SQL Server Club

SQLRelay Bristol Event Tuesday 4th October 2011

As part of the National SQL Server week, all the UK SQL Server user groups are holding an event to help promote the benefits of free community events.

As a leader of the Bristol user group I'm delighted to announce that we have Microsoft MVP Tony Rogerson returning for his second visit. Tony will be presenting High Availability in SQL Server Denali. We've had lots of support from sponsors including Microsoft, Wrox, Red Gate software and SQLPASS. There's a little a hint regarding the some of the super swag we have to give away ;-)

It's not too late to sign up for this event and you'd be mad to miss it:

•     HADR in SQL Server Denali with Tony Rogerson
•     Tuesday 4th October 2o11
•     18:30 - 20:30, Doors open 18:00
•     Room with a View, 4th Floor, Bush House, 72 Prince Street, Bristol BS1 4QD
•     Register using SQL Server FAQ here
•     Map, directions, instructions and more details here

You'll not only learn lots from Tony, but you'll get free pizza and beer and get to know lots of other local DBAs and developers. Don't forget to bring a friend!

July Meeting with SQL MVP James Rowland-Jones

I recently found myself without a speaker for the July SQL Server Club User Group meeting, so when James Rowland-Jones offered to step in, I have to say, I was chuffed to bits.

James is one of the SQLBits conference organisers as well as being a regular speaker. I saw James presenting at SQLBits in Newport back in 2009 and was impressed with his knowledge of SQL Server internals.

SQL Server has a complex, fascinating database engine and I can't help but be wowed when reading about its functions and capabilities. One of my favourite topics is page allocation, fragmentation and how data is stored.

What I previously hadn't given much consideration to is how loading data into a data warehouse is affected by fragmentation. When James emailed me to say this was the subject he would be presenting, I was thrilled.

His presentation will take us back to the basics of fragmentation and we will re-visit all those areas of heaps, clustered indexes and page allocation and how fragmentation arises and has an impact on performance. James will tell us about the trace flags we can use to avoid fragmentation and also what design patterns can be applied to minimise its effects.

I'm really looking forward to this event and it will be a pleasure to welcome James to Bristol. If you would like to attend this meeting, here are the details:

• The Art of War-Fast Track Data Warehouse and Fragmentation with James Rowland-Jones
• Thursday 21st July 2011
• 18:30 - 20:30, Doors open 18:00
• Room with a View, 4th Floor, Bush House, 72 Prince Street, Bristol BS1 4QD
• Register using Eventbrite here
• Map, directions, instructions and more details here

SQL Server Club User Group South West

I'm delighted to announce that we've started a real-world arm of SQL Server Club! We've set up a user group for SQL Server professionals in the South West of England.

While we'll predominantly be based in Bristol, we'll arrange for meetings to move round to other towns such as Bath, Swindon and Taunton.

To attend meetings you'll need to register, so please go to the SQL Server Club User Group South West site to join.

If you're based in the South West of the UK and work with SQL Server, please sign up! It's FREE! :-)