PASS Summit is the world’s largest conference for Microsoft SQL Server professionals. If you use Microsoft SQL Server or Business Intelligence technologies, you should attend PASS Summit. If you consider yourself a database administrator, application developer, BI or IT professional working with SQL Server, the sessions at PASS will be very informative and valuable for you.
PASS Summit 2011 is in Seattle, WA, Oct. 11-14 and the six session tracks are:
- Application and Database Development
- BI Architecture, Development and Administration Topics
- BI Client Reporting and Delivery Topics
- Enterprise Database Administration and Deployment
- Professional Development
- SQL Azure
If you are interested in PASS Summit 2011 and the sessions that will be offered, you can see a list of sessions and even vote on the sessions that you would like to see. All you need to do is:
- Visit http://www.sqlpass.org/summit/2011/Speakers/SessionPreferencing.aspx
- Login or Create an Account
- Browse the sessions
- If you want a session at PASS, click the “Click here to Mark Session as Preferred” link
The following are my sessions that you can vote on for PASS Summit 2011. If you would like to quickly get to these sessions, you can select “Eric D. Boyd” from the Speaker dropdown.
BI in the Cloud with SQL Azure Reporting [200]
Session Track: SQL Azure
Why maintain infrastructure for operational reporting, when you can do it in the cloud with SQL Azure Reporting? SQL Azure Reporting provides a set of capabilities that are familiar for developers using SQL Server Reporting Services on-premise. We will begin this session by considering the benefits and scenarios for BI in the cloud. Next, we will walkthrough what you need to get started using SQL Azure Reporting. We will then develop and deploy some reports to SQL Azure Reporting. Unfortunately, SSRS and SQL Azure Reporting do not have complete feature parity. As a result, we will conclude by reviewing the challenges and limitations of using SQL Azure Reporting over SQL Server Reporting Services.
Consuming Cloud Data from Multiple Platforms: The Benefits of OData [300]
Session Track: Application and Database Development
The amount of data stored today is growing at a rapid rate. However, data is only valuable if it is accessible and can be consumed by people and systems. OData is an open protocol for sharing data that is positioned to solve this problem. OData uses the standard HTTP protocol using REST principles to make data accessible and has huge industry momentum with rapid adoption growth. In this session, we will explore what OData is all about and how to expose relational and non-relational data as OData using WCF Data Services. We will then walkthrough developing apps to consume the OData feeds from multiple clients including mobile devices. Finally, we will take a look at how you can benefit from using Azure to publish your data and OData services.
One-Stop Data Shop: Overview of Windows Azure Marketplace DataMarket [200]
Session Track: SQL Azure
Whether it is buying clothing, food, or software, consumers like the simplicity of the one-stop shopping experience. Product producers also benefit greatly by being a part of a community marketplace. These rules of commerce apply to data just as much as physical goods and mobile apps. The Windows Azure Marketplace DataMarket is the marketplace for data set distribution in the cloud. In this session we will explore the benefits of the marketplace and the cloud for distributing data. Next, we will review the features and capabilities of Azure DataMarket. We will then walkthrough subscribing to, consuming and paying for data from Azure DataMarket. Finally, we will explore what this means for data publishers and how you can get data into the Azure DataMarket.
Working with Data in Azure: SQL Azure, Azure Storage, Local Storage and AppFabric Caching [200]
Session Track: SQL Azure
The Windows Azure Platform provides a plethora of options for data storage and trying to make sense of it all can be overwhelming. In this session we will explore the many Azure data services including SQL Azure, Azure Storage, Local Storage and AppFabric Caching. We will walk through the scenarios that each storage service addresses. Next we will dig into how to use each storage service and how they can complement each other when used together. Finally, we will explore the pricing and economic drivers that encourage one storage service over another when multiple fit into your solution.
If you know me, then you know that I’m a Cloud Computing evangelist and I am excited to see the SQL Azure track at PASS Summit 2011. If you share the same Cloud Computing passion, please vote for the sessions in the SQL Azure track.