Ronald Dameron - IT beats loading bombs

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 t...

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 e...

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 bef...

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 , ...