This whitepaper discusses two major points. Following is the abstract from book online:

High Availability and Disaster Recovery Concepts. Provide a brief discussion of the drivers and challenges of planning, managing, and measuring the business objectives of a highly available database environment. This discussion is followed by a brief overview of the high availability and disaster recovery capabilities of SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn and Windows Server solutions.

SQL Server AlwaysOn Layers of Protection. Provide a deeper discussion of the feature capabilities, rationale, and dependencies of the layers of protection offered by a SQL Server AlwaysOn solution. It will cover infrastructure availability, SQL Server instance-level protection, database-level protection, and data tier application capabilities.

Microsoft SQL Server AlwaysOn Solutions Guide for High Availability and Disaster Recovery

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)

Given the success of our UG meetings in Bangalore, this year we tried to accommodate even more people by hosting two technical tracks at the same event.  I think this plan worked out well and I have heard a lot of supportive comments about it.

Because we now were able to provide six speaking slots, we had a lot of great speakers this year.  Karan Gulati spoke about BI in Denal, Amit Banerjee gave a talk titled “Demystifying SQL Server Memory Dumps.”  My co-author Vinod Kumar even gave a talk about “Security with SQL Server – Discovering Pitfalls”, and some of the pitfalls you might come up against. Very interesting and inspiring session. I learned lots of tricks from this session and wished that this session never ends.

I was proud to be asked to speak at this event.  I was third in the line-up in the Developer track.   I think the talk went very well.  My topic was “SQL Server Performance Tips & Tricks,” and I started out with a Q&A with the audience.  I think group participation like this is a great way to learn about a subject.  The questions from the audience came fast and furious, but I think I answered everyone to the best of my ability, and I am happy to report that everyone laughed in the right places.

After my talk, Balmukund Lakhani spoke about a topic he called “Always on Unplugged.”  He talked about a new feature that is coming up in SQL Server called Availability Group.  Last was Rick Morelan, who gave a talk called “Basic Performance Tips & Gotchas.”  I think readers may recognize his name from another book I co-authored (SQL Wait Stats), and it was exciting to share the stage with him again.

When all the talks were over, the fun was not finished!   I am also very excited to tell all my readers that a special give-away at this event was none other than my book, SQL Server Interview Questions and Answers.  There was even time for book signing afterwards, and it feels like everyone wanted their copy signed.  The book wasn’t the only giveaway, either.  Every attendee received a free 7-day trial subscription to Pluralsight, which I hope everyone takes advantage of. Vinod and I have co-authored SQL Server Questions and Answers course on Pluralsight as well. Thanks to SQLPASS, Sponsors, and Microsoft for making this event a bit success.

In the end, the conference was a great success and I am very pleased with the amount of attendees and participation.  I am now very tired after all that hard work, but I am also feeling very satisfied with a job well done.

Here are few write ups on by community members:- Vinod, Lohit, Sudeepta, Manas, Varun

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)

When our SQL Server Interview Questions and Answers book got published I ran to my grandma with a copy of the book for her blessings. Well, just like every grandma, she loves me, her grandson, unconditionally. She is not into the technology domain (obviously), but she loved the book. She read the first few pages where I was mentioned and read about my co-author Vinod Kumar. After reading the introduction she looked at me and said “When I was young we used to read books, now all those good books are converted into the movies, when do you think this book will be converted into a movie?“

Silence. A very long silence.

I just could not answer her right away.  As a matter of fact, I went into a deep thought. I never thought that she could actually ask me such question. It may be a very simple question, but I felt that it was very important to me. I was just stunned and speechless. I returned home from my grandma’s place, with her blessings and an interesting thought of a “Movie from the Book”. I just could not get this out of my mind.

Jan 24, 2012 - Movie from Book

I talked to my grandma very often, but since the last conversation my wife called her often and I did not talk to her at all. There was no reason to talk to her maybe because I constantly felt that she is with me. Her blessings were with me. I could not get her question out of my mind, still. I was extremely motivated and inspired from my last conversation with her. I called her early morning on January 24. Her very first questions were how I was doing and how was her great granddaughter. I told her that regarding our last conversation, there is actually a movie which is inspired from the book. Her very first reaction was that she knew this would happen as she was confident that my book would reach milestones. We talked for long hours.

Today – Fast Forward

Well, the book was an inspiration for the course, but the video course was developed using totally different angle. We made sure that we’d take the broader idea from the book but wanted present something unique and novel. Vinod Kumar and I thought about it for a long time. We wanted to decide on the format of our course. We spent hours talking about the course – how we could make it unique and give a different experience to every attendee. We wanted to keep the subject light enough to digest, yet deep enough to satisfy everyone’s learning eagerness. After spending some days and efforts for the preparation of the unique content and exceptional demos, the course has become a reality for us.

SQL Server Questions and Answers

This course is designed to help you have a better understanding on how to use SQL Server effectively. The course presents many of the common misconceptions about SQL Server, and then carefully debunks those misconceptions with clear explanations and short but compelling demos, showing you how SQL Server really works. This course is for anyone who works in SQL Server databases, and basically for those who want to improve their knowledge and understanding of this complex platform.

In this course, each topic starts with a question and ends with an answer which is supplemented with a demo. Every question has an exercise file and a demo associated with it. Additionally, in the very last session, we have covered lots of SSMS tips and tricks. Here are the topics we have covered in this course:

• Introduction
• Retrieving IDENTITY value using @@IDENTITY
• Concepts Related to Identity Values
• Difference between WHERE and HAVING
• Order in WHERE clause
• Concepts Around Temporary Tables and Table Variables
• Are stored procedures pre-compiled?
• UNIQUE INDEX and NULLs problem
• DELETE VS TRUNCATE
• Locks and Duration of Transactions
• Nested Transaction and Rollback
• Understanding Date/Time Datatypes
• Differences between VARCHAR and NVARCHAR datatypes
• Precedence of DENY and GRANT security permissions
• Identify Blocking Process
• NULLS usage with Dynamic SQL
• Appendix Tips and Tricks with Tools

Today we are very happy that our course is out. The journey from the book to the Training Course took 80 days and the experience was wonderful. In a future post, I will share the experience of writing book and building the training course.

In the end, we just want to thank YOU, our dear reader, who made this experience possible.

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)

I suggest you mark your calender right now and present at the hall before time to secure your seat.

Session Details

SQL Server Performance Tips and Tricks

In this session we will go over various SQL Server Performance Tuning Tricks and Tips. Learn about top tips and best SQL Server performance practices related to:

• Unused Indexes
• Clustered Indexes
• Importance of Statistics
• Index Maintenance Scripts
• ColumnStore Index
• A Surprise Secret Tip

January 7, 2012 1:30 PM

I will ask 5 questions during my session and needless to say 5 winners will get copy of my book.

The session will be 100% demo oriented and I will share lots of tips and tricks during this session. Just like every other session of mine, this session will have lots of trivia for you as well it will be extremely interactive. If you prefer to stay quite during the session, this session will a perfect technology opener for you. Once you are in the session – you will be talking and discussion various aspect of performance along with your co-attendees and me.

Additionally, I am personally waiting for the sessions of Rick Morelan who is founder of Joes 2 Pros series. Do not miss any of the sessions of SQL Saturday – here is the complete schedule.

My friend Vinod Kumar has written blog on his sessions, read it here.

Note: Session will be not recorded. There will be no live cast of the session.

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

When Pinal Dave and I started our new book – I thought this whole series is very important even if you are not planning to give interviews. The links, resources and subjects mentioned can surely be used as 101 for even learning SQL Server no matter what role you are into – even as students. Though technology is one of the important dimensions we get interviewed, I think the philosophy to look is just beyond the technical competencies in my opinion. So I thought to pen down some of my views – please read with an open mind and these might not exactly reflect to what happens in your region/cultures. But the important thing to read between the lines are the concepts and thinking behind them. This is not a guide nor will assure you to crack any interviews – but will surely set you on the right mindset.

Are Interviews plenty?

Let us look – when or how often do people switch jobs? I am of the views there have to be compelling need to “why you might want to switch a job”. But sometimes this is beyond normal comprehension – as most of the time boils down to personal preferences. But looking at the market – Is there a right time or such decisions?

Was just checking on the US Department of Labor whitepaper and this very much sums the theory of how often we look out for jobs. Clearly in the age group of 18-27 there is close to 4-6 job switches on an average, Wow. That is quite alarming stats by any standards and these numbers in my opinion is very much what I see too. Moving up the age group, the number of job hops decreases while people are more inclined towards job security and stability in their career. I have had the opportunity to talk to tons of young kids in my interactions with Academia and even from professional networks for job security – many have even asked me how I landed into Databases as a full-time. There is choice and opportunity in every role and it is up to us to make the best of what we have – and what we are good at.

Note: Just to give you my personal example – I am on my 3^rd company in my ~12+ years of career and that by all means beats most of the stats mentioned above. As I said, what is the inner drive to take these decisions? I am ready to talk if you catch me at any event in the future.

I was doing my own search on where is the money, moving into management hierarchy is something most of the youth always admire – Salary Survey for Country: India is a testimony to the reason. And seeing this industry through the recession times, well the cuts from the middle management were also high during that time. The stats are mind boggling and it should have been really bad – tough times never last, tough people do. So let us get back to the positive side of story and let us concentrate on “us” rather than boil the ocean here.

Getting a job offer is one challenge, but finding out about the company and the people you are going to work for is just as important as cracking the interview process. The first step is to market yourself and this is the most critical step.

Positioning yourself

We need to understand the basics – the best jobs are not the ones that you will land by having a great word template resume with tons of marketing buzz words to attract more attention. The ones that get advertised on the online / newspapers are mere eye washes and if you are experienced, these will land you nowhere IMHO.

• The best jobs inside an organization are not vehemently publicized but are more known to the insiders.
• If you plan to take the Job fair or the Ad related job postings, you are in a big pile of job seekers resumes dump yard and you must be even lucky to even get an interview call. Most of the times these are random picks and there are interesting software algorithms that companies build ingeniously to do the pick – all the more reasons why you are lucky if you have got the interview call.

“Companies don’t hire you, you get hired!!!”

Understand, in booming times like now you might get away in applying for jobs etc – but employers are looking not for the herd of sheep but real solution makers. Your resume must stand out even in times of tough economy and make the employer feel – you must be hired. Now your question is – “How do I project and show I am that one person you are looking out for?”

Companies even during recession times don’t freeze up and choke out. Yes, they will surely be selective on whom and why they are hiring even when the cash is low. Once the cycle of recession hits, companies take time to get back to self and old ways – but they are always cognizant of the past and are lesser risk takers after bitter experiences. End of the day – you must call out activities that are result-oriented to get picked rather than just being one not ready to go that extra mile. Be a decision maker, result oriented and a difference maker – these attributes are surely going to get you a step on the door if not the final job. If you get this far and make a mess – well admit it and move ahead.

Note: This is a small industry and there are connections all over, be careful what you project. Overdoing will get you into bad spot of no-return.

Overdoing at this stage can be a downfall for you. I have had the opportunity to see resumes spanning 18-20 pages. Well, you are not sending the right vibes: trust me, you are not sending an essay competition paper. The last thing you want to avoid is being Over-Qualified.

Over-Qualified – Really?

The last thing you want to hear from any employer is this statement of being over-qualified – though this can be a great compliment for you there is still some point of concerns. You still are not getting hired and your EMI has to paid rightJ. So let us see what this sugar coated over-qualified term really means –

• If your resume speaks heavy and there is always a feeling inside employers that you are more likely to leave the job because you will get bored easily given all the things you have done. One of the questions you will be asked during interviews revolve around –“why are you leaving?” Be careful as this is one bait you are not going to fall into. If you say –“you are bored blah blah” and the job you seek is on the same lines. Well, you get the drift why now.
• Second category will involve prevention by employers. If things didn’t go the way it had to for the organization – employers get a feeling you are now more difficult to get rid off. Now that will also be based on how we went about projecting ourselves.
• Last category you don’t want to fall under is – you might be an expensive hire given the experience. I personally have seen peers evading when someone less experienced getting paid more when you have been loyal with the organization for a longer time. To avoid peer-parity HR issues – organizations are avoiding you. One other reason HR’s avoid is because in the next appraisal cycles you are more likely to get dissatisfied not getting the same compensations or hikes you have got in the past given the higher slab you were hired at.

So now that we have this covered, it is great we will be extra cautious moving forward. Let me rehash on some other attributes that need to keep in mind again when facing interviews.

Hard worker Vs Smart Worker

Positioning yourself is close to marketing yourself in this industry. Productivity is one of the assets which management always loves to hear. Look at areas where you have made process improvements and you are using the tools to the maximum (Developer tools or Office productivity tools). This will sell at any level – from developer productivity to operational productivity: you surely are increasing your chances in getting qualified for the next interview cycle.

I was trying to close on how the working patterns are and what are the things people are looking forward. I know from colleagues in the services industry that they need to clock ~9 hrs per day at a minimum and these are tracked. These paradigm shifts happened during the recession time and see it continue so even now – sad but still true.

Was scanning the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics page on – “Why Do BLS Hours Series Tell Different Stories About Trends in Hours Worked?” And these show CES indicate that hours fell from 36.9 to 33.8 hours per week between 1973 and 2007. Interesting right, these stats do show us one dimension we cannot ignore and personally I think we get smarter at work as we get better in understanding the software we work with and the people we do work with.

This must be your unique value addition and don’t forget to bring this attribute of yours to the table of how you are productive and get job done quicker using the right tools.

It is a mind game!!!

As much as all interviews have a technical requirement it also critical to have the right communication skills and right choice of words to send better impact. Some of these are 101 basics on communication -

• Your first impression in first 5 mins is the main thing that is going to make or break the deal. Concentrate on that given some of the discussions we made above. Be genuine in who you are as an individual and be genuinely interested in the job that you are applying. These have to be apparent in that first conversation in every round of interview.
• The last 5 mins is your time to make an intelligent choice of closing the deal yourself or letting the job go out of hand.

As I said before, choice of words are critical. If you are getting into a team – using “we” is more important than just calling out as “I did it”. You can later sub-classify in mentioning what your role was and which parts were your contributions. Showing the big picture always makes interviews interesting as you are aware of the whole product needs.

If you consider yourself a master of subject, then better be prepared for the barrage of questions from unknown directions on the very subject. Even if it means reading on current trends, market movements, competition, whitepapers, mergers, new products etc – this is critical. You need to show the love for the subject and more importantly you are genuinely interested outside the scope of what you even don’t work. So ignorance is inexcusable.

Say “Thank you” – no matter what the outcome, you surely want to create a positive impression when you leave. Express your gratitude; don’t wait for opportunities– create them.

Mannerism Basics is – “Treat others the way you would want to be treated”. It is very simple and easy to implement – yet tough to follow. Some other manners that come to mind are:

• Dress Professionally – A casual dress might send bad signals and the interviewer might feel you are just having fun kidding around to check. Show your serious intentions.
• Make an impression that lasts. The start of the interview is critical – the first 15-20 seconds when you settle can make the impact too. You don’t get a second chance here.
• Watch your body language – The way eye contact has been made. Make sure to communicate openly with intensity.
• Don’t talk too much – It takes practice, give clear and concise explanations.
• On the given day, Focus on the interview process and not on the outcome or results. You don’t need to be worried about your offer if you take care of the process.
• Being aggressive is not wrong – just don’t overdo it. It is also possible to get cornered and saying “No” diplomatically is the key. State you are guessing and articulate your hypothesis to arrive to that conclusion.

“You don’t have anything until you have your offer, play your cards carefully”

Social Media – Be-aware and Beware

Has it ever occurred to you – what you do today might be affecting your FUTURE? Well, social media is one such thing. These days the HR also keep track on your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn profiles to see what type of person you are – whiner or an optimist. There are many lessons one needs to learn either the hard way or atleast beware since you landed here in this blog post.

• Be careful about what you speak-out over social media. Simple, but hugely important. It is not actually what you write; it is about how others will perceive it.
• Be careful on the setting to whom you share what. There are group settings you need to exercise to specifically bifurcate personal and business contacts. Take a moment to make these groups over FB, Twitter etc.
  • Be careful on how you group people too. You don’t want to shoot at your own foot here. A typical scenario would be – they are a friend now, they might become a peer later, become a vendor in the organization that you work for etc. So these can also become delicate situations you don’t want to get into.
  • Make sure the pictures, links, messages are chosen with care. The moment you move from face-to-face to phone to hand written to social shout-outs. The more layers of interactions abstracted, more the layers of misunderstanding possible.

Say what you mean, mean what you say but be lest assured that you don’t quite control what others hear, interpret and use it later pointing back at you.

Asking the right questions

Tough there are enough and more running on your mind as you start preparing for your interviews. Let me take a step back and ask you tons of questions. Answer them for yourself, noone else – this will prepare you mentally.

• What is the reason I need to change the job?
• How can I affect the issues that are forcing me to look for a job?
• Is my need to look for a job caused by others or me?
• Realistically, how long will it take me to land a new job?
• How am I going to work around my job and interviewing schedules?

What are your emotions?

• Are you frustrated with the present employer? What did you do to express this?
• Did you lose your self-respect in any interaction?
• Were you shocked of being fired or forced to look out?
• Were you isolated and forced to look out?
• Do you feel hostility against anyone? Do they deserve it, can you change this?

Open questions on strengths -

• What are your professional and personal strengths?
• How can you clearly articulate the strengths have benefited your team, company?
• What are the factors, data points that need explanation to a potential employer? Any breaks or other reasons.
• What makes you unique?
• What are the 3-4 traits that employer needs to know when compared to your competitors getting interviewed?

Now before the interview -

• What do I know of the company I sent resume to?
• Have you done enough research on the company?
• Do you know anyone from the company?
• Do you have the JD before the interview?
• What makes this company so good – will this be your dream company?
• Do you have a good question ready to ask based on your research?

On telephonic interviews -

• Ask who is interviewing you that day. This tells how much authority this person might have on the final call.
• Who is an ideal candidate for this position?
• Is this a new role or a replacement? When would you like to fill the position?
• Especially over phone, try to seal the interview in the first 20 mins else the conversation is getting stale.

Get more info of company culture by asking the right questions -

• What makes this a good company to work for?
• What is your background before you got here? People like to boast always
• How long have you been looking for a person?
• How many candidates have you interviewed?
• What is the most difficult part of the job?

“The most qualified do not always get a job. But that doesn’t mean only the unqualified get oneJ”

Finally some tips

I can keep going on this topic, but thought to wrap up quickly so that you get some final tips and resources for use.

• Get your resume straight – the smallest mistake can cost you a job now. Resume writing is one of the great resources over the internet. Will try to refrain from rehashing the wonderful content out there.
• Choosing a career path is critical. If you don’t quite know where you are going, no map will help. Career Planning site has a good read.
• If you are an online person, build a strong brand for yourself and be unique. Good read on “10 ways to build your brand reputation”. Simple yet powerful concepts.
• In most of the companies the employee’s success depends largely on the Manager they get. Choose your manager as you use as your job – is a blog I wrote sometime back.
• Your Passion and energy is what drives you to get a job. “What does it take to be successful?” is a blog post I thought that comes to my mind.

Conclusion

If you reached far, hope there were some interesting tips that were useful to you. Attending interviews is only one part of the equation, being mentally prepared with the right answers to some of the questions is what I think this blog called out.

Have fun and all the best if you are getting prepared for any interviews. Feel free to drop a line to me if you have any comments.

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

My goals were simple:

1. Mastering the Basics
2. Igniting Learning

I am very fortunate that my co-author shares the same love and passion for the SQL Server community. Vinod Kumar always believed in my same two goals. Our combined passion for the subject made writing this book a pleasant, even invigorating experience. We always felt this urge to help community and those who are eager to learn more. Years of learning the basics and practicing advanced technology led us to believe that learning the basics is sometimes the most difficult task of all. Once someone masters the basics, advanced concepts come easy. We have kept this in mind as we wrote this book.

A Book for Everyone

This book is not just for people who are looking to get their first job in the information technology field.  If you do not have an upcoming interview, if you already work in the field, but have questions about SQL Server or know that there are topics you should brush up on, then this is the book for you.

You don’t have to have a certain level of experience to get a lot from this book, either.  If you are a beginner you will not be totally confused by the topics – in fact, we tried to lay out the book for beginners.  However, experts will also find a lot to learn in these pages. Too.

Philosophy of the Book

We believe that this book will give advanced users a refresher and beginners a good learning point. We believe that after reading this book, our readers would be ignited to learn more. The goal of this book was not to tell you everything but to tell you enough so that you can learn yourself. Here is the hidden philosophy behind the book:

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” – Source Unknown

Our goal in writing this book was to give our readers a SQL Server fishing pole.  They can then learn how to “fish out” the good answers and solutions to their problems.  This book does not list the most common problems (and interview questions) and then give a long list about exactly what to do.  The point of this book was to teach the readers to think for themselves – and feed themselves for a lifetime.

Mastering the Basics

Recently someone asked me if they could pass an interview just by reading this book. The answer is – interviews are a complex process. One’s goal should not be to merely pass the interview. The goal should be to demonstrate your knowledge and find the right appropriate way to apply your learning. Think of it this way, before attempting to pass an interview just by remembering the right answers – ask yourself if you will be able to perform the real world tasks – the answer can be complex. How about this – learn all you can about the real work job before you go to the interview, and master the subject. Now when you go to the interview or to the real world job, you will always demonstrate superior quality and the ability to perform the necessary tasks.

Igniting Learning

Well, our book is exactly the same. It tells you what you should learn in depth, what you should know in the real world, what kind of information you should collect and master before you go on that interview. Do not use this book as a tool to pass the interview – it will not work that way – consider the book as ‘learning path’. Take each topic covered in the book and dwell on it, think about it and digest it slowly and masterfully. The book is designed in such a way that every important topic has enough reference material listed right below it. You can use the references listed there or do your own search on the subject. Just make sure that the learning experience is complete.

Real World Experience

In a tough job market, it can be easy to look at a job advertisement and think to yourself, “I could do that job.”  You might know just a little bit about a subject, and you think that if you study hard enough you will sound smart enough to get the job, and then later you can learn all you can about the subject.  However, while our book will certainly help with the “sounding smart” part, you will also find that it encourages you to really learn SQL Server before that interview – with lots of real world examples and pointers advanced learning.  We encourage everyone to think about the job they want and love, and go for it.  Don’t look at book as just a way to get a job.

YOU!

We are constantly flooded with numerous emails, positive comments and constructive feedback. We are overwhelmed that almost everybody has understood the philosophy behind the book. SQL Server experts have told us that this book has helped them remember the basics and many have sent us questions to incorporate into the next versions. We believe the success of this concept is the positive energy which we have received from all of YOU!

Here are few blog posts about the book:

1) Review by Nakul Vachhrajani – Good, portable book with easy to understand language on SQL Server Interview Questions & Answers

2) Review by Paras Doshi – Book Review: SQL server Interview Questions and Answers by Pinal Dave and Vinod Kumar.

 3) Review by Madhivanan SQL Server MVP  – Book Review – SQL Server Interview Questions and Answers

4) Review by Sandeep Kalra – Pinal Dave and Vinod Kumar‘s SQL Server Interview Questions and Answers: Book review

This book is available worldwide, here is the information about book – SQL Server Interview Questions and Answers

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

As a proof of the usability of the extensibility framework, expressor implemented their Salesforce support through an extensibility library.  In the future, as this framework is used to implement more functionality, you will be able to add new features to your expressor deployment without needing to install a newer version of the software.

In order for me to experience using the Salesforce functionality firsthand, expressor gave me access to their in-house Salesforce database used by their developers.  This database, which is used by both engineering and quality control, includes a sampling of the data stored in the company’s primary Salesforce database.  What I encountered was a very smooth and error free procedure for extracting data from a Salesforce table and submitting it to an expressor dataflow for further processing.

As with all expressor data integration applications, the first task is to create a project that will contain all of the artifacts needed to develop the application.  I installed a pre-release build of expressor Studio 3.5 and created a workspace named SFDC.  As soon as the workspace opened, an informational message appeared notifying me that there were uninstalled extensions.  It was a simple step to click the Enable All link to install the extension that contains the Salesforce.com functionality.

Alternatively, clicking the Manage Extensions link, or selecting the Studio > Manage Extensions… menu item would start the Manage Extensions wizard, through which I could have selectively installed, enabled, or disabled individual extensions.  Note that a different complement of extensions can be enabled or disabled in each workspace.

Once I had installed and enabled the Salesforce extension, I created a project named ReadSFDC.  The first step in creating my application was to define a connection artifact to the Salesforce installation.  As with all expressor connection artifacts, this work was managed through a wizard.  I simply started the wizard and selected Salesforce Connection from the menu.

In the first step, I gave the connection the name development_account; in the second step, I entered my Salesforce.com account name, account password, and security token, which you request from Salesforce once you have valid account credentials.

To confirm the validity of these entries, I clicked Test Connection in Studio’s ribbon bar and a confirmatory message was displayed.  This is all that was involved in configuring an expressor connection artifact to a Salesforce installation.

Now that I had a connection, I was ready to create a schema artifact, which is a description of the structure of a data source external to the expressor application.  In this case, the schema would describe the structure of the Contact table in the database.  In expressor’s Salesforce database, this table has been extended and includes many columns in addition to the columns included in the default table provided in the Salesforce installation.

To create the schema, I started the schema wizard, selecting Salesforce Schema from the menu.

Using this wizard to create a schema against a Salesforce table is no different than using the wizard to create a schema against a relational database table.  You first select the connection artifact so the wizard has the information needed to connect to the target, then you select the table, or tables, for which you want to create a schema.

Click Next, accept the default name or enter a name for the schema, and click Finish.  The schema is automatically generated and appears in the Schemas folder under the project.

This table has more than 100 columns, but for my testing I was only interested in two: the unique record identifier (expressor asked that I not select columns that would identify actual users), and the date on which that individual downloaded expressor Studio.  Within my data integration application, I will use the download date to determine which version of the product the user downloaded.

When I first opened the schema, the composite type, which describes how each data record will be represented within the application, contained an attribute for each table column, so I added another composite type named StudioDownloadDate to the schema and deleted all attributes except the two I needed for my application.  The ability to associate multiple composite types with a schema, allowing you to customize the composite type for reading, writing, or updating a data resource, is one of the powerful and useful features in expressor.  Simply changing the composite type, something you can do while configuring an input or output operator, adapts the schema to multiple uses.

Now I’m ready to develop the dataflow, the graphical representation of the application.  The first operator I used was the Read Salesforce input operator.  On this operator’s Properties panel I simply selected the appropriate connection, schema, and composite type.  However, since expressor 3 was first released at the beginning of 2011, I wanted to restrict my query against the SalesForce table to those users who downloaded during the current year; this too is something that can be configured through the operator’s Properties panel.

On the Properties panel is a link that opens what expressor refers to as the Filter wizard.  This wizard allows you to easily create a filter query using the Salesforce Object Query Language.  Using the drop down controls I was able to select the column (or columns) that I wanted to use to restrict the result set, the value against which I wanted to evaluate the column value, and the type of evaluation I wanted to perform.  In this application, I wanted to select only the records in which the download date was in 2011, the current year.  Note how I was able to use one of the date literals that the Salesforce Object Query Language supports.  If necessary, my filter expression could include multiple comparisons combined using the AND or OR operators.

Developing the rest of the dataflow was straight-forward.  I sorted by download date, used a Transform operator to retrieve from a lookup table I created within the Transform operator the product version for each download date, and a Write File operator to save the application’s output.

Iterating through the lookup table to find the product release for each download date was a simple task in which I used the expressor Datascript iterator function ipairs to control a processing loop.

The application ran perfectly the first time.  The Read Salesforce operator retrieve the desired subset of records from the source table and my code in the Transform operator associated a product version with each download.

If you need to write to a Salesforce table, the expressor Write Salesforce operator will support your requirements.  With this operator, you again must identify connection and schema artifacts and then select the type of database operation you want to perform: insert, update, upsert, or delete.  Since a Salesforce table has many columns that are managed by the Salesforce application itself, this operator will warn you if you try to initialize one of these columns, allowing you to modify your code or schema to avoid a conflict.

I was quite impressed by the ease of use and broad functionality of the expressor Salesforce operators and the ease with which the extensibility framework added this functionality to my Studio installation.  As in the past, this newest release of expressor Studio adds significant value to their product and I continue to be impressed by the quality and functionality of the expressor Data Integration Platform.  If data integration is something that you will be investigating, I urge you to download and try expressor.

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

Schedule and Venue

Event Date: January 7, 2012
Event Time: 10 AM to 6 PM
Event Venue: Microsoft Singature Building, Domlur, Bangalore , Bangalore, India

Important Links:

Register for the event – We are 100% over capacity. Please put your name on waiting list, we are working on various options.

Submit your session title and abstract by December 10, 2011. Today is last day!

Call to Action – Spread the words

Blog, tweet, facebook it – spread the word. Use the #SQLSat116 as your hashtag on tweeter. Use the SQL Saturday Logo in your postings.

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

SQL Server Interview Questions and Answers on Kindle

I am really impressed how kindle ebook format works. If I find any errata or make changes in the kindle format book now and re-publish the book in kindle format again, if you have purchased the eBook earlier, you will get updated version automatically and for FREE. If the fever of eBook reading on kindle is yet not caught up on you – you can still get this book on Amazon and Flipkart. Remember if you are expert in SQL Server – this book not for you but if you are looking for mastering the basics or a quick revision on SQL Server Concepts – this book is for YOU!

Here is the link to download Kindle Software for free PC, WP7, and in marketplace for various other mobile devices. I thank you for giving warm response to SQL Server Interview Questions and Answers book. I am motivated to write the next expanded version of this book.

The price of this book is currently set to low introductory price. It will be reset to normal price on 1st January, 2012.

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

SQL Saturday is FREE event all the attendees and 100% SQL community driven.

Schedule and Venue

Event Date: January 7, 2012
Event Time: 10 AM to 6 PM
Event Venue: Microsoft Singature Building, Domlur, Bangalore , Bangalore, India

Click here for link.

Who can participate

Everyone.

Cost to attend the event

FREE for all.

Call to Action – Register for the event

Experience suggests that all the SQL Saturday event always gets over capacity. There are always more attendees than the event venue can accommodate. Register for the event. SQLPASS website maintains waiting list after the capacity is full.

Call to Action – Submit SQL Session

Speaking at this SQL only event which happens world-wide is prestigious itself. You are welcome to submit your session title and abstract by December 10, 2011. We will have volunteers and speaker dinner either on event day or the day before.

Call to Action – Nominate yourself as Volunteer

Every successful event needs dedicated volunteers, this events needs your help. Send email to sqlsaturday116 “at” sqlsaturday.com your details. You can also opt yourself as volunteer when you register for the event.

Call to Action – Spread the words

Blog, tweet, facebook it – spread the word. Use the #SQLSat116 as your hashtag on tweeter. Use the SQL Saturday Logo in your postings.

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

Well, we learn the lesson from the experience and have made sure that the inventory does not run out any more. Since then we are now available on multiple outlets. Pretty much anywhere in USA and India the book is available. Additionally, where ever Amazon ships internationally.

I have created dedicated page where I have listed where one can avail this book from Details of SQL Server Interview Question and Answers. Even though I keep on getting common question like – where one can get this book.

You can get this book from:

USA: Amazon

India: Flipkart | IndiaPlaza | Crossword

In India now you can walk into any crossword store and ask this book, if they do not have it, you can ask them get one for you.

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

If you are new to SQL Server, don’t think I left you out of my book writing efforts. If you are new to the subject or have not had to deal with SQL Server in a long time, this book is perfect for someone who wants or needs a last minute refresher. If you are facing an upcoming interview and want to impress your future bosses, this book is perfect for getting you up to speed in a short time. However, if you are already an expert, you will still find a lot to learn and many pointers and suggestions that go deep into the subject.

As I said before, I wrote this book in order to help my community, and I certainly hoped that this book would become popular. However, we decided to print a very limited number of copies to begin with. We did not think that it would sell out since much of the information is available for free online. We could not have been more wrong! We incorrectly estimated what people wanted. We did not realize that there is still a need and an interest for structured learning. So, with great reservations, we printed quite a large number of copies – and it still ran out in 36 hours!

We got call from the online store with a request for more copies within 12 hours. But we had printed only as many as we had sent them. There were no extra copies. We finally talked to the printer to get more copies. However, due to festivals and holidays the copies could not be shipped to the online retailer for two days. We knew for sure that they were going to be out of the book for 48 hours.

48 hours – this was very difficult as the book was very highly anticipated. Many people wanted to buy this book quickly, and receive it soon in order to meet a deadline or to study for an upcoming test of their knowledge. But now this book was out of stock on the retail store. The way the online store works is that if the Indian-priced book is not there they list the US version of the book so that buyers will not be disappointed. The problem was that the US price of the book is three times more than the Indian price – which means one has to pay three times as much to buy this book instead of the previous very low price. We received a lot of communication on this subject, here are some examples:

• We are now businessmen and only focusing on money
• Why has the price tripled in 36 hours
• Why we are not honest with the price
• If the prices will ever come down
• And some of the letters we cannot post here!

Well, finally after 48 hours the Indian stock was finally available online. Thanks to our printer who worked day and night to get all the copies printed. He divided the complete stock in two parts. The first part they sent immediately to online retailer  and the second part they kept with them to sell. Finally, the online retailer got them online promptly as well, and the price returned to normal. Our book once again got in business and became the eighth most popular new release in 36 hours.

We appreciate your love and support. Without all of your interest and love we would have never come this far and the book would not be so successful. After thinking about all your support and how patient you were with our online troubles, the online retailer has decided to give an extra 25% discount for a limited time only.

I think the 48 hours when the book was out of stock were very horrible and stressful and I’d like to apologize to my loyal readers for the mishap. I hope that the 25% off is enough to sooth any remaining hurt feelings, and that everyone will continue to learn and discover things in the book. Once again thank you so much and I truly hope that you all enjoy reading the book as much as I enjoyed writing it.

My book SQL Server Interview Questions and Answers is available now.

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

SQL Server 2012 will be available in three main editions:

1. Enterprise
2. Business Intelligence
3. Standard

The other editions are Web, Developer and Express.

Here is the salient features of each of the edition:

Enterprise

• Advanced high availability with AlwaysOn
• High performance data warehousing with ColumnStore
• Maximum virtualization (with Software Assurance)
• Inclusive of Business Intelligence edition’s capabilities

Business Intelligence

• Rapid data discovery with Power View
• Corporate and scalable reporting and analytics
• Data Quality Services and Master Data Services
• Inclusive of the Standard edition’s capabilities

Standard

• Standard continues to offer basic database, reporting and analytics capabilities

There is comparison chart of various other aspect of the above editions. Please refer here.

Additionally SQL Server 2012 licensing is also explained here.

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

To begin with, we want to thank all those interviewers who reject interviewees by saying they need to know ‘the key things’ regardless of having high grades in class. The whole concept of interview questions and answers revolves around knowing those ‘key things’.

The core concept of this book will continue to evolve over time. I am sure many of you will come along with us on this journey and submit your suggestions to us to make this book a key reference for anybody who wants to start with SQL Server. Today we want to acknowledge the fact that you will help us keep this book alive forever with the latest updates. We want to thank everyone who participates in this journey with us.

Though each of these chapters are geared towards convenience we highly recommend reading each of the sections irrespective of the roles you might be doing since each of the sections have some interesting trivia about working with SQL Server. In the industry the role of accidental DBA’s (especially with SQL Server) is very common. Hence if you have performed the role of DBA for a short stint and want to brush-up your fundamentals then the upcoming sections will be a great review.

Table Of Contents

• Database Concepts With Sql Server
• Common Generic Questions & Answers
• Common Developer Questions
• Common Tricky Questions
• Miscellaneous Questions On Sql Server 2008
• Dba Skills Related Questions
• Data Warehousing Interview Questions & Answers
• General Best Practices

[Amazon] | [Flipkart]

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

I have received lots of interesting comments on the blog about what is in it. Many of you got it absolutely incorrect and many got it close to the right answer but no one got it 100% correct. Well, no issue at all, I am going to give away the price to whoever has the closest answer first in personal email.

Here is the answer to the question about what is in the box? Here it is – the box has my new book. In fact, I should say our new book as I co-authored this book with my very good friend Vinod Kumar. We had real blast writing this book together and had lots of interesting conversation when we were writing this book. This book has one simple goal – “master the basics.”

This book is not only for people who are preparing for interview. This book is for every one who wants to revisit the basics and wants to prepare themselves to the technology. One always needs to have practical knowledge to do their duty efficiently. This book talks about more than basics. There are multiple ways to present learning – either we can create simple book or make it interesting. We have decided the learning should be interactive and have opted for Interview Questions and Answer format.

Here is quick interview which we have done together.

Details of the books are here

The core concept of this book will continue to evolve over time. I am sure many of you will come along with us on this journey and submit your suggestions to us to make this book a key reference for anybody who wants to start with SQL server. Today we want to acknowledge the fact that you will help us keep this book alive forever with the latest updates. We want to thank everyone who participates in this journey with us.

You can get the books from [Amazon] | [Flipkart].

Read Vinod‘s blog post. Do not forget to wish him happy birthday as today is his birthday and also book release day – two reason to wish him congratulations.

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

I am sure that we all have friends and we value friendship more than anything. In fact, the complete model of Facebook is built on friends. If you have lots of friends, you must be a lucky person. Having a lot of friends is indeed a good thing.
I consider all you blog readers as my friends so now I want do something for you. What is it? Well, send me details about how many of your friends like my page and you would have a chance to win lots of learning materials for yourself and your friends. Here are the exciting prizes awaiting the lucky winner:

Combo set of 5 Joes 2 Pros Book – 1 for YOU and 1 for Friend

This is USD 444 (each set USD 222) worth gift. It contains all the five Joes 2 Pros books (Vol1, Vol2, Vol3, Vol4, Vol5) + 1 Learning DVD. [Amazon] | [Flipkart]

If in case you submitted an entry but didn’t win the Combo set of 5 Joes 2 Pros books, you could still will  my SQL Server Wait Stats book as a consolation prize! I will pick the next 5 participants who have the highest number of friends who “liked” the Facebook page, http://facebook.com/SQLAuth.
Instead of sending one copy, I will send you 2 copies so you can share one copy with a friend of yours. Well, it is important to share our learning and love with friends, isn’t it?
Note: Just take a screenshot of http://facebook.com/SQLAuth using Print Screen function and send it by Nov 7^th to pinal ‘at’ sqlauthority.com.. There are no special freebies to early birds so take your time and see if you can increase your friends like count by Nov 7th.

Guess – What is in it?

It is quite possible you are not a Facebook or Twitter user. In that case you can still win a surprise from me. You have 2 days to guess what is in this box. If you guess it correct and you are one of the first 5 persons to have the correct answer – you will get what is in this box for free. Please note that you have only 48 hours to guess. Please give me your guess by commenting to this blog post.

Reference:  Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

Book writing is a complex process.  Even after you spend months, maybe years, writing the material you still have to go through the editing and fact checking processes.  And, once the book is out there, there is no way to take back all the copies to change mistakes or add something you forgot.  Most of the time it is a one-way street.

Just like every author, I had a dream that after the books were written, they would be loved by people and gain acceptance by an audience. My first book, SQL Programming Joes 2 Pros: Programming and Development for Microsoft SQL Server 2008, is extremely popular because it helps lots of people learn various fundamental topics. My second book covers beginning to learn SQL Server Wait Stats, which is a relatively new subject. This book has had very good acceptance in the community.

Helping my community is my primary focus, so I was happy to see this year’s SQLPASS tag line: ‘This is a Community.‘ At the event, the expressor studio guys came up with a very novel idea. They had previously used my books and they had found them very useful. They got 100 copies of the book and decided to give it away to community folks. They invited me and my co-author Rick Morelan to hold a book signing event. We did a book signing on Thursday between 1 pm and 2 pm.

This event was one of the best events for me. This was my first book signing event outside of India. I reached the book signing location around 20 minutes before the scheduled time and what I saw was a big line for the book signing event. I felt very honored looking at the crowd and all the people around the event location. I felt very humbled when I saw some of my very close friends standing in the line to get my signature. It was really heartwarming to see so many enthusiasts waiting for more than an hour to get my signature. While standing in line I had the chance to have a conversation with every single person who showed up for the signature. I made sure that I repeated every single name and wrote it in every book with my signature. There is saying that if we write a name once we will remember it forever. I want to remember all of you who saw me at the book signing. Your comments were wonderful, your feedback was amazing and you were all very supportive.

I have made a note of every conversation I had with all of you when I was signing the books. Once again, I just want to express my thanks for coming to my book signing event. The whole experience was very humbling. On the top of it, I want to thank the expressor studio people who made it possible, who organized the whole signing event. I am so thankful to them for facilitating the whole experience, which is going to be hard to beat by any future experience.

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

Here are 1% of the photos which I have. If you are not in the photo, it does not mean I have less respect to our friendship. Please post link to our photo together :)

I was very fortunate that I was able to snap a quick photograph with Pinal Dave with Dr. David DeWitt. I stood outside of the hall waiting for Dr. to show up and when he was heading down from convention center I requested him if I can have one photo for my memory lane and very politely he agreed to have one. It indeed made my day!

Every single time I met Steve, I make sure I have one photo for my memory. Steve is so kind every single time. If you know SQL and do not know Steve Jones, you do not know SQL (IMHO).

Following is the photograph with Michael McLean. More details about this photo in future blog post!

Arnie always shares his wisdom with me. I still remember when I very first time visited USA, I was standing alone in corner and Arnie walked to me and introduced to every single person he know. Talking to Arnie is always pleasure and inspiring.

I am now published author and have written two books so far. I am fortunate to have Rick Morelan as Co-author of both of my books. He is great guy and very easy to become friends with. I am very much impressed by him and his kindness during book co-authoring. Here is very first of our photograph together at SQLPASS.

Diego Nogare and I have been talking for long time on twitter and on various social media channels. I finally got chance to meet my friend from Brazil. It was excellent experience to meet a friend whom one wants to meet for long time and had never got chance earlier.

Buck Woody – who does not know Buck. He is funny, kind and most important friends of every one. Buck is so kind that he does not hesitate to approach people even though he is famous and most known in community. Every time I meet him I learn something. He is always smiling and approachable.

Rushabh Mehta is current SQL PASS president and personal friend. He has always smiling face and tremendous love for SQL community. I often wonder where he gets all the time for all the time and efforts he puts in for community. I never miss a chance to meet and greet him. Even though he is renowned SQL Guru and extremely busy person – every single time I meet him he always asks me – “How is Nupur and Shaivi?” He even remembers my wife and daughters name. I am touched.

Nigel Sammy has extremely well sense of humor and passion from community. We have excellent synergy while we are together. The attached photo is taken while I was talking to him on Seattle Shoreline about SQL.

Rick Morelan wanted my this trip to be memorable. I am vegetarian and I told him that I do not like Seafood. Well, to prove the point, he took me to fantastic Seafood restaurant in Seattle and treated me with mouth watering vegetarian dishes. I think when I go to Seattle next time, I am going to make him to take me again to the same place.

Well, this is a short summary of few of the friends I met at Seattle. What is the life without friends, eh?

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

Well, this is a short summary of my extremely quick city tour of Seattle.

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

Recently I attended SQLPASS 2011 and it had few announcements and some of them really important. I am going to write in detail in future all the announcements. However, there is one announcement needs special attention and blog post. The official name of the next version of the SQL Server. So far we were all addressing the next version of the SQL Server as SQL Server ‘Denali’.

Microsoft VP Ted Kummert announced the official name of the next version of the SQL Server – SQL Server 2012. The version of the SQL Server will be 11. The release date is estimated in the first half of the year 2012. Here are two important updates which are related to SQL Server 2012.

• Apache Hadoop will power Azure Cloud Services and Windows Deployments.
• New touch-based data exploration capabilities will be extended to other devices.

Additionally, SQL Server Crescent project also got new name as Power View. A new Data Explorer tool will be also released that will make it easier to browse and use data from public-cloud data sources. There is a blog post from SQL Server Team on roadmap on big data.

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

I wrote book on SQL Wait Stats. [Amazon] | [Flipkart] | [Kindle]

I really wanted to learn about SQL Wait Stats. There was no real book available so I wrote the book myself. Since I wrote this book, I feel I can now more 100 pages to what I had contributed. I am very fortunate that my SQL Wait Stats book is very well accepted in community. Every author who authors book has dream that his book is well received and well read. In the recent internet era eBooks and PDF copies are everywhere and the job of reading print book and using bookmark is getting faded. Just like the same every author wants to have their books book signing event. I am so fortunate that during this SQLPASS the similar opportunity has presented to me.

I will be also doing book signing but here is interesting twist – you do not have to purchase the books (USD 11.99) – this book will be FREE for you.

Here are further details:

Event: SQL Server Wait Stats Book Signing
Date: October 13, 2011 Thursday
Time: 1 PM to 2 PM
Location: SQLPASS Exhibitors Booth #300

Thanks to kind people at expressor Studio for kindly helping me to with this arrangement.

Read the review of the book on SQLConcepts and on flipkart.

See you tomorrow!

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

“The greatest of all gifts is the power to estimate things at their true worth” – Francois De La Rochefoucauld

Please Note: The date and time are Thursday 13 at 1 PM (not Wednesday) – there are few emails asking for the same.

Quotes listed above are really relevant to the news of the day. Regular readers of my blog knows that I have published SQL Server Wait Stats [Amazon] | [Flipkart] book. I am glad to say that this book has become extremely popular since it has been published. It has ran out of stock in India two times thus far. In USA, we could manage the inventory efficiently. This book is now available on Kindle (at a price less than that of a coffee).

Recently, the kind people at expressor Studio have previously gave away few copies of my book. The same folks have sent me email that they got excellent feedback for the book from the readers who received the book. They have decided to give away 100 copies of my Wait Stats Print Book on Thursday October 13, 2011 between 1.00 and 2.00 PM at SQLPASS exhibition at Booth #300. I am just speechless at their efforts and good will for my book.

Tomorrow, I will be available between 1.00 and 2.00 PM at booth #300 and signing the books personally. Just stop by the booth and pick up the book. We intend to give away 1 book every minute of that hour. Honestly, it will be more than 1 book as there will be 100 books to give away during the short period of 60 minutes (on First come first serve basis!)

See you tomorrow!

and thanks one more time expressor Studio.

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

WHY?

I have written two articles on this subject, which you can read here: 2009 and 2010. My main reason for attending has not changed – I love it!

Why should I attend PASS Summit?

There are not one or two but many reasons why I should be a part of PASS Summit. First, it is a good platform to learn the latest skills and strategies.  This year there are over 170 expert-led technical sessions as well as two days of pre-conference sessions, which will include every aspect of SQL Server. Here, I can sharpen my skills and update myself with the latest SQL Server topics and technologies. This knowledge will help me to optimize SQL Server. It also allows me to stay ahead of the curve as I will be one of the first professionals to learn about the latest advances, roadmaps, and plans for Microsoft SQL Server.

I can learn SQL Server best practices from thousands of SQL Server MVPs, Microsoft team members, authors, experts, and peers who will attend the event.  The highlights of this PASS Summit should be the keynote speakers, Microsoft’s Ted Kummert, Quentin Clark, and David DeWitt. I can even equip myself with the strategies and skills to improve the ROI of my SQL Server environment such as virtualization technologies, performance tuning and scaling, better hardware utilization, simplified management, and need for better business intelligences, to name a few. Furthermore, I can take advantage of the group discount and enhance the knowledge and skills of the entire team.

The four-day event will be marked by a lot of learning, sharing, and networking, which will help me increase both my knowledge and contacts. Every year, PASS Summit provides me a golden opportunity to build my network as well as to identify and meet potential customers or employees. If I am a consultant or vendor who is looking for better career opportunities, PASS Summit is the perfect platform to meet and show my skills to my new potential customers and employers. Moreover, if I am already employed in an organization, here I can get in touch with top-class SQL Server experts who can help me with any future needs. Breakfasts, lunches, and evening receptions, which are included with registration, are meant to provide more and more networking opportunities.

Apart from gaining knowledge and networking, PASS Summit is a good platform to solve high-priority, mission-critical SQL Server issues through Microsoft “Ask the Experts” Lounge and the CSS First Aid Station where I can have direct access to Microsoft developers, service and support, and MVPs.

At PASS Summit, I gain not only new ideas but also inspire myself from top professionals and experts. Learning new things about SQL Server, interacting with different kinds of professionals, and sharing issues and solutions will definitely improve my understanding and turn me into a better SQL Server professional who can leverage and optimize SQL Server to improve business.

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)

Let us play today a very simple game –  frequently asked questions and answers. These questions were prepared by my lovely wife Nupur Dave.

Click to Enlarge

Why did you start this blog?
It began just as a bookmark for myself. I tried to collect all the frequently used scripts at one place and that is how this blog started.

What is the original name of SQLAuthority.com?
I think for this answer you need to read my earlier blog post – Origin of Blog Name Revealed. This post was written almost a year ago.

What is one thing you want to highlight in the last 100 posts?
There are two things – I am now a published author and have two books with my contribution.

SQL Wait Stats – A book on the unique subject of Wait Types and Queues
[Amazon] | [Flipkart]

SQL Server Programming – A book explaining various SQL Server Concepts in easy to read language
[Amazon] | [Flipkart]

Who is Rick Morelan?
Rick is a great SQL enthusiast. He has co-authored two books with me and during the course I learned a lot of things from him. He has the talent to explain any complex idea in the simplest way. Writing a book with him was a real pleasure and excellent learning experience.

What are your plans for the next 100 blog posts?
Well, the first of November is my blog’s anniversary. We are going to have a fifth anniversary celebration of this blog. I am thinking something big – something really big for all of us. I am not sure yet but all of the readers will have blast on the anniversary of this blog.

What is the next big surprise?
Watch the blog post of Nov 1, 2011

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

System Center Monitoring Pack for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Parallel Data Warehouse Appliance

This Monitoring Pack for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Parallel Data Warehouse (PDW) Appliance provides capabilities to discover, monitor, and manage your SQL Server PDW appliances. The management pack simplifies the monitoring process for PDW.

In addition to health monitoring capabilities, this monitoring pack includes a custom diagram view to visualize appliance health. The custom view has detailed knowledge about the health states for the hardware and software components. The custom view enables near real-time diagnosis and resolution of detected issues.

Note: Description is taken from Microsoft page.

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)