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Our vision is simple: We enhance Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Business Intelligence skills in organisations by providing expert consulting, mentoring and training services.
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Books
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Our mentors are constantly involved in book-related projects and in content development. Here are some recent links:
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Author(s) |
Title |
Description |
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Itzik Ben-Gan,Greg Low and Dejan Sarka |
Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2008: T-SQL Programming |
This book cover gives database developers and administrators best practices, expert techniques, and code samples to master the language and solve complex problems with real-world solutions. |
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Itzik Ben-Gan,Lubor Kollar, Dejan Sarka, Steve Kass |
Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2008: T-SQL Querying (Microsoft Press) |
This book cover advanced T-SQL querying, query tuning, and programming in Microsoft SQL Server 2008. They are designed for experienced programmers and DBAs who need to write and optimize code in SQL Server 2008. |
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Peter DeBetta, Dr Greg Low, Dr Mark Whitehorn |
Introduction to SQL Server 2008 (Microsoft Press) |
Learn about major new features in SQL Server 2008 including security, administration, performance, high availability and business intelligence enhancements. |
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Alan Hirt |
Pro SQL Server 2008 Failover Clustering |
This book is dedicated to the planning, implementation, and administration of clustered SQL Server 2008 implementations. |
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Dr Greg Low |
Building Technical User Communities |
Greg Low has been involved in creating and running technical communities for decades. In this book, he shares a wealth of ideas and practical advice. This book has fast become the defacto standard reference for user group and community leaders worldwide. |
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Dr Greg Low |
SQL Server CLR Integration |
SQL Server 2005 revolutionized the way database applications are written. Microsoft's Common Language Runtime (CLR) allows you to create development and execution environments with integrated languages and libraries. In The Rational Guide to Microsoft® SQL Server 2005 CLR, Microsoft Regional Director Greg Low clearly and concisely explains everything you need to know to use the CLR features of SQL Server 2005, including user-defined functions, stored procedures, triggers, user-defined aggregates, user-defined types, security, and performance. Advanced topics include deployment, advanced integration topics, tips for developers, and advice for DBAs. |
| Click here |
Dr Greg Low and Steven Abraham co-authored with Melissa Stowe from Microsoft |
Infrastructure Planning and Design Guide Series |
The Infrastructure Planning and Design guide series gives you architectural guidance for Microsoft infrastructure products. The IPD guides help clarify and streamline design processes for Microsoft infrastructure technologies, with each guide addressing a unique infrastructure technology or scenario. |
| Click here |
In conjunction with Microsoft, Ron Talmage led the SolidQ's author team, joined by subject experts Greg Low, Steven Abraham, Pablo Ahumada, Herbert Albert, Larry Barnes, Allan Hirt, Aaron Johal, Dejan Sarka, Antonio Soto, Craig Utley, and Joe Webb. |
SQL Server 2008 Upgrade Technical Reference Guide |
A successful upgrade to SQL Server 2008 should be smooth and trouble-free. To achieve that smooth transition, you must devote plan sufficiently for the upgrade, and match the complexity of your database application. Otherwise, you risk costly and stressful errors and upgrade problems. Like all IT projects, planning for every contingency and then testing your plan gives you confidence that you will succeed. But if you ignore the planning process, you increase the chances of running into difficulties that can derail and delay your upgrade. This document covers the essential phases and steps involved in upgrading existing SQL Server 2000 and 2005 instances to SQL Server 2008 by using best practices. These include preparation tasks, upgrade tasks, and post-upgrade tasks. |
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Erik Veerman and Dejan Sarka |
MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-448): Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 - Business Intelligence Development and Maintenance |
This book includes the official in-depth Microsoft study guide, plus practice tests on CD to help you assess your skills. It also provides real-world scenarios, case study examples, and troubleshooting labs to help you master skills that you can immediately apply on the job. In addition, you get an evaluation version of SQL Server 2008 and an exam discount voucher. |
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Digital Media
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| Author(s) |
Title |
Description |
Download Media |
| Dr Greg Low |
Clinic 10331: Introduction to Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Master Data Services |
This two hour e-clinic covers the following topics: Master Data Services concepts, hierarchies, how to plan and implement Master Data Services Projects. |
Click here |
| Dr Greg Low |
Clinic 10332: Introduction to Microsoft SQL Azure |
This two hour e-clinic covers the following topics: Understanding the SQL Azure Platform, Designing Applications for SQL Azure, Migrating Applications to SQL Azure, Achieving Scale with SQL Azure. |
Click here |
| Dr Greg Low |
Clinic 10333: Introduction to Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Parallel Data Warehouse |
This two hour e-clinic covers the following topics: Examining Parallel Data Warehouse Core Concepts, Designing and Implementing Data Models for Parallel Data Warehouse, Querying and Loading Data and Managing the Parallel Data Warehouse. |
Click here |
| Dr Greg Low |
Clinic 10334: Introduction to Managed Self-Service BI with SQL Server 2008 R2 |
This two hour e-clinic covers the following topics: Self-service Analysis, Self-service Report Authoring,Enhancing Report Visualization, Managed Self-service BI. |
Click here |
| Dr Greg Low |
Clinic 10335: Introduction to Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 StreamInsight |
This two hour e-clinic covers the following topics: StreamInsight core concepts, Querying Stream-based Events, Designing and Working with Event Models, Hosting Queries and configuring Adapters. |
Click here |
| Dr Greg Low |
Clinic 10336: Introduction to SQL Server 2008 R2 Application and Multi-Server Management |
This two hour e-clinic covers the following topics: Introducing Application and Multi-server Management, Working with data-tier applications, Managing change in data-tier applications. |
Click here |
| Bill Chesnut & Dr Greg Low |
Clinic 10528: Introduction to Virtualization of Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 R2 |
This two hour e-clinic covers the following topics: Planning a Virtualization Strategy for SQL Server, Designing a Virtualization Platform Infrastructure for SQL Server, Designing a High-Availability Strategy for SQL Server Virtualization, and Designing a Virtualization Infrastructure Management Strategy. |
Click here |
| Dr Greg Low |
SQL DownUnder Podcasts |
Greg Low is the host of the popular SQL Down Under podcast series. It produces interviews with noted members of the SQL Server community from around the world and with SQL Server product group members. It currently has over 30,000 show downloads per month. |
Click here |
| Dr Greg Low |
Avoiding Stored Procedure Recompiles |
In this session, Greg will describe the process by which SQL Server executes stored procedures and how it decides whether or not recompilations are necessary. He will discuss how to monitor recompilations and explain in detail the specific triggers that cause recompilation. Greg will then discuss techniques to be used when writing database code to help avoid the need for recompilations and to help keep systems performing well. |
Click here |
| Dr Greg Low |
Answering the queries your users really want to ask |
Developers like queries that are very constrained. Users don't. In this session, Greg will show how iFTS in SQL Server 2008 allows developers to build systems that answer the queries the users really want to ask. |
Click here |
| Jessica Moss and Rushabh Mehta |
Introduction to SQL Server Integration Services |
In this session, Jessica and Rushabh will discuss the role that SQL Server Integration Services can play in an organization and in Business Intelligence solutions, and demonstrate the features in Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services. Rushabh will also briefly talk about the new features in SQL Server 2008 Integration Services. |
Click here |
| Peter Myers |
Introduction to SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services |
In this session, Peter will introduce and demonstrate the upcoming SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services and talk about the new features that will allow organizations to fulfill reporting needs. |
Click here |
| Craig Utley |
Avoiding Common Analysis Services Design Problems |
Analysis Services enables developers to create powerful cubes, but with this power comes complexity. After working with a wide array of customers, Craig has seen a number of common problems in the design and implementation of cubes. This session will examine some of these common problems and the solutions to them, enabling developers to avoid such issues in their Analysis Services projects. |
Click here |
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Whitepapers
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| Author(s) |
Title |
Description |
Download Media |
| Itzik Ben-Gan |
Introduction to New T-SQL Programmability Features in SQL Server 2008 |
This white paper introduces key new Transact-SQL programmability features in Microsoft SQL Server 2008 as well as SQL/Common Language Runtime (CLR) enhancements. New Transact-SQL features provide improved performance, increased functionality, and enhanced globalization support. Transact-SQL programmability enhancements in SQL Server 2008 address the needs of both OLTP and data warehouse environments. |
Click here |
| Greg Low |
Plan Caching in SQL Server 2008! |
This white paper explains SQL Server's "statement-level recompilation" feature (first introduced in SQL Server 2005) and many tools and utilities that are useful as observation tools in the processes of query compilation, query recompilation, plan caching, and plan reuse. |
Click here |
| Mark Tabladillo |
Why Use Microsoft Data Mining? |
This white paper provides an introduction to data mining, and defines related terminology. The article provides examples from the daily news of questions that potentially can be answered by data mining, and broadly outlines the approach to creating and deploying data mining solutions in a business. |
Click here |
| Ron Talmage |
High Availability and Disaster Recovery at ServiceU: A SQL Server 2008 Technical Case Study |
This technical case study shows how we use Windows failover clustering and SQL Server 2008 database mirroring to eliminate single points of failure in our data centers and enable fast recovery from a possible disaster at our primary data center. |
Click here |
| Ron Talmage and Sanjay Mishra from Microsoft |
Database Snapshot Performance Considerations Under I/O Intensive Workloads |
This white paper summarizes the results of testing database snapshot performance under intense I/O activity on a large database. We measured the impact of creating a single database snapshot and multiple database snapshots under varying transaction loads as well as the performance effect of database snapshots on index creation and rebuild. This white paper provides some best practice recommendations for using database snapshots under I/O-intensive conditions. |
Click here |
| Ron Talmage tech review by Greg Low and Herbert Albert |
Partitioned Table and Index Strategies Using SQL Server 2008 |
This white paper covers strategies for partitioning tables, including the required partition functions and partition schemes. The paper also explores the benefits of partition elimination, partition parallelism, and index partition maintenance and applies these strategies to various partitioning scenarios such as the sliding window scenario, data archiving, and partition consolidation and movement. |
Click here |
| Erik Veerman |
An Introduction to Fast Track Data Warehouse Architectures |
This white paper provides an overview and guide to SQL Server® Fast Track Data Warehouse, a new set of reference architectures created for scale-up (SMP) SQL Server based data warehouse solutions. It includes a summary of the resources available in the reference configuration, the distinguishing features of the approach, and the steps necessary to take full advantage of the new architectures. |
Click here |
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Other publications
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| Author(s) |
Title |
Description |
Download Media |
| Itzik Ben-Gan |
More SQL Server 2008 T-SQL Improvements |
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 provides T-SQL enhancements that improve performance and reliability. Itzik discusses composable DML, the ability to declare and initialize variables in the same statement, compound assignment operators, and more reliable object dependency information. |
Click here |
| Dr Greg Low |
Configuring SQL Server 2008’s Resource Governor |
With SQL Server 2008’s Resource Governor, you can take back control of your SQL Server system resources by allocating CPU and memory to applications and users. Governing your resources can prevent database problems, and even provide you with some information about which applications are being used in your SQL Server environment. Learn how to configure Resource Governor’s resource pools, workload groups, and classifier functions. |
Click here |
| Ron Talmage in conjunction with Microsoft |
SQL Server 2008 System Views Map |
The Microsoft SQL Server 2008 System Views Map shows the key system views included in SQL Server 2008, and the relationships between them. The map is similar to the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 version and includes updates for the new and updated Microsoft SQL Server 2008 features such as resource governor, extended events, full-text search and others. |
Click here |
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Recent Feedback
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"I have been reading your book, "The Rational Guide to Building Technical User Communities", and it is simply phenomenal. I will be applying your advice to my own community in the upcoming year. In fact, I have already started applying some of your advice and it is very effective..."
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