Chris Randall's SQL Bloghttp://blogs.ameriteach.com/chris-randall/en-US2008-07-25T20:50:45ZSquarespace Site Server v5.0.0 (http://www.squarespace.com/)Satisfied with Microsoft Official Curriculum?http://blogs.ameriteach.com/chris-randall/2008/7/16/satisfied-with-microsoft-official-curriculum.htmlChris Randall2008-07-16T02:57:21ZThose who have taken classes at Ameriteach know we ask you to fill out a survey about the course, including your opinions of the training center, the courseware, the instructor, etc.

Jeff Hora, a product planner for Microsoft Learning, is soliciting feedback on his blog for satisfaction with Microsoft Learning products. This is a great opportunity to communicate with the "horse's mouth" (so to speak) about the subject.

Please let Jeff know directly how you feel about your experiences with Microsoft curriculum: http://blogs.msdn.com/jeffhora/archive/2008/07/15/courseware-satisfaction.aspx

]]>ASC: SQL Server, Integration Services and Reporting Services resourceshttp://blogs.ameriteach.com/chris-randall/2008/7/2/reporting-services-resources.htmlChris Randall2008-07-02T19:14:34ZSome resources for this week's class at ASC:

Advanced Matrix Reporting Techniques
Displaying multi-parameter info
Adam Cogan's great list of Things SQL Server Reporting Services needs to be able to do
Adam Cogan's List of "Rules to Better SQL Reporting Services 2005"
Adam Cogan's Rules to Better SQL Server Databases
Creating SQL Server Agent Proxies
Use a SQL Agent Proxy for Special Tasks
How to run a SQL Server 2005 Integration Services package as a SQL Server Agent job step
TechNet Virtual Labs - SQL Server 2005
Introduction to SQL Server Report Builder
Reporting Services Product Samples
Integration Services Product Samples
SQL Server 2005 Performance Dashboard Reports - add these to Management Studio for more system information (and peek at the RDL in BIDS to see how they did it!
SQL Server 2005 Integration Services Log Reports - reports that are designed to filter, analyze, and organize Log and Error row data generated by SQL Server 2005 Integration Services (SSIS). The reports provide useful views of the SSIS log data saved in a SQL Server database.
Hands On Training for SSIS - downloadable hands-on lab with exercise files.

]]>SQL Server Tools: list of free utilitieshttp://blogs.ameriteach.com/chris-randall/2008/6/20/sql-server-tools-list-of-free-utilities.htmlChris Randall2008-06-20T04:40:33ZMladen Prajdic has put together a great list of free SQL Server tools "that might make your life a little easier." Check it out!]]>SSIS Tools: Learn to use PacManhttp://blogs.ameriteach.com/chris-randall/2008/6/18/ssis-tools-learn-to-use-pacman.htmlChris Randall2008-06-18T17:09:33ZFor those who've been through my SQL Server Integration Services classes and heard me mention PacMan, an SSIS Package Manager utility written by my friend Matthew Roche, some news. Matthew has carved some time out of his busy schedule to write up some documentation for it.

Read it here.

Complain about his cheesy puns here.

]]>SQL Server Certification: I passed exam 70-446 (SQL 2005 BI Dev)http://blogs.ameriteach.com/chris-randall/2008/6/9/sql-server-certification-i-passed-exam-70-446-sql-2005-bi-de.htmlChris Randall2008-06-09T20:14:46ZOk, I've been remiss, but I never seemed to find/take the time to sit down for the last of the SQL Server 2005 exams, 70-446: PRO: Designing a Business Intelligence Infrastructure by Using Microsoft SQL Server 2005.

I finally caught up on that today. Wow, what a grueling exam! A real test of one's knowledge of all the tools and processes associated with SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence. And of one's concentration span. (And bladder control.) It's a multi-hour affair.

What that gets me is another Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) certification in SQL Server 2005, alongside my existing MCITP:DBA and MCITP:Database Developer. I guess I'm a completist.

So according to Microsoft's page "Number of Microsoft Certified Professionals Worldwide", there are only 556 SQL BI MCITPros as of May 20th.

Make that 557!

]]>SQL Server 2008: Release Candidate 0 available!http://blogs.ameriteach.com/chris-randall/2008/6/8/sql-server-2008-release-candidate-0-available.htmlChris Randall2008-06-08T03:54:17ZFor MSDN or TechNet subscribers (like me), RC0 is available for download. I downloaded it last night and installed it onto a virtual machine, and mostly, it went well. However, I couldn't find Report Designer, and it wasn't until later today that I came across the news that it will be available as a separate download. (Thanks, Teo!)

In other news, I had a good time presenting a ~3 hour session exclusively for Microsoft Certified Trainers at the "in between" day at TechEd Orlando. Thanks to those who attended (and who endured my difficulties with the projector)!

]]>Denver SQL Server User Group: June Meeting and PASS Summit Discounthttp://blogs.ameriteach.com/chris-randall/2008/6/6/denver-sql-server-user-group-june-meeting-and-pass-summit-di.htmlChris Randall2008-06-06T04:25:14ZCarlos Bossy will be speaking on Data Mining at our June 19th Meeting. Details at the User Group web site.

Also, user group members are eligible for a $100 discount off the registration for the SQL Community PASS Summit in Seattle, November 18-21. See the discussions area of our web site for more information.

]]>TechEd 2008: Tech Talk, AKA "Fishbowl TV"http://blogs.ameriteach.com/chris-randall/2008/6/6/teched-2008-tech-talk-aka-fishbowl-tv.htmlChris Randall2008-06-06T04:18:29ZFor those interested in my opinions on SQL Server certification (and that's a low number that doesn't even include my Mom), I'll be interviewed on TechEd Online's "Tech Talk", otherwise known as "fishbowl tv".

Watch for the clip in the "Hot New Videos!" section of the TechEd Online website next week...

]]>TechEd 2008: SQL Saturdayhttp://blogs.ameriteach.com/chris-randall/2008/5/23/teched-2008-sql-saturday.htmlChris Randall2008-05-23T20:47:34ZSince I'll be in Orlando early for my own SQL training session, I thought I'd see what others are doing "Tweener" weekend*. The Orlando SQL Users Group is hosting SQL Saturday, a free day-long set of sessions at the Orlando Convention Center on June 7.

I signed up specifically to see Brian Knight's SSIS session on Sunday (does that make it SSIS Sunday?).

See you there!?

*The weekend between Dev Week and IT Pro Week at TechEd.

]]>Learning SharePoint: How to Create a MOSS 2007 VPC Imagehttp://blogs.ameriteach.com/chris-randall/2008/5/15/learning-sharepoint-how-to-create-a-moss-2007-vpc-image.htmlChris Randall2008-05-16T04:50:38ZPosting this for my own reference as I continue to get sucked closer to learning SharePoint:

Tony Zink has put together a list of steps to follow for building a Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 virtual PC.

Thanks, Tony!

I wonder if I can shortcut the process with a preconfigured OS and WSS virtual machine from Microsoft Downloads. On the one hand, saving a few hours of base configuration is nice, but on the other, the VHD download is a time-limted evaluation. Since I do subscribe to TechNet Direct, I have licenses for the products already.

What to do?

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