SQL PASS Summit 2012

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Amit Banerjee

Nov 6^th -9^th seemed like a whirlwind with the PASS Summit seeing a record number of registrations and probably a record number of first timers as well! The number of people thronging towards the Washington State Convention Center in the morning was a sight to see! The hotels around the convention center were over booked. If you were one of those individuals who booked late, then you either ended up paying steep prices or not getting your preferred rooms. The evenings of the event days saw most of the eating joints being thronged by the PASS attendees where the networking continue till late into the night!

Not only was this a fun event but I did manage to meet a number of folks (Tweeps) face-to-face that I interact with on Twitter or other technology forums. I did miss out on meeting a few folks that I wanted to but that would have to be now done at another time and place. I also got to meet other folks from the CSS (Bob Ward, Adam Saxton, Rohit Nayak and more) and SQL CAT teams with whom I interact with on a regular basis but hardly get to meet regularly due to the cross geographical locations.

The evening revelry also showed why Twitter is a powerful medium of communication. The venues were decided and broadcasted using the Twitter hashtag #sqlpass. Some of the post event parties had some highlights as well like the flash mob…. The karaoke sessions at the Hard Rock Café…. The Unicorn seemed to be having a ball!! (If you were there, you know what I am talking about).

I had recently co-authored a book, Professional SQL Server 2012: Internals and Troubleshooting, which was launched at the event. There was a book signing session with the authors where we gave 30 books through a lucky draw. Thank you SQL Sentry for sponsoring this! Smile

I was also part of the SQL Server Clinic on all three days. I met with various customers who brought their design and troubleshooting related questions which spanned all areas of the product. We were staffed at the clinic with the engineers from all areas of expertise. So it was just a matter of walking up to the SQL Server Clinic, locating the expert and asking your question. I even looked at memory dumps at the Clinic! Smile Below is picture of one of the peak times at the clinic. The green shirts are the folks that were answering the questions!

#SQLFamily truly rocks! And this year’s #SQLPASS summit was #Awesome! – That is my Twitter update summarizing the event!

SQL PASS and Book Launch

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Amit Banerjee

Day 1 done at the SQL PASS Summit 2012!! …. It was a packed day with some interesting events starting with the Keynote session. I spent most of my day at the SQL Server Clinic meeting customers and discussing their work with SQL Server and helping them with suggestions and answers to the questions they had regarding the product. Most of all, I enjoyed meeting all the friends that I made on Twitter in person. It is always good to connect a face to a virtual name that you interact with.

Day 2 will be much more interesting as I will be part of the official launch of the book, Professional SQL Server 2012 Internals and Troubleshooting, that I have co-authored with Christian Bolton, James Rowland Jones, Glenn Berry, Justin Langford and Gavin Payne.

You will still find me at the SQL Server Clinic or have me loitering about near Exhibition Hall 4. In case you still can’t locate me, send a tweet across my way (@banerjeeamit). In partnership with SQL Sentry at the exhibitors stand from 12:30 on Thursday 8th November the authors will be available for a book signing event which will give you the chance to meet and greet the authors and contributors. This book is truly a great example of collaboration and community power where the authors have interacted over email for months but have met each other only once. And for some, this summit is their first face-to-face meeting!

SQL Sentry also have lots and lots of copies to give away for free so be sure to drop by their stand and ask about it! The book is also available at the PASS bookstore for sale. So if you want one, head out there and grab a copy.

You can also order it from your favorite online retailer:

Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/U9IlPV

Barnesandnoble.com: http://bitly.com/Ux1gog

Flipkart

SQL PASS Summit 2012

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Amit Banerjee

If you follow SQL Server related hashtags on Twitterverse, then you are already aware of the tweets that have been helping in the building of the SQL PASS Summit being held at Seattle from November 6-9. Rest assured that there will be a flurry of tweets originating from the Washington State Convention & Trade Center starting from Tuesday. And the reason for the excitement is coupled by the fact that I shall be present in person rather than following the event via Twitter or a streaming video session!

You might have already read the various blog posts doing the rounds on the net on why you should attend and what you can look forward to. I shall give you my 2 cents on why I think this is really worth a SQL Server professional’s time.

First and foremost, you will very rarely find the majority of the SQL Server brains in the world gathered under a single roof for a period of three days discussing and exchanging ideas about what you deal with everyday i.e. SQL Server. The session’s line-up will re-emphasize what I just said! Some of the best speakers in the industry will talk about various topics on SQL Server and you stand to gain a wealth of knowledge by just attending these sessions.

I have interacted with a lot of folks on Twitter regarding SQL Server related queries and it would be a great opportunity to connect faces to the Twitter handles that I am familiar with. Networking is one of the key components in SQL PASS and whether you want to or not, you will end up making acquaintances and even friends during the course of the three days (four if you are attending the Pre-Cons). Networking and interacting with the SQL Server community is the biggest motivation for me to attend PASS!

I always love to discuss SQL Server at any given opportunity and I will be available at the SQL Server Clinic on all three days. So feel free to walk up with your queries! Remember no question is a bad question! You don’t know till you don’t ask! You will get the opportunity to discuss your SQL Server related queries with some of the most experienced SQL Server engineers and members of the SQL CAT team)…. So feel free to walk by the clinic. The SQL Server Clinic timings are as follows:

•Wednesday

◦7:00am-8:00am (Early Birds)

◦10:00am – 6:15pm

•Thursday

◦7:00am-8:00am (Early Birds)

◦10:00am – 6:30pm

•Friday

◦7:00am – 2:00pm

We will be in 4C-3 which will be across from the Expo hall and on your way to the meal hall.

The Microsoft CSS team will also be delivering sessions at PASS. So don’t miss out on those. Bob Ward [B|T] will be delivering another session titled Inside SQL Server 2012 on November 7^th: 1:30 pm – 4:30pm. Don’t miss that! For more details on what the CSS team will be upto at PASS, read the post by Adam Saxton [B|T] (yes, he is also delivering sessions).

Hope to see you there!