectures used to solve these problems