I will be attending and speaking at the Rocky Mountain Tech Trifecta in downtown Denver on March 5, 2011. This is a free, all day event that combines what you would get at a SQLSaturday along with what you would see at a Code Camp. There is .NET, SQL Server, SharePoint and Windows Server related content, so you will have plenty of good stuff to choose from.

I will be giving my Hardware 201: Selecting and Sizing Database Hardware for OLTP Performance presentation. Here is the abstract:

The foundation of database performance is the underlying server hardware and storage subsystem. Even the best designed and optimized database application can be crippled by an inadequate hardware and storage infrastructure. Recent advances in new processors and chipsets, along with improvements in magnetic and SSD storage have dramatically changed the evaluation and selection process compared to the past. Many database professionals struggle to keep up with new technology and often simply let someone else make their hardware selection and sizing decisions. Unfortunately, the DBA usually gets the blame for any performance issues that crop up later. Don’t let this happen to you! This session covers current and upcoming hardware from both Intel and AMD and gives you the tools and resources to make better hardware selection decisions to support SQL Server OLTP workloads.

My talk is at 1:15PM, which is just after lunch. Hopefully, I will be able to keep people awake after they have just eaten! This is the third year for the Tech Trifecta. It has always been a fun and successful event, with around 500-600 attendees. It is not too late to register, so I hope to see you there!