Ronald Dameron - IT beats loading bombs

I've got to figure out how to get to the PASS Summit every year!  It was AWESOME! It was great to meet more of the tweeps I follow and reconnect with those that I've met before. It was my first time to Seattle also.  The weather was better than expected. I had a great time walking around the city when time allowed. I also had the opportunity to try the local restaurants and visit the Space Needle.  Everything was great.  Especially the coffee at Top Pot Doughnuts . Every time slot had several sessions I wanted to attend.  You can't get to all the sessions you would like so b uying the Conference DVDs is a must.   Participating in my local PASS user group, SQL Saturdays, and Twitter made being a FIRST TIMER at this year's PASS Summit a non-issue. I did not  feel like a FIRST TIMER. I knew a lot of people because of participating locally.  I just blended right in, had fun, and learned a ton. Being a FIRST TIMER, I didn't realize I could download the sli

The final day of the PASS Summit started off with a great keynote speech by Dr. David DeWitt Ph.D talking about SQL Query Optimization.   Dr. DeWitt is currently a technical fellow at Microsoft leading the Jim Gray Systems Lab.  He said "Rocket Science is easier than query optimization." So, if you fail at query optimization, they send you to build rockets.  This was one of those presentations that will need to be watched multiple times before all the non-Ph.Ds like me assimilate everything. He did a great job explaining an unbelievably complex topic in terms most people can understand. It'll just take me a few passes to totally understand. I hope. DBA Mythbusters A fun interactive session with Paul Randal from SQLSkills.com with Buck Woody playing a supporting role. Buck said the interaction with Paul was not rehearsed. Too bad video doesn't make it on the conference DVDs. The PowerShell Cookbook for the DBA by Joe Webb Joe did an excellent overview of how

Day 2 started off with Andy Warren's recommendation of Top Pot Doughnuts .   I normally exercise in the morning so the walk down to Top Pot was a nice equivalent.  Top Pot sits right in front of pylon 43 of the Space Needle monorail on 5th Street downtown. They have the mother of all glazed donuts and excellent coffee.  Coffee so smooth I could drink it black. That's significant. I don't like black coffee.  Day 2 was to be BI day for me at the PASS Summit  but it quickly turned into the search for Ola Hallengren.    I attended or wanted to attend the following sessions:  Automate SQL Server Administration with PowerShell by Allen White I've read a bunch of Allen's blog posts so I wanted to see him in person.  He did a broad overview of how to automate DBA tasks using PowerShell.  If you're a DBA wanting to learn PowerShell, Allen should be on your list of people of blog posts to read and one of your Follows on Twitter. I did see all of this presenta

Started the day off great with breakfast in the Daily Grill with @BrentO after he tweeted that he had three open spots at his table.  Can't let the dude eat breakfast alone. I attended these sessions on Day 1 of SQL PASS.  Made it through the day with minimal impact from jet lag. DBA283S " Virtualization and SAN Basics for DBAs " with Brent Ozar. This man has a gift for imparting information in a funny and entertaining way. Great stuff I can use to better understand what is happening at my workplace with links to even more information at his blog under his SAN and Virtual tags. This one was voted most popular yesterday so it's today's Second Chance session.  AD314 " Database Testing Overview " with Buck Woody and Alex Kuznetsov. Buck and Alex gave an overview for properly testing a database before deploying new features.  Buck said Microsoft got one of its biggest black eyes from a one line change that had only one word changed.  Wow! You

I'll be attending my first PASS Summit next week in Seattle, WA! First, I'd like to thank my managers for sending me. Woohoo! Second, mere words can't express how much I am looking forward to it but maybe this does... I asked if I had to take my work laptop with me to the Summit. The reply, "You're not going on vacation." To this geek, it's damn near a vacation. I think it's one of those events that I will need a vacation to recover from given how much is planned. I attended virtually last year.  I watched all the available streaming events, followed the #sqlpass Twitter hashtag and convinced my manager to buy the conference DVDs. I and many others are again using the #sqlpass hashtag to prepare for this Summit.  I still need to look at the schedule and plan my days but I do know I will definitely want to see Buck Woody and Brent Ozar in the same room doing their presentation. I want to attend the session on how to write a speaker abs

My THIRD SQL Saturday of the year is behind me. I spoke in Tampa #32 and South Florida #40 earlier this year. Jack Corbett( @unclebiguns ), Andy Warren( @sqlandy ) and their volunteers did another EXCELLENT job on this event. What I liked:   The coverage via the #sqlsat49 Twitter feed. The constant updates from Jack on the event via e-mail and twitter. The large schedules on the wall in the hallways even though I stayed in the PowerShell room most of the day. Liam Fitzpatrick’s Bangers & Mash with Sam Adams OctoberFest beer at Friday night’s speaker party sponsored by Confio Software   Meeting the ScriptingGuy and ScriptingWife.  Nice people.  Funny guy. The ScriptingGuy statue that @MaxTrinidad got as a gift. He wouldn’t let me touch it. I REALLY liked that statue Max.  (c; The tweet from the @ScriptingGuys while I was doing my session “Why Learn PowerShell” asking if I wanted to do a guest blog post for the Scripting Guy blog. How about “If the Origi

I think so. I've used PowerShell to learn about Automation, SMO, WMI and object-oriented programming for starters.  Also, I've automated compliance reporting and ID administration tasks with it. On one occasion, I was troubleshooting a connectivity issue involving an app that used C#. I was able to read the C# code and troubleshoot the issue because PowerShell's syntax is very similar to C#. If I've piqued your interest, come to my session at SQL Saturday #49 in Orlando on October 16, 2010.

Yesterday's Twitter meme #sqlmovies was a lot of fun. My entries and the movie they were derived from follow. I, DBA is a play on the movie I, Robot. The Hurt Blocker obviously from The Hurt Locker. @WesBrownSQL's RT The Dead Locker was perfect. Lost In SAN from Lost In Space. And finally " what a query wants " from Amanda Byne's movie "what a girl wants"

I'll be speaking at my THIRD SQLSaturday of the year in Orlando. I'm doing a mini session and a regular session. The mini session is a condensed version of my Why a DBA Should Learn PowerShell talk. In 15 minutes, I hope to convince you that learning PowerShell is worth your time. Powershell is the newest scripting language from Microsoft and it goes across the Windows platform, including SQL Server. So it's new and exciting, but is it ready for prime time? Is it worth the effort to learn? How will it help you? Join PowerShell advocate and user Ron Dameron for a quick discussion of why he thinks knowing Powershell is a key skill for a SQL Server DBA. My full session for the day is Automate Login Administration & Compliance Reports A re your internal auditors asking that the administration of SQL Server logins be handled by a third party other than the DBAs? Is your Compliance and Audit departments asking you to determine if pa

SQL Saturday #40 in South Florida recap. Speaker dinner was great at Longhorn Steakhouse.  Thanks to Confio Software and SQLSkills.com for picking up the dinner and bar tab. Great to meet more SQL Tweeps in person and catch up with previous acquaintances. Evidently, the organizers did a fantastic job marketing this event because there were a large number of attendees.  The numbers I heard were in the 400 - 500 range. Rooms were full for the talks I saw and the Commons was busy. Check-in was very smooth.  Speaker room was great.  Plenty of water, refreshments, and food for the attendees.  Technical support from DeVry University staff was very helpful. The PowerShell room was packed for my first session at 8:30 am on "Why DBAs Should Learn PowerShell".  I think I may retitle this "Why ANYONE Can Learn PowerShell".  My second session on how to automate database login administration and compliance reporting was also well attended. Had a great time eating a super

Need a few reasons to come to this event ? It’s FREE .  You’ll learn from a master. A Microsoft Certified Master.  Brent Ozar will do two sessions . His first at 0945 conflicts with my first session.  I hope they gave me a small room for my session.  I predict most attendees will be in his session, not mine. He’s guaranteed to keep you awake. No cover charge at the door. Costumes optional. I’ll get to see Brent’s second session on Disaster Recovery in Hurricane Alley.                     College football hasn’t started.  So, you won’t miss UF, UCF, USF, FSU or The U. It’s FREE . Another Microsoft MVP, Tim Ford, will be there to talk about indexes, DMVs, and mistakes to avoid. BTW, great post from him recently on how being involved in the SQL community allowed him to land softly at a new job when he wasn’t looking. More MVPs, Twitterati and local experts galore.  Did I say the whole thing is FREE ! I’m on the schedule for two sessions first thing in the morning: W

Speaker abstracts I've submitted... SQL Saturday #40 in Miramar, FL. Automating ID Administration with PowerShell and SQLPSX I will demonstrate how I automated ID provisioning using PowerShell, SQLPSX, and my company's standard job scheduler. Database Hardening via PowerShell I will demonstrate how I use PowerShell to handle the issues encountered in a Fortune 50 corporate environment that has over 500 database servers and 3600 databases. Why DBAs Should Learn PowerShell I will detail my reasoning why a DBA would benefit from learning PowerShell. A DBA can use PowerShell in conjunction with SQL, WMI, and SMO to automate repetitive tasks and better manage their workload. The bonus for attending SQL Saturday #40, meeting Brent Ozar and Tim Ford in person. SQL PASS Summit 2010 Why DBAs Should Learn PowerShell Described above Automating SQL Server Login Administration and Compliance Audits with PowerShell Are your internal auditors asking that the a

I passed the 70-450 exam last week and completed the 70-432 exam earlier in April. I have to say this certification is a much better test of your real world DBA skills then the MCDBA exams. A lot less memorization required and a lot more critical thinking needed. I started with Buck Woody's notes for the 70-432 exam and used the book he recommended. There are no self-study kits for the 70-450 exam.  I prepared for this exam by reviewing the exam's Skills Being Measured outline along with SQL Server Books Online. For both exams, I will say that practical work experience does help a great deal especially with the 70-450 exam. I answered a number of questions on the 70-450 exam just thinking about real world issues I have dealt with. I will also say attendance at my local SQL User Group meetings, SQL Saturdays, Quest Software Virtual Events, 24 Hours of PASS, reading blogs, and twitter contributed to my MCITP success. While it's always gratifying to

Jack Corbett ( @unclebiguns ) and Andy Warren( @sqlAndy ) invited me to speak at this month’s Orlando PASS meeting. First, I want to thank them for the opportunity. I enjoyed it. For the benefit of those who couldn’t make the trip to Tampa last month for SQL Saturday #32, I did my talk on “Database Hardening via PowerShell”. I worked a half day and then headed to Orlando around 12:30 PM.  The plan was to speak and to visit my daughters at the University of Central Florida. I visited with the youngest daughter prior to the meeting.  When I asked if she was available, she asked “Does this mean I get a free lunch?”.  Yes, we had a late lunch . After lunch, I headed over to  the meeting location around 4 PM hoping to beat the rush hour traffic. Boy, was I wrong.  The constant rain that day slowed I-4 Eastbound traffic to a crawl.  Plus, I was wondering who let all these people off work early??? I arrived at the meeting location at 5 PM, a full hour before the meeting started. I’m

SQL Saturday #32 was a great success this past weekend! Pam Shaw ( @pamshaw ) and Jorge Segarra( @SQLChicken ) did a great job organizing this event! Thanks to KForce for hosting the event and to all the sponsors for picking up the costs. If you missed this event, you also missed out on some of the best food ever at a SQL Saturday!  Spaghetti Warehouse in Ybor City did a great job with the speaker/volunteer dinner Friday night.  The day of the event all attendees got a taste of Ybor from “Latam at the Centro” for lunch.  BEST LUNCH I HAVE EVER HAD AT A SQL SATURDAY!  Hmmm. Best lunch I’ve had in a while. It was great to meet the following SQL Tweeps in person: @adam_jorgensen , Argenis Fernandez( @afernandez ), David Taylor(@ dyfhid ), @GarethSwan , Jason Strate( @StrateSQL ), Aaron Nelson( @SQLvariant ),and Jeff Truman( @jtruman0917 ). I hope I didn’t miss anybody. Great to see these tweeps again: @brianknight , @cmille19 , @GratefulDBA , @patrickdba , @unclebigguns , @le

A manager posed the question “Can we list all the Windows groups that have access to all of our database servers?”  The answer is “Yes.”  It is very easy to do with a short PowerShell script via SMO. The results are written to a CSV file. 1: ## List Windows Groups on a server ## 2: ## ./get-WinGrps.ps1 3: $start = get-date 4: write-host "Start: " $start 5:   6: [reflection.assembly]::LoadWithPartialName( "Microsoft.SqlServer.Smo" ) | out-null 7:   8: $FilePath = "C:\Output" 9: $OutFile = Join-Path -path $FilePath -childPath ( "WindowsGroupsOnServers_" + (get-date).toString( 'yyyyMMdd_hhmmtt' ) + ".csv" ) 10:   11: # Version inventory 12: @( foreach ($svr in get-content "C:\Input\TestServers.txt" ) 13: { 14: 15: $s = New-Object "Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.Server" $svr