There's lots I want to know. What affect does an SSD have if I use it for a log file? One of my filegroups with indexes? What about tempdb? How do you dig in and prove latency to the storage groups from within SQL Server? Will the query optimizer take advantage of information about drive performance? There are lots of questions I have, and I'm hoping to get answers. I'm hoping to attend the "Ask Anything I/O" panel at SQL Intersection in a few weeks. I'm leaving the event Wed night, so unless there's someone I'm trying to catch in a last minute meeting, I'll be sitting in the audience.
I am guessing that Brent Ozar, Kevin Farlee, and Mat Young will have lots of answers for me and others. I'm also guessing most of the questions will be met with references that are already out there, and I hope that the presenters will publish a list of questions and answers for attendees. That's fine, as there are lots of times when I'm looking for information that has been published, but I can't find in the ocean of Google results. Attending a session given by experts can be a way to shortcut some research and searching to find where the answers are located.
That's one of the reasons to attend a conference. Getting quick answers from experts, or learning how to better target your research. All the speakers at SQL Intersection are well known, longtime, expert SQL Server users who are friendly. They're more than willing to answer questions, or help guide you to solve a problem or learn something new.
The other great thing about conferences? You get to hear some great questions from other attendees. We all attack problems differently, and work in very diverse environments. There are many times I've heard how another person has implemented SQL Server and it's intrigued, or even inspired, me to try something similar with my instances.
If you can find the funding, SQL Intersection is a great event to attend, with an impressive list of speakers, each hand picked by Kimberly Tripp and Paul Randal of SQLskills. They provide amazing training in their Immersion events, and are trying to bring even more options to you with SQL Intersection. You can even walk away with something tangible in addition to all the knowledge you'll gain: a Surface Tablet.
Steve Jones
The Voice of the DBA Podcasts
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