Network, learn, ask a question, meet other folk, get fed - these are all things that happen at user group events. These events are a really great opportunity to socialise in an informal learning experience - if you want your own exposure then come and do a 1 - 5 minute nugget in front of your peers.
Remember to tell your friends and the people you work with; make sure you register as soon as you can.
5.30 – 6:00pm Registration and networking + Tea/Coffee with biscuits.
Meet and greet.
6:00 – 6:30pm Round Table discussion and Nuggets - ALL
Take stock and get the latest news in the SQL Server field. This is also a great opportunity to ask any burning questions you have, may be a problem at work.
It's also a great opportunity to share your knowledge and gain exposure in the industry by giving a short 1 - 6 minute "nugget" demo/tip.
6.30 – 7:30pm Cubes vs Tables with Steve Powell
A bit like Plants vs Zombies but less flying limbs and
deadly venus fly traps. This will be a really basic introduction to Analysis
Services, what cubes, dimensions, members and measures are, why you would use
them rather than tables, what some of the upsides and downsides are, and a ten
minute example of how to build a cube (a not very complicated cube admittedly)
using AdventureWorks.
Steve Powell
Steve Powell has been slaving away at the coal face of web
based applications and medium to large scale BI for ten years or so. He's been
working with computers for more years than he cares to remember. His constant
contact with finance departments over the last few years has left him with a
nervous twitch every time someone mentions liability accounting. He can't sing,
dance or tell jokes, but he's basically a nice guy who enjoys a good curry.
7:30 – 7.50pm BREAK: Light refreshments
More time to network and ask questions...
7:50 – 8.50pm Designing tables for scale - data typing, data compression and table partitioning with Nick Coleburn
Good database design is the foundation of building robust, scalable database systems. Optimising your table design can make or break a database. In this session Nick will cover data typing, utilising SQL Server data compression and table partitioning, and how optimising the design of these technologies can substantially reduce disk I/O, memory usage and improve overall system performance.
Nick Coleburn
Nick works as a Senior Technical Manager for The Co-operative Group, heading up the SQL Server Development Team; part of the Group Software Development Team. The team specialise in providing internal SQL Server consultancy to other software development teams, and design/build very large scale SQL Server database systems and Business Intelligence solutions. These also include systems which are sold to external customers.
Nick has been working with SQL Server for over 10 years specialising in designing large Data Warehouse and Business Intelligence solutions. He holds various Microsoft SQL Server certifications, including an MCDBA and 5 MCITPs covering SQL Server 2000, 2005 and 2008.
8:50 – 9.00pm Feedback draw
Then it's down to the pub for a pint!