Roger Doherty's SQL Server Evangelism Blog

Trust Services Lab Refresh Coming July 9th

Roger Doherty — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 16:07:39 GMT

I just got notified that a refresh of the Trust Services Lab is due out on July 9th 2012. For those of you who don’t know what Trust Services is, it’s a .NET encryption framework for protecting sensitive data stored in Windows Azure Data Management technologies, including SQL Database (formerly known as SQL Azure), Tables and Blobs. It’s all done using policies and certificates that are managed independently by the developer and an authorized administrator.

Why should you care? One of the big adoption blockers for building PaaS applications for Windows Azure are concerns over loss of control and data sovereignty. Trust Services technology will make it possible to encrypt and store your data securely in Windows Azure, and independently define policies that allow only authorized consumers to decrypt the data. This eliminates the risk of access to sensitive data by any unauthorized entity, including the cloud provider that is hosting your PaaS application.

So what’s new in the July 9th refresh? Some pretty cool stuff, including:

Search on encrypted data
Encryption of streams
Separation of roles for data policy administration, publishing and consumption

If you previously signed up for the lab, you will have to sign up again to get the July 9th refresh. We haven’t announced any plans yet for general availability of Trust Services, but this refresh is a good sign that things are progressing well. Have at it!

Windows Azure Virtual Machine is Here!

Roger Doherty — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 05:32:05 GMT

On June 7, 2012 in San Francisco, Scott Guthrie encouraged the world to Meet the New Windows Azure . As part of this milestone, Scott announced the availability of several Windows Azure Preview Features including a new Virtual Machine capability. This exciting new Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) offering makes it possible to deploy fully functional virtual machine environments in the cloud that can function independently, extend your on-premise IT environment using Virtual Networks, and interoperate with other Windows Azure cloud service offerings.

Are you interested in running SQL Server in a Windows Azure Virtual Machine? Then check out the SQL Server on Windows Azure Virtual Machine Early Adoption Cook Book at:

http://bit.ly/sqliaascookbook

It’s a work in progress and we’ll be adding lots of great stuff in the coming weeks!

They’re Here! SQL Server 2012 Early Adoption Cook Book Videos!

Roger Doherty — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 03:52:57 GMT

That’s right, just in time for SQL Server 2012 launch madness, every single presentation and demo included in the SQL Server 2012 Early Adoption Cook Book now has a corresponding video on Channel 9! There are 50 videos covering every imaginable topic of interest to developers and IT Professionals who want to learn what’s new and exciting in SQL Server 2012.

The easiest way to find the specific videos you are interested in is to open this wiki page in the cook book, find the piece of content you are interested in, then simply click on the appropriate link to either download the content or watch the video.

A big thanks to the following folks who helped make this possible:

Jonathan Kehayias for AlwaysOn content.
Greg Low for developer content.
Peter Myers for BI content.
Joe Sack for engine content.
Aaron Lower for coordinating and publishing all these videos.
The Channel9 team for the use of their awesome engines.

Enjoy!

Announcing the SQL Server 2012 Early Adoption Cook Book

Roger Doherty — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:28:49 GMT

If you are on the “bleeding edge” of SQL Server 2012 early adoption, and you need content, samples or upgrade resources to move the ball forward, read on!

Microsoft creates a lot of content designed to drive early adoption for new releases of SQL Server. We use this as a tool to arm trainers, consultants and evangelists with the content they need to introduce developers and IT Professionals alike to key improvements in a new release so they can help us drive adoption. We don't always do a good job of communicating what all of these content assets are.

To address this problem, I’m pleased to announce the immediate availability of the SQL Server 2012 Early Adoption Cook Book TechNet wiki at:

http://bit.ly/sql2012cookbook

The wiki is intended to serve as a master index of some great SQL Server 2012 early adoption content being created by Microsoft and key partners. Rather than announcing new bits of content on various blogs, we will simply update this wiki so there is one place to find all the latest information about early adoption content assets.

We will be updating the wiki weekly with new content and information, so subscribe to the articles that you are most interested in if you want to be proactively notified of updates.

There is a big virtual team that has come together to make this project possible that includes people both inside and outside of Microsoft. I would like to thank the following individuals up front for their significant contributions:

Brian Knight of Pragmatic Works helped us with Expedition Denali.
Greg Low and Peter Myers of SolidQ are helping us with developer and BI content.
Jonathan Kehayias and Joe Sack of SQLskills are helping us with AlwaysOn and DBA content.
Roger Wolter and Rohit Sharma of Scalability Experts are helping us with upgrade and application compatibility tools and content.
Joe Homnick of Homnick Systems is helping us redeliver our content to trainers.
Daniel Altamirano of Southworks is helping us with overall content development and training kit packaging.
Richard Davis of SharpLogic is grinding out all of our virtual machines.
Scott Forsyth of VaasNet is helping us host our virtual machines.
Joe Yong and Mo Lin from SQL Server Engineering, along with Ross LoForte and George Huey from the Microsoft field are helping us with upgrade and application compatibility tools and content.
Neeti Gupta, Manish Sharma, James Conard, Scott Klein, Steve DiMarco and Jackie Carr from Microsoft Developer and Platform Evangelism are helping us with funding, programs, content, tools, events and infrastructure.
Betsy Pridmore, Sherri Brouwer, Jennifer Moser, Nick King and Emilie Bridon from SQL Server Marketing are helping us with marketing and funding.

We hope you join the party and help us drive the next wave of solutions built for SQL Server 2012!

SQL Server 2012 on the SQL Down Under Podcast

Roger Doherty — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:55:05 GMT

My colleague Greg Low asked me to join him for the latest episode of the SQL Down Under podcast to discuss what’s new and interesting about SQL Server 2012. Check it out!

http://www.sqldownunder.com/SQLDownUnderWMAFeed.xml

Or:

http://www.sqldownunder.com/SQLDownUnderMP3Feed.xml

Enjoy and Happy Holidays to all my database and BI friends out there!

New SQL Server 2012 Labs and Presentations Available

Roger Doherty — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 05:45:00 GMT

We just shipped a whole bunch of new content for the SQL Server 2012 Developer Training Kit and you can get it right now via the Web Installer Preview:

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9785999

This update includes eleven new hands-on labs covering popular topics like Integration Services, the new BI Semantic Model and Power View.

Remember, if you are new to training kits in general, you don’t need to install all the dependencies up front. As a matter of fact, you can skip them all and just install the content if all you want to do is browse it.

Here’s a complete list of the content available in the training kit including what’s new or updated:

Discover SQL Server 2012

Updated Presentation: Introduction to SQL Server 2012 (SQL11UPD00-DECK-01)

This presentation provides an overview of the key improvements in SQL Server 2012 from a developer perspective in the context of Microsoft's overall strategy for Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS).

Demo: A First Look at SQL Server Data Tools (SQL11UPD00-DEMO-03)

This demo provides a quick tour of the new SQL Server Data Tools. SSDT makes it easy to develop powerful database solutions that target both your on-premise environment and the cloud.

Hands On Lab: Build Your First Web Application with SQL Server 2012 and ASP.NET (SQL11UPD00-HOL-01)

This lab shows how to build a simple web application in ASP.NET that performs CRUD (Create, Read, Update and Delete) operations against a SQL Server 2012 database. It also shows you how to work with images stored in the database.

Hands On Lab: Exploring Transact-SQL Improvements in SQL Server 2012 (SQL11UPD00-HOL-02)

In this Hands On Lab you will explore the Transact-SQL improvements in SQL Server 2012.

Hands On Lab: Managing Rich Unstructured Data in SQL Server 2012 (SQL11UPD00-HOL-03)

This lab will introduce you to several SQL Server 2012 improvements that make it easy to manage content as an integrated part of your solution, including FILESTREAM, FileTable, full text indexing and semantic search.

SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Information Management

New Hands On Lab: Exploring SQL Server 2012 Integration Services (SQL11UPD05-HOL-01)

This hands on lab will introduce you to the improvements in SQL Server 2012 Integration Services including project connection managers, parameters, SSIS catalogs, server package execution and monitoring.

New Hands On Lab: Exploring SQL Server 2012 Master Data Services (SQL11UPD05-HOL-02)

In this lab, you will create a Master Data Services model and entities to store a master list of geographic data. The entity and attribute creation will be achieved using the Master Data Services Add-in for Excel.

New Hands On Lab: Exploring SQL Server Denali Data Quality Services

In this lab, you will create a Data Quality Services knowledge base to cleanse US state codes and email addresses. You will then create a Data Quality Project to cleanse data in an Excel workbook. Next, you will update an Integration Services package to use the DQS Cleansing component to cleanse the data as part of an ETL process.

SQL Server 2012 Reporting and Analytics

New Hands On Lab: Developing a SQL Server 2012 Tabular BI Semantic Model with Visual Studio 2010 (SQL11UPD06-HOL-01)

SQL Server 2012 introduces the concept of a BI Semantic Model, which is a common metadata layer used to drive multiple user experiences including scorecards, dashboards and reports. BI Semantic Models can be developed in either Visual Studio or in Excel using the SQL Server 2012 PowerPivot add in. In this lab, you will develop a Tabular BI Semantic Model based on the AdventureWorksDWDenali sample database. Specifically it will allow the sales analysis of the reseller sales against sales quota. You will work with the entire development lifecycle including the creation of the project, the importing of data from both Microsoft SQL Server and a data feed data source, the enhancement of the model, and the definition of measures and a Key Performance Indicator (KPI). Once you have explored and tested the model you will enhance it with perspectives, partitions and a security role. Finally you will deploy the project to a Tabular instance of Analysis Services.

New Hands On Lab: Creating a SQL Server 2012 Tabular BI Semantic Model with PowerPivot (SQL11UPD06-HOL-02)

SQL Server 2012 introduces the concept of a BI Semantic Model, which is a common metadata layer used to drive multiple user experiences including scorecards, dashboards and reports. BI Semantic Models can be developed in either Visual Studio or in Excel using the SQL Server 2012 PowerPivot add in. In this lab, you will create a PowerPivot workbook that will import data from a SQL Server database and an Excel file. The PowerPivot model will then be enriched with calculated columns, hierarchies, a Key Performance Indicator (KPI), and a perspective. The principal goal of this lab is to create a user-friendly interface to the model to support self-service reporting, analytics and monitoring for Excel PivotTables, PerformancePoint Services dashboards and Reporting Services reports. You will explore the PowerPivot Field List interface by producing a PivotTable report. The final report will look like the following.

New Presentation: What's New in SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services (SQL11UPD06-DECK-03)

This presentation provides a high-level overview of SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services improvements including data alerts, improved SharePoint 2010 integration, Power View and SQL Azure Reporting.

New Hands On Lab: Exploring Data Alerts with SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services (SQL11UPD06-HOL-03)

SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services data alerts are a data-driven alerting solution that informs you about changes in report data that are of interest to you, and at a relevant time. In this lab, you will define a data alert to notify you when salespeople do not achieve at least the 1% profitability target.

New Hands On Lab: Optimizing a SQL Server 2012 Tabular BI Semantic Model for Power View (SQL11UPD06-HOL-04)

New Hands On Lab: Exploring SQL Server 2012 Power View (SQL11UPD06-HOL-05)

In this lab, you will explore SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services Power View. Power View is a Web browser-based report authoring tool targeted at everyone to enable them to create compelling, interactive and rich data visualizations based on Tabular BI Semantic Models. You will create a report based on a PowerPivot workbook published to a PowerPivot Gallery, and this report will consist of three different, yet related, interactive data exploration experiences. You will explore the model data using the tables, column and bar charts, and an animated scatter chart.

New Hands On Lab: Creating Excel 2010 Reports Based on a SQL Server 2012 Tabular BI Semantic Model (SQL11UPD06-HOL-06)

In this lab, you will create a report in Excel 2010 based on a SQL Server 2012 tabular BI Semantic Model. You will then publish the workbook to SharePoint Server and then explore the report rendered by Excel Services in the Web browser.

New Hands On Lab: Creating a SQL Server Reporting Services Report Based on a SQL Server 2012 Tabular BI Semantic Model (SQL11UPD06-HOL-07)

In this lab, you will author a report in Report Builder 3.0 using the Map Wizard. The map analytic data will be retrieved from the Sales Analysis tabular BI Semantic Model.

New Hands On Lab: Creating a PerformancePoint Services 2010 Dashboard Based on a SQL Server 2012 Tabular BI Semantic Model (SQL11UPD06-HOL-08)

This hands on lab shows how to create a PerformancePoint Services 2010 dashboard based on a SQL Server 2012 Tabular BI Semantic Model.

Introduction to SQL Azure

Presentation: Introduction to SQL Azure (SQL11UPD07-DECK-01)

Provides a high level overview of SQL Azure from a developer perspective.

Presentation: Advanced SQL Azure (SQL11UPD07-DECK-02)

Provides a high level overview of advanced SQL Azure services including SQL Azure Reporting, SQL Azure DataSync and SQL Azure Federations.

Demo: Provisioning Logical Servers using Cmdlets (SQLAzureProvisioningServers)

This demo shows how to provision SQL Azure Logical Servers using the Azure Cmdlets.

Hands On Lab: Migrating Databases to SQL Azure (MigratingDatabasesToSQLAzure)

In this lab, you will use the AdventureWorksLT2008 database and show how to move an existing on-premise database to SQL Azure including: modifying the DDL and moving data via BCP.

Hands On Lab: SQL Azure Data-tier Applications (SQLAzureDAC)

In this lab, you will learn how to use Data-tier Applications to deploy and upgrade SQL Azure databases. Using the SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) you will create new database projects to publish a database schema and upgrade it with new changes.

Hands On Lab: Build Your First Report with SQL Azure Reporting (SQLAzureReportingServices)

This hands-on lab shows how to build a simple report, deploy it to SQL Azure Reporting, and access it from a Windows Azure ASP.NET application.

Hands On Lab: SQL Azure Data Sync (SQLAzureDataSync)

In this lab, you will learn how to synchronize data between SQL Azure and on-premises SQL Server databases, using SQL Azure Data Sync.

Hands On Lab: SQL Azure Federations (SQLAzureFederations)

SQL Azure Federations is an integrated capability of SQL Azure Database that dramatically simplifies database sharding implementations. In this hands-on Lab, you will learn how to create a database with federations and develop applications that interacts with federated tables using both ADO.NET and Entity Framework.

New and Updated SQL Azure Labs Available

Roger Doherty — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 02:12:33 GMT

We just shipped a whole batch of new SQL Azure content in the Windows Azure Platform Training Kit – October Release and also in the SQL Server 2012 Developer Training Kit. Here’s a quick summary of what’s new from a SQL Azure Perspective.

New Lab: SQL Azure Data-tier Applications

SQL Azure Database supports a variety of mechanisms for deploying, versioning and migrating databases. You can use the traditional Transact-SQL script based approach to create your database objects, then populate your data either using scripts, BCP or SQL Server Integration Services. Schema upgrade scripts tend to be either hand coded or generated using additional tools. This approach is well known by SQL Server developers, but can be tedious for developers who are new to SQL Azure, especially when dealing with the complexities associated with database schema versioning.

Microsoft is addressing this complexity with a new framework called the Data-tier Application Framework, or DAC Fx, which makes it much easier to deploy, migrate and version your database schemas for SQL Server and SQL Azure. DAC Fx shipped initially with SQL Server 2008 R2, and support was soon added for SQL Azure. Since then, DAC Fx has evolved significantly and is an important part of the developer and manageability story for SQL Azure. It is being integrated into developer tools like the SQL Server Data Tools, management tools like SQL Server 2012 Management Studio, and as a service accessible from the Windows Azure Management Portal.

Objectives:

In this hands-on lab, you will learn how to:

Create a new SQL Server project using SQL Server Developer Tools Codename “Juneau” CTP3 (known as SSDT) to target SQL Azure.
Publish a Data-tier Application to SQL Azure using SSDT.
Export a .bacpac file into a blob storage container, using the Import/Export Service from the Azure Management Portal.
Upgrade the exported .bacpac file and update the SQL Azure database.

Updated Lab: Build Your First Report With SQL Azure Reporting

Microsoft SQL Azure Reporting provides a complete, cloud-based platform designed to support a wide variety of reporting needs enabling organizations to deliver relevant information where needed across the entire enterprise. Now developers can deliver highly visual, interactive reports as an integrated part of a Windows Azure-based solution. There’s no need to install your own Reporting Services instance or apply software updates, because SQL Azure Reporting runs as a highly available cloud service. Best of all, SQL Azure Reporting is based on SQL Server Reporting Services, so you can build reports using the same familiar tools that can be deployed on-premise or in the cloud.

Objectives:

In this hands-on lab, you will learn how to:

Create a SQL Azure data source and data set for a report.
Add a table to a report.
Work with report item properties to customize the report appearance.
Add expressions to calculate values to be display in the report.
Deploy the report in SQL Azure Report Server.
Embed the SQL Azure report using the ReportViewer control.

New Lab: SQL Azure Data Sync

The SQL Azure Data Sync is a cloud-based data synchronization service, which provides uni-directional and bi-directional data sync, allowing data to be easily shared between SQL Azure and on-premises SQL Server databases as well as between multiple SQL Azure databases, within the same or different data centers. The SQL Azure Data Sync Previews can be accessed directly from the Windows Azure Management Portal.

In this Lab, you will synchronize two databases, a SQL Azure database against an on-premise SQL Server database, changing the sync settings available in a Sync Group.

Objectives:

In this hands-on lab, you will learn how to:

Provision a SQL Azure Data Sync Server
Create a Sync Group Topology with a SQL Azure Database, a SQL Azure Sync Hub and an on-premise SQL Server database.

New Lab: SQL Azure Federations

One of the key value propositions of the Windows Azure Platform is the ability to achieve elastic scale by adapting dynamically to changes in demand. A single SQL Azure Database has limited capacity in terms of size and transactional throughput. To add more capacity you must partition your data across multiple SQL Azure databases. To release capacity, you must consolidate multiple SQL Azure databases into one. This approach is known as database sharding. SQL Azure Federations (currently in CTP) is an integrated capability of SQL Azure Database that dramatically simplifies database sharding implementations.

Objectives:

In this Hands-On Lab, you will learn how to:

Add federations to a database and spit them into different federation members.
Query & Perform CRUD operations over federated tables using ADO.NET.
Query & Perform CRUD operations over federated tables using the ADO.NET Entity Framework.

New Demo: Provisioning SQL Azure Servers using Cmdlets

SQL Azure Database is SQL Server database technology delivered as a service on the Windows Azure Platform, and is ideal for developers targeting Windows Azure who need database functionality as part of their application. Provisioning a new SQL Azure server is fast and easy, and can be done interactively using the Windows Azure Management Portal. You can also automate server provisioning using the Management REST API, or using the Windows Azure Platform Powershell cmdlets. Once your server is provisioned, you can connect to it using standard tools and technologies like ASP.NET, java and PHP. There is no need to install and maintain server hardware, software and storage, or worry about high availability or disaster recovery, these capabilities are all managed for you as part of the service. This means you can focus on building great solutions instead of maintaining infrastructure.

Objectives:

In this demo you will see several key features and tools:

Windows Azure Command Lets 2.0
SQL Azure Logical Servers
Firewall Rules in SQL Azure

Essential SQL Server for DevConnections Attendees

Roger Doherty — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 01:44:24 GMT

Tuesday 11/1/2011 is a big day for SQL Server 2012. The SQL Server engineering team will be in the house at DevConnections in Las Vegas. This post is for people who are attending SQL Server Connections and others who want to learn about SQL Server 2012 and connect with the team. You can download the complete schedule here. You can get some hands-on experience with the SQL Server 2012 Developer Training Kit here.

We’ll be Tweeting throughout the day and would love to see your Tweets as well! Please use the following hash tags:

Database Tweets: use #SQLServer + #DevConnections
Business Intelligence Tweets: use #MSBI + #DevConnections

Keynote (Mandalay Bay E & G, 8:00 AM – 9:15 AM)

Kamal Hathi will deliver the keynote on Tuesday entitled KEY02: Delivering Breakthrough Insight with SQL Server 2012. Kamal directs the engineering effort for SQL Server Business Intelligence technologies including both on-premise platforms and the cloud. Attending this keynote session is an excellent way to learn about what’s new and exciting from a BI perspective in SQL Server 2012, including breakthrough technology like Power View. Be ready for a few surprises!

After the keynote you can choose from twelve different breakout sessions organized into three tracks, and you can connect with the presenters at the Microsoft booth in the Expo Hall.

Developer Track (Mandalay Bay E, 10:15 AM – 04:15 PM)

These sessions are designed for Visual Studio and .NET developers who want to learn about the latest tools and capabilities for building the next generation of database applications for both on-premise environments and the cloud. Attendees from Visual Studio Connections, ASP.NET Connections, Silverlight Connections, HTML5 Connections and Windows Azure Connections are also encouraged to attend!

SMS01: Database Development with SQL Server Data Tools
Presenter: Gert Drapers
SQL Server Data Tools provides a brand-new developer experience for database developers by bringing familiar Microsoft Visual Studio development paradigms to bear; debug, refactor and maintain your database declaratively. This session introduces you to the new tools and how you can leverage them to build and maintain you SQL Server and SQL Azure database, standalone and inside a team environment.

Connect with Gert in the Expo Hall:

Tuesday 11/1/11 from 12:30 PM – 3:15 PM.

SMS02: What’s New for Application Developers in SQL Server 2012 & SQL Azure
Presenter: Tobias Ternstrom
Come and learn about what is new and cool for application developers in SQL Server 2012 and SQL Azure. There are several interesting additions to T-SQL, this session will focus on what they are, why they were added to the product and how you can benefit from using them. This session will also cover the new Local Database Runtime deployment option for SQL Server Express, powerful new capabilities for managing content as an integrated part of your database application, and improved support for spatial data.

Connect with Tobias in the Expo Hall:

Tuesday 11/1/11 from 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM

SMS03: Leave the 90’s Behind: New ways to Develop, Deploy, Upgrade and Migrate your Database
Presenter: Shireesh Thota
Tired of the same old routine of hand-coding scripts to develop, deploy, upgrade, and migrate your databases? Come see the next-generation of management tools and services that work together through the Data-Tier Application Framework (DAC Fx) to help reduce the amount of time you spend provisioning your on-premise and SQL Azure databases.

Connect with Shireesh in the Expo Hall:

Wednesday 11/2/11 from 09:00 AM – 11:30 AM

SMS04: StreamInsight - Adding a Real-Time Tool to Your Belt
Presenter: Isaac Kunen
There is a growing need for real-time analytics in a wide array of scenarios, including monitoring, fraud detection, logistics, clickstream analysis, and many others. While traditional tools like relational databases are extraordinarily effective at storing and querying data, they have their limitations: data have to hit disk before they are analyzed; streaming, continuously changing data are hard to deal with; and time-series queries are notoriously difficult to express in SQL. StreamInsight gives you a new tool, combining powerful temporal semantics with the ability to handle high volumes of real-time streaming data. This session will explore and demonstrate StreamInsight, and show how it can be integrated into CLR applications to provide real-time analytic processing.

Connect with Isaac in the Expo Hall:

Wednesday 11/2/11 from 09:00 AM – 11:30 AM

BI Track (Mandalay Bay D, 10:15 AM – 04:15 PM)

These sessions are designed for developers and IT Professionals alike who want to learn about the latest tools and capabilities for building the next generation of business intelligence solutions for both on-premise environments and the cloud. This track will also cover all the latest details about integration between SQL Server 2012 BI and SharePoint. Attendees from SharePoint Connections, Exchange Connections and Unified Communications Connections are also encouraged to attend!

SMS05: Deep Dive into the new features of PowerPivot in SQL Server 2012
Presenter: Julie Strauss
A deep dive into the PowerPivot for Excel covering the new features that we are introducing with the release of SQL Server 2012. Capabilities that will be demonstrated include many of the new modeling features that will also be available for Professionals working with the new Tabular Project type in BI Development Studio, including the new measure grid, hierarchies, perspectives, KPIs and diagram view just to name a few.

Connect with Julie in the Expo Hall:

Tuesday 11/1/11 from 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM

SMS06: What's New in SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services
Presenter: Roger Doherty
We will cover all the new capabilities of SSRS including PowerView, the new ad-hoc self-service reporting technology, self-service alerting, setup and integration with SharePoint, and SQL Azure Reporting.

Connect with Roger in the Expo Hall:

Tuesday 11/1/11 from 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
Wednesday 11/2/11 from 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM

SMS07: Building the Perfect Analysis Services Tabular Model for Power View
Presenter: Julie Strauss
In this session we’ll focus on the new Analysis Services Tabular project type that will available in the BI Development Studio (BIDS) with SQL Server 2012. We’ll cover features like security and partitioning as well as talk about how you can create the right models for users to create their own insights using Power View, the new Self-Service reporting technology as part of SQL Server 2012.

Connect with Julie in the Expo Hall:

Tuesday 11/1/11 from 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM

SMS08: Introducing SQL Server 2012 Data Quality Services
Presenter: Gadi Peleg
In this session we’ll introduce you to an exciting new set of tools and services to be introduced wit SQL Server 2012 called Data Quality Services. DQS helps organizations improve data quality using a knowledge base. After you build the knowledge base, you can continuously improve it, and then reuse it in multiple data-quality improvement processes. DQS makes complex data scrubbing tasks like cleansing, de-duplication, and validation using cloud-based reference data a snap.

Connect with Gadi in the Expo Hall:

Tuesday 11/1/11 from 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM

DBA Track (Mandalay Bay C, 10:15 AM – 04:15 PM)

These sessions are designed for database administrators and IT Professionals who want to understand what’s coming in SQL Server 2012. Attendees from Windows Connections are also encouraged to attend!

SMS09: SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn Solution Overview
Presenter: Santosh Balasubramanian
In this session we will talk about the new high availability solution that is being introduced in SQL Server 2012. The session provides an overview of AlwaysOn and explains how you can build a high availability solution using the new features and capabilities. In this session you will learn about how to deploy an AlwaysOn solution, how to utilize your secondary hardware for better return of investment and how the new solution simplifies deployment, management of high availability in your environment. The session will also describe how to manage application connectivity of your primary OLTP applications and reporting applications in an AlwaysOn environment.

Connect with Santosh in the Expo Hall:

Tuesday 11/1/11 from 12:30 PM – 3:15 PM
Thursday 11/3/11 from 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM

SMS11: SQL Server 2012 Integration Services Overview
Presenters: David Noor and Andy Conrad
In this session we’ll cover all the cool new improvements coming in the next release of Integration Services including the enhanced Developer Experience, the Project & Parameter model, and the new Server based deployment features. We will also cover project “Barcelona” which is designed to help developers and DBA’s alike perform impact analysis of schema changes across an enterprise data topology.

Connect with David or Andy in the Expo Hall:

David: Tuesday 11/1/11 from 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Andy: Wednesday 11/2/11 from 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
Andy: Thursday 11/3/11 from 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM

SMS10: SQL Server 2012 Database Engine Improvements for the DBA
Presenter: Lubor Kollar
The next release of SQL Server is coming and it is chocked full of enough cool improvements to make even the most skeptical DBA giggle with excitement. This session will provide a survey of a few of the top improvements including support for new ColumnStore indexing technology, more online operations, support for 15k partitions, enhanced full-text search and breakthrough new statistical semantic search technology.

Connect with Lubor in the Expo Hall:

Tuesday 11/1/11 from 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM

SMS12: Upgrading to SQL Server 2012
Presenter: Joe Yong
This session will show you all the caveats, tricks and tips and guidance on how to perform successful database upgrades to SQL Server 2012. By the end of this session you’ll understand the key steps involved in the upgrade process. You will learn how to assess upgrade issues, and find resolutions to accomplish a successful upgrade.

Connect with Joe in the Expo Hall:

Tuesday 11/1/11 from 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM

Looking for a killer SQL Server 2012 demo?

Roger Doherty — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 05:26:47 GMT

Well look no further! I’m pleased to announce that the MySemanticSearch Sample is now available on CodePlex at:

mysemanticsearch.codeplex.com

MySemanticSearch allows a user to upload Word documents into a SQL Server 2012 table, then visualize the semantic content of the documents in it using tag clouds that are automatically built by semantic search. The user can then find similar documents by comparing their tag clouds.

As seen in Quentin Clark’s Day 2 Keynote at PASS Summit 2011, this simple but elegant content management application shows off the power of several key improvements in SQL Server 2012 including:

Database blob storage (FILESTREAM)
Database blob storage file sharing (FileTables)
Full-text search
Semantic search

Go ahead and give it a try! Post your feedback and comments on CodePlex.

New SQL Server 2012 and SQL Azure Presentations Available

Roger Doherty — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 19:47:29 GMT

I’m pleased to announce that the following presentations have been added to the SQL Server 2012 Developer Training Kit and are available for download:

Introduction To SQL Server 2012
This presentation provides an overview of the key improvements in SQL Server 2012 from a developer perspective in the context of Microsoft's overall strategy for Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). I’ve been using this deck to kick off Expedition Denali events, and will post a video soon on Channel 9.
Introduction To SQL Azure
This presentation provides a high level overview of SQL Azure from a developer perspective. I’ve been using this deck in our Windows Azure Foundation Training Workshops. A video of me delivering this presentation is available here on Channel 9.
Advanced SQL Azure
Provides a high level overview of advanced SQL Azure services including SQL Azure Reporting, SQL Azure DataSync and SQL Azure Federations. A video of me delivering this presentation is available here on Channel 9.

All three of these decks can be downloaded using the Web Installer Preview which can be downloaded here:

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9785999

Enjoy!

Learn SQL Server 2012 Development Now!

Roger Doherty — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 04:45:00 GMT

If you want to learn how to develop database and business intelligence solutions that fully exploit SQL Server 2012 improvements, this resource is for you! The SQL Server 2012 Developer Training Kit includes technical content like labs, demos and presentations that you can use to learn SQL Server 2012 or to deliver your own training event.

Installing training kit content is easy, just download the Web Installer Preview for the kit today from the following link:

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9785999

Simply launch the installer, choose the content you want and click download. Here’s a list of the content that is currently available:

Demo: A First Look at SQL Server Developer Tools Codename "Juneau"
SSDT is a new Visual Studio based IDE for developing SQL Server and SQL Azure database solutions. SSDT includes modern new projects and designers that will dramatically improve developer productivity. It also supports powerful features like declarative model-driven development, platform targeting. Integration with the Data-tier Application Framework (DAC Fx) makes deploying, migrating and versioning your databases easier the ever.
Lab: Build Your First Web Application with SQL Server 2012 and ASP.NET
This lab is ideal for web developers who are new to SQL Server, and guides you through the basics of coding CRUD operations and image retrieval with ASP.NET. This lab is also great for SQL Server database professionals who want to learn the basics of web development.
Lab: Exploring Transact-SQL Improvements in SQL Server 2012
SQL Server 2012 offers several new Transact-SQL programmability improvements that will make developers lives much easier, including new support for results paging, sequence generators and better error handling. In this lab you will experiment with each of these improvements so you can use them in your own applications.
Lab: Managing Rich Unstructured Data in SQL Server 2012
SQL Server 2012 includes breakthrough innovations for developers building content management applications. This lab will guide you through the basics of using the new FileTable object to move content in and out of SQL Server using standard SMB techniques, and how to enable rich search capabilities on top of that content using full text indexing and semantic search.

New content will be published through the Web Installer Preview on a regular basis, so be sure to check back frequently for updates. Now let’s get started building those new SQL Server 2012 database and business intelligence solutions!

Check Out Episode 2 of DataBound

Roger Doherty — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 03:33:52 GMT

One of my favorite new features of SQL Server Code Name “Denali” is known as Semantic Search which makes it possible to automatically build tag clouds over a set of content then do powerful searches, such as “find documents that are similar to this one” or “compare these two documents and tell me which tags are most similar”.

When combined with improved support for database blob storage (FILESTREAM) and easy SMB access to your content in SQL Server (FileTable), this turns into a killer feature for content management systems.

In Episode 2 of DataBound I’ll walk through these improvements with RUDS ninja Michael Rys (Rich Unstructured Data), and we’ll show a sample content management app that uses Semantic Search to visualize the tags in a body of documents and do powerful searches.

You can find the episode here:

http://channel9.msdn.com/Shows/DataBound/DataBound-Episode-2-Semantic-Search

SQL Server Code Name “Denali” CTP3 is Here

Roger Doherty — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:34:01 GMT

That’s right, it’s hot off the presses! If you’ve been waiting to try out great improvements like our new development tools, Transact-SQL language enhancements, and rich support for content, wait no more!

You can find everything you need to get started here:

http://www.microsoft.com/denali

Looking for the CTP3 build of the SQL Server Developer Tools Code Name “Juneau”? Here’s where to find it:

http://msdn.com/data/tools.aspx

Check out the datasheet I helped write that summarizes improvements form a developer perspective. Want to dig in deeper? Attend Expedition Denali and sign up for the Metro Early Adoption Program.

Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Content Updates

Roger Doherty — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 14:22:27 GMT

We’ve just finished refreshing the following content assets to support Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1:

Please grab yourself a fresh copy. The workaround described in this previous post is no longer required.

Thanks!

Download the May 2011 Update of the SQL Server 2008 R2 Developer Training Kit

Roger Doherty — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 00:46:41 GMT

The May 2011 Update release of the SQL Server 2008 R2 Update for Developers Training Kit is available for download at the following URL:

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9710868

The May 2011 update is a maintenance release which provides support for Windows 7 SP1, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and Visual Studio 2010 SP1. Additionally, any demos or hands-on labs that no longer have a Visual Studio 2008 dependency were updated to Visual Studio 2010. There is no new content in this release.

Enjoy!

Check Out DataBound on Channel 9

Roger Doherty — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 14:14:00 GMT

If you are a database or BI developer, I’d like to invite you to tune into a new show on Channel 9 called DataBound. In each episode, I’ll be interviewing developers with an insider’s perspective on cutting edge SQL Server topics.

Here’s the link for the show:

http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/databound

In the first episode we’ll take a look under the hood of Calendar Analytics, a free Excel 2010 / PowerPivot app that takes a bunch of seemingly worthless data (your calendar items in Exchange) and turns it into useful information by helping you analyze how you are spending your precious time. Here’s a bitly link for the first episode:

http://bit.ly/iSGXse

Enjoy!

Expedition Denali: Coming to a City Near You!

Roger Doherty — Tue, 10 May 2011 21:12:38 GMT

What if you could get two days of high quality training from leading industry experts on SQL Server 2008 R2 Business Intelligence technologies that would help you with existing projects, and also get a full day preview of the upcoming release of SQL Server Code Name “Denali” as well? That’s exactly what you’ll get if you attend an Expedition Denali event!

Microsoft has teamed up with Pragmatic Works to deliver these three-day seminars all over the world. I personally presented at the first two events in San Francisco (April 19-21, 2011) and Minneapolis (May 3-5, 2011) along with my colleague Brian Knight, SQL MVP and other great presenters from Pragmatic Works.

Attending a workshop offers the following benefits:

Intermediate 300 level technical presentations and demos designed for database and BI professionals delivered in an interactive, instructor-led format.
Learn how to leverage the latest generation of SQL Server 2008 R2 Business Intelligence technologies to deliver enterprise-grade BI solutions.
Learn what’s coming in the next major release of SQL Server and how to fully exploit it in your own solutions.
Attendees will be given the opportunity to nominate a project for the Microsoft Metro Early Adoption Program for SQL Server Code Name “Denali” which offers great benefits like early access to bits, access to dedicated sandbox VM environment, access to beta support, access to NDA online meetings, access to DeepDive Developer Labs, access to Instructor-Led Training Events, and more!

Expedition Denali attendees can choose between three different agendas depending upon location:

Options for days 1 and 2:

A two-day workshop focused on SQL Server 2008 R2 Integration Services
A two-day workshop focused on SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services
A two-day workshop focused on SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services

Day three will feature a workshop focused on SQL Server Code Name “Denali”

Expedition Denali is coming to a city near you! Register now at the following URL:

http://expeditiondenali.com

I hope to see you there!

Enabling Great Self-Service Reporting and Analytics Experiences

Roger Doherty — Tue, 03 May 2011 20:29:00 GMT

No matter how many high quality reports you develop, your users will always want more. They may want to change something on an existing report, do their own analysis on the same data, or create a brand new report altogether. You have two choices: either you can spend all of our time meeting this never ending demand, or you can put great tools and resources in place to enable self-service reporting and analytics. SQL Server 2008 R2 provides comprehensive tools and capabilities to satisfy even the most demanding user. This unit in the SQL Server 2008 R2 Business Intelligence Training Course (a.k.a. SQLInsights) on MSDN will introduce you to the fundamentals of self-service reporting and analytics with SQL Server 2008 R2, including how to enable great reporting experiences for your users with Report Builder 3.0 and great analytical experiences with PowerPivot for Excel 2010.

Here’s an overview of what’s included:

11. Introduction to Self-Service Reporting and Analysis with SQL Server 2008 R2
Presentation: Self-Service Reporting Fundamentals with SQL Server 2008 R2
Demo: Self-Service Reporting with Report Builder 3.0
Presentation: Self-Service Analysis Fundamentals with SQL Server 2008 R2
Demo: Self-Service Analysis with SQL Server 2008 R2 PowerPivot for Excel 2010
Demo: Publishing and Sharing SQL Server 2008 R2 PowerPivot Workbooks with SharePoint 2010 Excel Services
Hands On Lab: Building and Sharing Your First Report Builder 3.0 Report
Hands On Lab: Building and Sharing Your First SQL Server 2008 R2 PowerPivot for Excel Workbook

You can find SQLInsights on the MSDN Training and Certification Resources page at the following URL:

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9761002

Watch the videos and review the hands-on labs. If you want to run the demos or hands-on labs on your own computer, download and install the offline training kit. You’ll find all the SQLInsights content in the Getting Started > BI Developers page.

This is eleventh and final SQLInsights unit. We hope this training course helped you get started developing your first Microsoft BI solution. Thanks again for your interest in SQL Server 2008 R2!

Learn Data Mining Development Today!

Roger Doherty — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 23:09:00 GMT

Developers are good at building database applications that collect a lot of data, but what are you doing with all of it? There’s patterns hidden in that data just waiting to be exploited! Did you know that SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services includes a rich set of tools, services and API’s for data mining? This new unit in the SQL Server 2008 R2 Business Intelligence Training Course (a.k.a. SQLInsights) on MSDN will introduce the fundamentals of data mining and how to develop data mining models with Analysis Services that can be used in a custom solution.

Here’s an overview of what’s included:

10. Introduction to Data Mining with SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services
Presentation: Data Mining Fundamentals with SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services
Demo: Developing Data Mining Models with SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services
Presentation: Programming SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services Data Mining
Demo: Embedding SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services Data Mining in a Custom Application
Hands On Lab: Building Your First Data Mining Model with SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services

You can find SQLInsights on the MSDN Training and Certification Resources page at the following URL:

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9761002

Next week, we’ll publish our eleventh and final SQLInsights unit, Introduction to Self-Service Reporting and Analysis with SQL Server 2008 R2. We hope SQLInsights will help you get started developing your first Microsoft BI solution. Thanks again for your interest in SQL Server 2008 R2!

Learn Dashboard Development Now!

Roger Doherty — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 11:00:00 GMT

Dashboards are a fundamental component of any performance management solution, and SharePoint 2010 PerformancePoint Services provides a rich set of tools and services for building highly interactive dashboard experiences that can help organizations of all sizes monitor and analyze their performance. This new unit in the SQL Server 2008 R2 Business Intelligence Training Course (a.k.a. SQLInsights) on MSDN will introduce you to the fundamentals of performance management and how to develop powerful dashboard experiences with SharePoint 2010 PerformancePoint Services based on SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services data.

Here’s an overview of what’s included:

9. Introduction to SharePoint 2010 PerformancePoint Services
Presentation: Performance Management Fundamentals with SharePoint 2010 PerformancePoint Services
Demo: Delivering an Interactive Performance Management Dashboard with SharePoint 2010 PerformancePoint Services
Presentation: Developing KPI's and Scorecards with SharePoint 2010 PerformancePoint Services
Demo: Developing KPIs and Scorecards with SharePoint 2010 PerformancePoint Services
Presentation: Developing Reports and Dashboards with SharePoint 2010 PerformancePoint Services
Demo: Developing Interactive Reports and Dashboards with SharePoint 2010 PerformancePoint Services
Hands On Lab: Building Your First Dashboard with SharePoint 2010 PerformancePoint Services

You can find SQLInsights on the MSDN Training and Certification Resources page at the following URL:

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9761002

Next week, we’ll publish our tenth SQLInsights unit, Introduction to Data Mining with SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services. We hope SQLInsights will help you get started developing your first Microsoft BI solution. Thanks again for your interest in SQL Server 2008 R2!

What You Need To Know About Data-tier Applications (DAC Fx)

Roger Doherty — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 19:26:11 GMT

The Data-tier Application Framework (DAC Fx) was introduced in SQL Server 2008 R2 as part of an improvement category known as “Application and Multi-Server Management” (AMM). It’s a completely new way to manage the handoff of database schemas from development to production, and in my view is probably the most significant advancement in the developer stack for SQL Server in quite some time.

DAC Fx was the key enabling technology for AMM, but unfortunately it got lost in the noise surrounding the broader improvement category, so very few SQL Server developers know anything about it. The same thing is happening again with the announcements surrounding Simplified Import and Export of Data for SQL Azure. You might think that DAC Fx is some kind of import/export tool, which would be wrong. Let me set the record straight.

So what is DAC Fx? It’s a set of tools, API’s and services designed to dramatically simplify the development, deployment and management of SQL Server database schemas. The best way to understand DAC Fx is to compare it to how most developers do things today.

Most developers build Transact-SQL scripts that create all the objects in a database schema (tables, views, stored procedures, etc.). When they are ready to deploy, they hand the scripts off to a DBA who is responsible for provisioning the production database. So far so good. The problem comes in when the developer wants to ship a new version of the database schema after the database has been in production for a while. Most developers maintain two sets of scripts, one to create the database from scratch, and a second to update the database from the previous version to the next version. These scripts can get very complex and have to be tested to guard against data loss or regressions. And those are the NICE developers. Often, all DBA’s get is one set of scripts to create a new empty database, and they have to create their own hand-reconciled migration scripts from scratch. This is extremely time consuming and error prone, and we consistently hear feedback that we should offer a better solution.

DAC Fx IS that better solution. Instead of building a bunch of Transact-SQL scripts to deploy a database, Visual Studio 2010 developers build a “.dacpac” instead. If you crack open a dacpac, you find a bunch of XML schema that describes the objects in the database that was just built. The dacpac can then handed off for deployment.

There are a bunch of ways to deploy a dacpac but let’s focus on how a DBA might do it. SQL Server 2008 R2 Management Studio has a new “Data-tier Applications” node in the object explorer (stop ignoring it!). All a DBA has to do is right-click that node and select the “Deploy Data-tier Application” command which launches a wizard that allows the DBA to specify a dacpac to deploy. Now DAC Fx takes over and cracks open the dacpac, parses all that good metadata, and hydrates a database that matches the schema in the dacpac.

At this point you may be yawning asking yourself why this is any better than just running scripts. Well here’s why. At some point that developer is going to change the database schema. All they need to do is build a new dacpac, and using the same approach the DBA can upgrade a Data-tier application to a new release. DAC Fx does all the heavy lifting to make this happen, no more hand-reconciled migration scripts.

It’s a great story and I’m very stoked about it, but before you get too excited you need to know that not all SQL Server features are supported in DAC Fx 1.0 which was was missing key stuff like spatial types, which are now supported in 2.0. You also should know that 1.0 uses a side-by-side approach when upgrading Data-tier applications, which means it creates a new empty database, and copies over all the data, then swaps the names. The old one is left hanging around just in case. As of Visual Studio 2010 SP1, DAC Fx supports in-place upgrades as well.

Another cool thing that will be supported in DAC Fx 2.0 is support for more than just schema, but for data as well, hence the import/export misnomer. Now you can include JSON serialized dumps of table data right along side your schema in a new file format called “.bacpac” that guarantees fidelity with the native SQL Server data types. Using DAC Fx, you can extract a bacpac from an existing database, and deploy it to a different SQL Server environment, including SQL Azure.

This solves a key problem for a lot of SQL Azure developers by giving them an easy way to move both the schema AND the data for a particular database to and from SQL Azure. So now that you understand the full power and capabilities of DAC Fx, start thinking about how to jettison all those pesky database deployment routines and migration scripts and start using DAC Fx to handle all your database deployment and upgrade needs. This will be possible for most simple SQL Server or SQL Azure database applications, and is becoming increasingly feasible for even more complicated enterprise-class solutions.

You can get started learning about DAC Fx 1.0 now with the SQL Server 2008 R2 Update for Developers Training Kit, just install the kit, open default.htm, and navigate to the SQL Server 2008 R2 > Application and Multi-Server Management page. Once you get your sea legs, check out the new DAC Fx 2.0 CTP Feature Pack which adds support for both schema and data.

Dependency Checker Fix for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1

Roger Doherty — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:41:23 GMT

This post is for users of the following training kits and training courses:

If you recently installed Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 and attempt to run installer / dependency checker scripts from either of these training kits, you will get the following error:

Your Current OS is not Supported

The reason for the error is that SP1 changes the Windows build number from 7600 to 7601. We will be publishing updates soon that fix this issue, but there is an easy work around. Simply edit the file named dependencies.dep with notepad. It’s located in the source/setup folder of the demo or hands-on lab you are trying to install. Locate the following line and add build 7601:

<os type="Vista;Server" buildNumber="2600;3790;6001;6002;7000;7100;7600;7601">

Announcing Metro Early Adoption Program for SQL Server Code Name “Denali”

Roger Doherty — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 14:32:00 GMT

Microsoft is busy preparing the next release of SQL Server Code Name “Denali”. This exciting new release will include improvements that are interesting to developers, DBA’s and business intelligence pros alike, including:

Tons of new developer improvements including a new unified Visual Studio IDE code named “Juneau”, Transact-SQL programmability improvements and more!
New “AlwaysOn” capabilities make it easier to deploy and manage high availability and disaster recovery across both shared and non-shared storage, and supports great new functionality like multi-site failover (a.k.a. geo-clusters).
Core storage engine improvements make it easier to manage all of your data like support for column-store indexing, better support for BLOB and document storage, and statistical semantic search.
New browser-based reporting tool code named “Crescent” will empower end-users to explore and visualize the data they care about the most with lightning-fast speed and eye popping visualizations.

These are just a few improvement categories that have been discussed publically. There are many more that will be revealed as we approach launch.

We are actively seeking professional developers who are interested in developing real solutions that exploit improvements in SQL Server Code Name “Denali” to participate in the Metro Early Adoption Program. It’s easy to self-nominate, all you need is a Windows Live ID and a non-disclosure agreement with Microsoft. You will be asked to provide some details about your company and your early adoption project.

We review each nomination that comes in and approve the solutions we think will have the best chance of showcasing SQL Server Denali improvements during the launch wave. Here are some of the benefits offered to program participants:

Access to regularly scheduled confidential online meetings with members of the SQL Server evangelism, marketing and engineering teams.
Access to DeepDive developer labs to do focused work on specific improvements with the help of the SQL Server engineering team.
Access to beta support.
Access to high-quality instructor-led training events.
Access to a dedicated virtual Sandbox environment with a pre-installed, pre-configured fully functional environment to learn and test improvements.

We plan to offer many more benefits to Metro participants as the program progresses. Check out this Channel 9 video for more information!

So what are you waiting for? Nominate your early adoption project today!

Access SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services Cube Data With Familiar Tools

Roger Doherty — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 00:33:23 GMT

Now that you understand how to design and query Analysis Services cubes, this eighth unit in the SQL Server 2008 R2 Business Intelligence Training Course (a.k.a. SQLInsights) on MSDN describes how to access cube data from familiar tools like Reporting Services, Excel 2010 and SharePoint 2010 Excel Services.

Here’s an overview of the new unit:

8. Accessing SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services Data
Presentation: Developing SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services Reports for Analysis Services
Demo: Developing a Simple SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services Report with an Analysis Services Cube
Presentation: Using Excel 2010 as an Analysis Services Client
Demo: Creating an Excel 2010 PivotTable Using a SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services Cube
Presentation: Using SharePoint 2010 Excel Services with Analysis Services Data
Demo: Publishing and Sharing SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services Cube Data with SharePoint 2010 Excel Services
Hands On Lab: Building Your First Multidimensional Report with SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services

You can find SQLInsights on the MSDN Training and Certification Resources page at the following URL:

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9761002

Watch the videos and review the hands-on labs. If you want to run the demos or hands-on labs on your own computer, download and install the offline training kit. You’ll find all the SQLInsights content in the Getting Started > BI Developers page.

Next week, we’ll publish our ninth SQLInsights unit, Introduction to SharePoint 2010 PerformancePoint Services. We hope SQLInsights will help you get started developing your first Microsoft BI solution. Thanks again for your interest in SQL Server 2008 R2!

Learn MDX Query Development

Roger Doherty — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 16:27:00 GMT

Now that you understand the fundamentals of SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services cube design, it’s time to learn how to query them. This seventh unit in the SQL Server 2008 R2 Business Intelligence Training Course (a.k.a. SQLInsights) on MSDN will introduce you to the basics of using Multi-Dimensional Expressions (MDX) to develop powerful queries against your cubes. You will also learn how to use MDX to enhance the design of your cubes with calculated members, named sets and key performance indicators (KPIs).

Here’s an overview of the new unit:

7. Introduction to SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services Query Syntax
Presentation: Introduction to SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services MDX
Presentation: Exploring SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services MDX Query Techniques
Demo: Introducing SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services MDX Query Development
Presentation: Exploring SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services Cube Calculations
Demo: Enriching a SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services Cube with Calculations
Hands On Lab: Building Your First Queries and Calculations with SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services MDX

You can find SQLInsights on the MSDN Training and Certification Resources page at the following URL:

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9761002

Next week, we’ll publish our eighth SQLInsights unit, Accessing SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services Data. We hope SQLInsights will help you get started developing your first Microsoft BI solution. Thanks again for your interest in SQL Server 2008 R2!