I am proud to be offering several training opportunities at the upcoming PASS Summit in Seattle, WA during the week of October 26th. PASS Summit is the world’s largest and most attended conference for Microsoft SQL Server and BI professionals. This conference is fantastic, and if you are attending, check out my upcoming sessions!

The Complete Primer to SQL Server Virtualization – Preconference Training Session – 10/26 – with Jimmy May and Argenis Fernandez

Your SQL Servers are mostly virtualized at this point, but have you lost the control you used to have over the infrastructure when they were physical servers? Do your SQL Servers “feel” slower now that they are virtualized? When architected and managed with SQL Server in mind, this added layer can help to improve the SQL Server’s availability and ability to change with the business, but only when executed properly.

This all-day, interactive, and hypervisor-agnostic pre-conference session is designed to help data professionals learn more about virtualization and infrastructure. Discover how this new layer can be used to improve the management, availability, and performance of your databases. You will be exposed to all layers of virtualization underneath the SQL Server, from storage to hypervisor. Discover many useful tips and tricks to tuning the database layer to boost performance and availability.

How to Build a Virtual Test Lab for SQL Server – with Ed Leighton-Dick – 10/30

You’ve learned a lot of new techniques and concepts at the conference, and you’re excited to go home and try them out. Now what? Most of us don’t have spare servers lying around or test labs in the office that we can use to try new ideas safely, without disrupting others’ work. Virtualization provides a practical solution to this problem–and it doesn’t need to cost a lot. In this session, learn how to find the tools you need to create your own virtual test environment for SQL Server on hardware you have lying around, and discover that larger test labs for your office do not need to break the bank.

Is Independent Consulting for Me? Panel session – 10/30

Have you had dreams of striking it out on your own being an independent consultant? Have you wondered what it takes to make your dream a reality and what are common mistakes made along the way?

In this panel discussion, you hear about lessons learned, common mistakes, and challenges discovered during the panel’s transition from corporate America to independent consulting.

I can’t wait for this conference to arrive! IMHO it’s the best SQL Server conference of the year, and I’ll never miss it. I’ll see you all there!