nraja

Microsoft Bi and Data Warehouse in the Gartner's Magic Quadrant

N.Raja — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 13:00:14 GMT

Gartner has recently released the Magic Quadrants for Bi and Data Warehouse for year 2013.

BI - Microsoft is leading in the ability to execute above all other vendors and also has a strong vision in BI. For Full report Visit:- http://www.gartner.com/technology/reprints.do?id=1-1DZLPEP&ct=130207&st=sb

Data Warehouse - Microsoft is is in Leaders Quadrant, very strong in Ability to Execute as well as Visionary. Thanks to Microsoft PDW - MPP Appliance. For Full report Visit :- http://www.gartner.com/technology/reprints.do?id=1-1DU2VD4&ct=130131&st=sb

Grow Your Career - Become a Bilingual DBA

N.Raja — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 12:42:00 GMT

Grow Your Career - Become a Bilingual DBA

Are you a master DBA in Oracle and keen to learn / map your skills to Microsoft SQL Server. Here is a good resource which could help you to accelerate your learning path:- http://channel9.msdn.com/posts/SQL-Server-Essentials-for-Oracle-DBAs-01-Database-and-Instance?format=smooth

The Systems Architects and technical team leaders of tomorrow are the database professionals who choose to become bilingual today. When you know multiple databases you are more in the know and can make contributions to architecture and planning, not only running the systems. To Learn more :- http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/learning-center/bilingual-dba.aspx

80% of DBAs recently said they encounter multiple database platforms at work.* Become an indispensable IT Pro – it’s easy to expand your database skills.
*Embarcadero Database Trends Survey Report, December 2010

Power View Now Works with Cubes! – (OLAP / MDX Cubes)

N.Raja — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 04:33:58 GMT

Earlier this year, Power View was released with SQL Server 2012, a remarkable step forward in data visualization and then enhanced version of Power View within Excel as part of Office 2013. It wasn't all bad news that Power View only worked with the new tabular semantic models and PowerPivot worksheets published in SharePoint but it did limit our options. We've quietly lived with the fact that this great new reporting tool couldn't be used with Microsoft's flagship analytical data (OLAP) engine without building new semantic models. Well, now it does, and that's very good news.

Microsoft has officially announced the availability of "Microsoft SQL Server 2012 With Power View For Multidimensional Models CTP". T.K. Anand made the announcement on the Analysis Services & PowerPivot Blog that the CTP for this enhancement is now available to freely download from the Microsoft Download Center. Be mindful that this is a pre-released preview of a patch for SQL Server 2012 that should not be installed in a production environment. Further, there may not be an upgrade path for the CTP installation when the final patch is released to the market. It would be best to use a sandboxed test server or virtual machine snapshot so the RTM upgrade can be installed when it is available later on.

NB:- My understanding is that this is actually an enhancement to the Analysis Services query engine that enables DAX queries to interact directly with multidimensional models (what we used to call UDM or OLAP databases). Existing SSAS databases will need to be upgraded to the SSAS 2012 server.

Release Notes

SQL Server 2012 with Power View for Multidimensional Models CTP - Download

Documentation

All about Kerberos in Microsoft BI in SQL PASS Virtual Chapter

N.Raja — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 23:09:51 GMT

My Colleague, Parikshit Savjani will be presenting on All about Kerberos in Microsoft BI in SQL PASS Virtual Chapter Next Friday (14^th Dec 20120). Feel free to join and please forward it to any interested audience as well.

http://bi.sqlpass.org/

Session will focus on - Setting up and Configuring Kerberos for MSBI is one of the top call volume generators which makes us realize there is definitely some gap in Understanding on how to setup and configure Kerberos for MSBI stack in a multi-server farm environment. In the session, we intend to explain and more importantly simplify the steps to setup Kerberos for SQL Server, SSAS, SSRS & Sharepoint along with the Demo of the issues which can occur based on real live experiences with troubleshooting and configuring for Customers

The Agenda for the session will be

Facts around Kerberos
The Double Hop Scenario
Kerberos 101
Kerberos Concepts
Constrained v/s Unconstrained Delegation
Steps to setup Kerberos
Configuring Kerberos for SQL Server
Configuring Kerberos for SSAS
Configuring Kerberos for SSRS
Configuring Kerberos for RS integration with Sharepoint for SQL 2008 R2 and before
Configuring Kerberos for RS 2012 Integration\Excel Services with Sharepoint 2010 (Protocol Transitioning with Claims Authentication)

Parikshit Savjani is a Premier Field Engineer with Microsoft with specialization on SQL Server and Business Intelligence (SSAS,SSIS and SSRS). His role involves consulting, performance tuning, troubleshooting, delivering workshops, chalk talks to Premier Customers of Microsoft. He contributes to the community by Blogging his learnings on his blog and on twitter @talktosavjani

Friday 12/14 2pm-3:30pm AU Brisbane

All about Kerberos in Microsoft BI

Speaker: Parikshit Savjani

URL: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/join?id=P54R9W&role=attend&pw=WTsp3%2B%29%29r

Social Analytics and BI using SQL Server

N.Raja — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 02:38:00 GMT

Etienne Oosthuysen (Senior Consultant (Business Intelligence) - Consultant at Chamonix IT Consulting, and MS vTSP), have been working on a solution that uses the MS BI stack (SQL Server 2012 and SharePoint 2010) to acquire data from Twitter and load it into a BI optimised database, and includes a xVelocity Analytic Engine and Interactive Reports, Dashboards and Decomposition.

we are aware that you may have seen some Twitter solutions out there, but this solution takes a BI perspective of Social Media and stays completely within the MS Technology Stack, making it possible to integrate Social Media data into existing or planned BI solutions. It is also capable of dealing with very large data volumes and provides Low Latent information to users. Interesting to note that Etienne have been acquiring data for Tweets related to '*microsoft*' and '*apple*' for just over a week now and the total number of distinct Tweets across these two search criteria now already totals more than 210,000.

The video contains a short PowerPoint based overview, and then looks at the actual solution through a Tweet, seeing it flow onto the solution, the Analysis Dashboard, Deep Dive Analysis and Interactive Views using real world examples.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw1NazS-ttA

Country wide Briefing:- Mission Critical Confidence in the Enterprise

N.Raja — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 12:52:00 GMT

High availability, manageability, performance, scalability, security and compliance – a heavy set of requirements for meeting the needs of a mission critical workload. SQL Server 2012 is setting the new standard for these criteria —helping customers achieve the uptime and performance they need at a low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), backed by built-in enterprise security and support for virtually any data.

Attend our latest briefing to learn in detail how SQL Server 2012:

· Helps protect an organization’s infrastructure with the required 9s and performance at the right price. See how AlwaysOn, multiple secondaries and

reduced OS patching work.

· Takes a generational leap forward on performance, delivering new in-memory technologies (xVelocity) alongside a range of tools that help make that performance more consistent and predictable.

· Makes it even easier for organizations to meet security and compliance policies with the most up-to-date encryption technologies built on Trustworthy Computing initiatives and the fewest number of security vulnerabilities among leading database vendors. Deliver greater confidence with built-in manageability tools.

Register for the briefing in the city nearest to you:

ADELAIDE	22nd November
BRISBANE	28th November
CANBERRA	28^th November
MELBOURNE	27^th November
PERTH	21^st November
SYDNEY	29^th November

TechED 2012 – Session Recordings

N.Raja — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 04:01:00 GMT

Missed the TechED or missed specific sessions due to session overlap?.

Whats in Windows Server 2012 for SQL Server :-

Session presented by myself and my colleague 'James Crawshaw'

Learn about the new, key Windows Server 2012 features which compliments SQL Server on its High Availability, Performance & Scalability, Mobility and Security. The session will drill into the major enhancements such as SMB( SMB Transparent Failover, SMB Multichannel, SMB Direct (Remote Direct Memory Access), SMB Scale-Out, increased performance, and more), Hyper-V (replication-HA, Scalability, Mobility and Security enhancements)

Recordings for other sessions are also now ready for offline viewing. You can obtain them from here and Database Track specific Sessions

Enjoy Viewing and Learning!!!!!

SQL Server Technical Bootcamps for Service Providers

N.Raja — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 05:07:03 GMT

This is an invite-only, technical boot camp for Hosting Service Providers that offers 300 level training of SQL Server 2012. This two day training with labs shows how Microsoft SQL Server 2012 can be used by Hosting Service Providers to enhance their existing database service offerings and build out new offerings such as high availability and database as a service solution. Space will be reserved on a first come, first serve basis.

Even though this training is aimed for service providers it would be great for you to attend if you are planning to implement a SQL Server as a Service or database private cloud in your corporate environment.

Should you be interested in attending this training please contact me thru the blog or drop an email to nraja@microsoft.com

Due to the enormous interest already received we ask that you only register one person per camp per company at this time. Thanks for your understanding.

Sydney – October 8-9: SQL Server 2012 for Service Providers

Sydney – October 10-12: Cloud Infrastructure (Windows Server 2012 and System Center 2012)

Melbourne – October 15-16: SQL Server 2012 for Service Providers

Melbourne – October 17-19: Cloud Infrastructure (Windows Server 2012 and System Center 2012)

SQL Server in Windows Azure Virtual Machine Early Adoption Cook Book

N.Raja — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 10:10:38 GMT

Are you interested in running SQL Server in a Windows Azure Virtual Machine? You've come to the right place! This wiki is for people interested in testing their SQL Server workloads in Windows Azure Virtual Machine. We're writing this wiki as we go so check back frequently or subscribe to the RSS feed to get notified of updates.

Also Check out the SQL Server on Windows Azure Virtual Machine Early Adoption Cook Book at: http://bit.ly/sqliaascookbook

Wiki Page Index

Other Great Early Adoption Resources

TechEd Australia 2012: Call for Topics is Live!

N.Raja — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 04:44:00 GMT

Planning for TechEd Australia 2012! is well underway, and this year I have the opportunity to assist Database & BI track along with my colleagues Marcy Larsen, Shashank Pawar, Ron Dunn and Simon Brown.

TechED wouldn't be a success without great content from the field, and as such it presents an opportunity to showcase your expertise, creativity and passion for Database & BI implementations/learning's.

Please submit your sessions using the Call for Topics tool at: http://teau12.eventpoint.com/cft

As you know this year is a big year for Microsoft in regards to product releases and focus areas. With that in mind we have changed our track listing slightly to be more focused on 2 areas:

The Microsoft Private Cloud
Building apps for Windows 8

Also feel free to let your colleagues know about the other track sessions that will be available at Teched Australia this year:

Windows Azure
Database and Business Intelligence
Developer Tools, Languages and Frameworks
Office, Office 365 and SharePoint
Security, Identity and Management
Exchange and Lync
Virtualization
Windows Client
Windows Phone
Windows Server

The Call for Topics tool is open from today; May 22nd 2012 until Monday June 18th 2012. Get those creative juices going and start submitting sessions. When you are submitting sessions please keep the following in mind:

To enhance the success of your session submission, please prepare your content to ensure it provides TechEd attendees with comprehensive technical readiness to inspire and succeed in their career. Your content should also align to meet the content themes for TechEd 2012, which are:

For Developers: TechEd is the place to get ready to create Windows 8 Metro style apps.

For IT Professionals: TechEd will provide an accelerated path to the skills they need to deploy, manage and secure a Private Cloud within their organisation.

Submissions that compliment the 2012 content themes will be recognised throughout the approval process.

Below are some additional tips for a successful submission:

Abstracts should be limited to 300 words
Be sure to showcase your speaking experience
A succinct and descriptive session title is a must to engage attendees and should match the delivered content 100%
Session objectives should indicate clearly what a delegate will gain from attending the session
Build your presentations with 60-65 mins of content and allow 10-15 mins for Q&A
TechEd is about technical readiness so focus on the technology and ensure there is no blatant marketing in your content

Good luck with your submissions and we look forward to see some great sessions submitted!

Microsoft Announces New Developer Certification

N.Raja — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 04:37:00 GMT

Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD) is a rebuilt certification for the modern application marketplace

As part of the reinvented Microsoft Certification Program, Microsoft today announces the new Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD) credential for developers. Microsoft has rebooted the MCSD certification for the new world of cloud and the application marketplace. This early-to-market certification addresses new skills for a broader audience, including next generation developers who thrive on bleeding edge technology.

Built for Visual Studio 2012

Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD) helps you develop expertise with Visual Studio 2012 to build the apps consumers demand today—and tomorrow

With approximately 100 million people writing code today in a multi-billion dollar application marketplace, you need to stay at the forefront of technology to deliver fast, light, stunning applications that deliver high value and are accessible on any device.

Visual Studio 2012 provides the best tools and experience for you to develop apps that target platforms across devices and services. And Microsoft developer certification helps you extend your Visual Studio and developer skills beyond traditional platform boundaries. The Microsoft Certified Developer certification (MSCD) helps you get the essential skills you need to develop fast and fluid applications and web applications that run across the growing range of platforms your customers use every day.

Rebuilt, Not Just Renamed

Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD) emphasizes solutions

The Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD) certification is Microsoft's new flagship set of certifications for Developers. These certifications validate the new skill sets needed to develop, deploy, and maintain Microsoft technology solutions, and recognize Developers and IT Pros who have skill sets that run both broad and deep.

With updated rigor and relevance built into the certifications to emphasize real world skills, Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer is the destination for established Developers who have expertise developing solutions with Microsoft tools.

Show That You Know

Microsoft Certified Solution Developer validates that your skills are relevant in the constantly changing tech environment.

For developers working for companies or organizations, the MCSD certification provides an objective, meaningful way to show your advanced technical competence and significant real-world solution-building expertise. The MCSD certification tells your employers and peers that you have the exceptional skills to take on an expanding market.

And as the marketplace continues to require new skills and validation of capability, the Microsoft Certification Program is raising the bar, evolving with leading edge technology to ensure the MCSD certifications provide developers with the competitive advantage in the industry.

Get ready for Metro

Start earning your MCSD: Windows Metro Style Apps certification today

We will be introducing more MCSD certifications over the coming months. The first one will be MCSD: Windows Metro Style Apps. This new certification is for developers who want the skills to create the beautiful, elegant and fast apps that are expected in today's exploding marketplace, using the Windows 8 platform with Visual Studio, HTML5, and C#.

You can start working towards the MCSD: Windows Metro Style Apps certification today by prepping for the beta exams that are coming out this summer. Here's a free ebook from MS Press to help you get started: Programming Windows 8 Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (First Preview).

Watch Born to Learn for announcements about beta exam availability, starting in June 2012.

Additional links:

MCSD announcement blog post by Senior Director Don Field

MCSD overview page: http://aka.ms/MCSD

Microsoft Certification overview page: http://aka.ms/MSCerts

Choosing a Tabular or Multidimensional Modeling Experience in SQL Server 2012 Analysis Services - White Paper to make an informed Decision

N.Raja — Fri, 04 May 2012 01:48:00 GMT

With the release of SQL Server 2012, Microsoft addresses this goal and challenge with the introduction of the BI Semantic Model (BISM), a single model that can support a broad range of reporting and analysis while blending two Analysis Services modeling experiences behind the scenes:

Multidimensional modeling, introduced with SQL Server 7.0 OLAP Services and continuing through SQL Server 2012 Analysis Services, enables BI professionals to create sophisticated multidimensional cubes using traditional online analytical processing (OLAP).

Tabular modeling, introduced with PowerPivot for Microsoft Excel 2010, provides self-service data modelling capabilities to business and data analysts. The tabular modeling experience is more accessible to these users, many who have spent years working with data in desktop productivity tools like Excel and Microsoft Access. In SQL Server 2012, tabular modeling has been extended to enable BI professionals to create tabular models in Analysis Services or to import a tabular model from PowerPivot into Analysis Services. Note that a PowerPivot model cannot be imported into an Analysis Services multidimensional model.

The goal of this white paper is to provide practical guidance to help you decide which SQL Server 2012 Analysis Services modeling experience – tabular or multidimensional - is the best fit for your next BI solution. The product descriptions and recommendations in this paper are based on SQL Server 2012 Analysis Services, which was released in March 2012. Product features and recommendations may change as Analysis Services multidimensional and tabular modeling evolves in future versions of SQL Server.

You can download the white paper from http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh994774.aspx

Move Your Career to the Cloud with the Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert certification

N.Raja — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 03:54:00 GMT

Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) is a reinvented certification for today's technology solutions

Microsoft has reinvented its certification program by building a broader and deeper set of technology solutions skills validation, starting with cloud-enabled solution skills. As one of the most recognized and respected certification programs, Microsoft is charting the path for IT Professionals and Developers to keep their skills relevant as new technology solutions are released.

Reinvented, Not Just Renamed.

Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) emphasizes solutions

Microsoft has reinvented its certifications to validate the skill sets needed to develop, deploy, and maintain Microsoft technology solutions. These certifications recognize IT Pros and Developers who have skill sets that run both broad and deep. Certifications are available at three skill levels:

Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA)

The Associate level is the prerequisite certification necessary to get your Expert level certification. This certification validates the core skills you need to get your 1st job in IT.

Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) &
Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD)

The Expert level is Microsoft's flagship set of certifications validating that your skills are relevant in the constantly changing tech environment. The Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) is the destination for established IT Professionals who have expertise working with Microsoft technology solutions. The Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD) is the destination for established Developers who have expertise developing solutions with Microsoft tools.

Microsoft Certified Solutions Master (MCSM)

After you have achieved your Expert level certification, Master is the next destination. This certification is for the select few who wish to further differentiate themselves from their peers and achieve the highest level of skills validation.

The Cloud Changes Everything.

Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) helps bridge the new cloud computing talent gap

"With the demand for cloud skills growing quickly, the gap between hiring demand and talent supply across the United States is getting larger and causing more difficulties in sourcing candidates."

Wanted Analytics, Hiring Demand for Cloud Computing Skills Skyrocketing, March 2012

The need for cloud computing skills has been pushing the market for months. Solution providers are seeking cloud-ready employees to bring their businesses to the next level. The cloud computing market is evolving at such a pace that while the number of job postings is skyrocketing, the talent isn't there to fill the positions.

In the past 20 years, Microsoft Certifications have been THE tool to address the skills gap. To be relevant, certifications need to continue to be the tool needed and recognized in the market.

That's why Microsoft has reinvented its certification program—to certify a deeper set of skills that are mapped to the Cloud and to real-world business contexts. Rather than testing only on a component of a technology, IT Professionals and Developers are now tested on more advanced skills and a deeper understanding of the technology.

New Certifications Are Available Now

Private Cloud and SQL lead the Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) reinvention

More information about the reinvented program and the first new certifications: Private Cloud MCSE, Database MCSE & Business Intelligence MCSE:

Microsoft Certification overview page: http://aka.ms/MSCerts

Microsoft Certification overview video: http://aka.ms/MSCertsVideo

MCSE information page: http://aka.ms/MCSE

MCSE video on YouTube: http://aka.ms/MCSEvideo

MCSE Private Cloud: http://aka.ms/MCSEpvcloud

MCSE Data Platform: http://aka.ms/MCSEDP

MCSE Business Intelligence: http://aka.ms/MCSEBI

Take advantage of a new 2-for-1 exam offer from Prometric:

Prometric 2-for-1 offer: http://aka.ms/Prometric241

SQL SERVER – Download Free eBook – Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2012

N.Raja — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 21:37:37 GMT

Introducing Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 explores the exciting enhancements and new capabilities engineered into SQL Server, ranging from improvements in operation to those in reporting and management. This book is for anyone who has an interest in SQL Server 2012 and wants to understand its capabilities, including database administrators, application developers, and technical decision makers

Part I Database Administration (by Ross Mistry)

1. SQL Server 2012 Editions and Engine Enhancements
2. High-Availability and Disaster-Recovery Enhancements
3. Performance and Scalability
4. Security Enhancements
5. Programmability and Beyond-Relational Enhancements

Part II Business Intelligence Development (by Stacia Misner)

6. Integration Services
7. Data Quality Services
8. Master Data Services
9. Analysis Services and PowerPivot
10. Reporting Services

Here are various versions of the Free eBook.

SQL Server 2012 Released to Manufacturing

N.Raja — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:07:33 GMT

Exciting news! Microsoft announced today that SQL Server 2012 has released to manufacturing. Customers and partners can download an evaluation of the product today and can expect general availability to begin on April 1. Microsoft also announced today an additional preview of an Apache Hadoop-based service on Windows Azure that will be available in the first half of 2012 to connect SQL Server and integrated business intelligence tools with unstructured data. For more information about today's news, check out Microsoft corporate vice president Ted Kummert's post on the Official Microsoft Blog, and for even more information, check out the STB News Bytes Blog.

Private Cloud – Microsoft Certification Announcement

N.Raja — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 23:57:00 GMT

IT departments all over the world have heard the news :-

A private cloud delivers fundamentally new capabilities that represent a generational paradigm shift in computing.

from the Microsoft Server and Cloud Platform website

By pooling resources across the datacenter and the enterprise and offering an elastic and usage-based self-service model, a private cloud solution simplifies deployment, maintenance, and cost, while increasing agility and power.

And this paradigm shift in computing means a paradigm shift in the skills IT professionals will need to configure, deploy, monitor, and operate private cloud solutions of today—and tomorrow. The increased capacity and capability of Private Cloud solutions means that IT Professionals and Developers will need to have a new and broader set of skills.

Microsoft Learning is addressing this need for new skills by ensuring it offers training and certifications that enable IT Pros and Developers to develop and validate their skill sets across this new range of skills with a focus on specific technology solutions. One example of this effort is the recently announced private cloud certification. Available as a Beta release in April, the certification starts with the foundation of current Windows Server 2008 exams, and adds two new System Center 2012 exams, currently in beta.

Get started today by heading over to the Microsoft Private Cloud Certification Overview page. That's where you can prepare and practice for the certification, sign up for our upcoming Private Cloud Jump Start course, and get a head start on your private cloud certification by starting your MCITP Server Administrator certification.

The traditional datacenter model is changing rapidly—and Microsoft Certification continues to change with it, to help you keep your skills relevant in the new world of the private cloud.

Welcome to PASS SQL Saturday events at Australia

N.Raja — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 04:35:00 GMT

PASS SQLSaturday’s are free 1-day training events for SQL Server professionals that focus on local speakers, providing a variety of high-quality technical sessions, and making it all happen through the efforts of volunteers. Whether you're attending a SQLSaturday or thinking about hosting your own, we think you'll find it's a great way to spend a Saturday – or any day.

Here are the registration links. Dates and Locations that have been planned for SQL Saturdays events in Australia. Admittance to this event is free, all costs are covered by donations and sponsorships. Please register soon, as seating is limited, and let friends and colleages know about the event :-

Apr 12, 2012

SQLSaturday #135 - Brisbane 2012

Queensland University Of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, 4000, Australia.

Apr 19, 2012

SQLSaturday #137 - Canberra 2012

Canberra Club, 45 West Row, Canberrra City, ACT, 2601, Australia

Apr 21, 2012

SQLSaturday #138 - Sydney 2012

Epping Boys High School (EBHS), 213 Vimiera Road, Eastwood, NSW, 2122, Australia

Apr 24, 2012

SQLSaturday #139 - Adelaide 2012

Edge Church, Hindley St, Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia

Apr 28, 2012

SQLSaturday #140 - Perth 2012

New Horizons Learning Centre, Level 6, 5 Mill St, Perth, WA, 6000, Australia

Have SQLSaturday questions or suggestions? Feel free to contact the PASS SQLSaturday HQ Team at any time!

Try Power View for a Chance to Win Prizes

N.Raja — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 12:02:41 GMT

Microsoft BI Team are kicking off a new contest today centered on Power View, and you will have the opportunity to participate and win prizes.

Power View is the new interactive data exploration and visualization tool on SQL Server 2012. Starting today and continuing every Tuesday and Thursday until March 6, 2012, the BI Team will be asking a series of questions related to some interactive Power View demos that were released recently. Contest questions will be sent out via the @MicrosoftBI Twitter handle. The first person to send a reply to @MicrosoftBI with the correct answer and #MSPV hashtag will win a prize pack valued at $50.00 USD!

Check out the Power View demos below:

Contoso Oil & Gas Sample Report	Contoso Schools Sample Report	Tailspin Toys Sample Report	Picnic Sample Report	Car Auto Sales & Models

For additional details and contest rules, visit the Microsoft BI Official Blog.

Don’t forget to register for the SQL Server 2012 Virtual Launch Event and learn more about the amazing abilities of SQL Server and Power View.

Designing a Private Cloud Strategy that meets Business Demands

N.Raja — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 02:31:00 GMT

Designing a Private Cloud Strategy that meets Business Demands

Your enterprise supports hundreds (or thousands) of applications to meet business demands- and as demand increases, so does the number of applications. This growth increases the cost of deploying and managing data sources for these applications- putting stress on the IT budget that can stifle further growth. According to IDC, these pressures are setting the stage for major industry shifts driving the convergence of virtualization, cloud, automation, analytics, and the consumerisation of IT. During this event we will tackle this challenge by helping you design a datacenter strategy that provides the scalability of the private cloud needed to support the growing demands of the business with SQL Server 2012.

AGENDA

8:30am - Welcome/Registration

9:00am – Session 1 Commences (120mins)

Session 1: An Application-Focused Approach to Designing your Private Cloud Infrastructure

Why do I need a Private Cloud in my organization? Can the Private Cloud help me deliver applications against service levels demanded by the business? How can I embrace these new technologies while containing my development, deployment and
management costs?In this infrastructure-focused session, we will show you how System Center 2012 can help you can take control of your environment and deliver IT as a service to the business. We will show you a self-service model that allows the business to deploy applications and consume data independently from the complexity of the underlying infrastructure. At the same time, we will show you how to design a datacenter infrastructure that benefits from the scalability and efficiency of the Private Cloud.

12:30pm - Welcome/Registration

1:00pm – Session 2 Commences (120mins)

Session 2: Support Growing Application Demands with a Scalable Database Platform

Come to this session to learn about the products and tools available today from Microsoft that can help you adopt a database platform that provides the scalability and efficiency of the Private Cloud.

Learn how to consolidate SQL database workloads to provide more efficient use of your compute, network and storage resources, decrease your physical footprint and reduce your capital and operational expenses. Learn how to scale your resources efficiently and deploy them on demand, while providing standardization and improving compliance. We will discuss how SQL Server will evolve with the release of SQL Server 2012 to support the Private Cloud, as well as the faster deployment and performance provided by the Database Consolidation
Appliance

EVENT DATES

Canberra 28th February

Melbourne 1st March

Adelaide 7th March

Brisbane 8th March

Sydney 9th March

Perth 14th March

CANBERRA

Microsoft Canberra
Theatre 1
Walter Turnbull Building
Level 2, 44
Sydney Ave
Barton, Canberra
ACT 2600

MELBOURNE

Microsoft Melbourne
Exhibition Room
Level 5, 4 Freshwater Pl

Southbank, Melbourne
VIC 3006

PERTH

Microsoft Perth
Ennex 100 Seminar Room
Level 3, 100 Georges Tce

Perth, WA 6000

ADELAIDE

Microsoft Adelaide
Coonawarra Room
Level 12, Aurora Building
147
Pirie St
Adelaide, SA 5000

SYDNEY

Microsoft Sydney
Federation Room
1 Epping Road
North Ryde,
Sydney
NSW 2113

BRISBANE

Microsoft Brisbane
North Stradbroke Island Meeting Room
Level 28, 400
George St
Brisbane, QLD 4000

Microsoft SQL Server Migration Assistant 5.2 is Now Available

N.Raja — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA) v5.2 is now available. SSMA simplifies database migration process from Oracle/Sybase/MySQL and Microsoft Access to SQL Server and SQL Azure. SSMA automates all aspects of migration including migration assessment analysis,
schema and SQL statement conversion, data migration as well as migration testing to reduce cost and reduce risk of your database migration project. The new version of SSMA - SSMA 5.2 provides the following major enhancements:

Support conversion of Oracle %ROWTYPE parameters with NULL default
Support conversion of Sybase’s Rollback Trigger
Better user credential security to support Microsoft Access Linked Tables

Reduce Cost and Risk of Competitive Database Migration
Does your customer have Oracle, Sybase, MySQL or Access databases that you like to migrate to SQL Server or SQL Azure? SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA) automates all aspects of migration including migration assessment analysis, schema and SQL statement conversion, data migration as well as migration testing. The tool provides the following functionalities:

Database Migration Analyzer:
Assess and report complexity of the source database for migration to SQL Server. The generated report include detailed information on the database schema, percentage of the schema objects that can be converted by the tool, and hours estimate for manually migrating those schema objects that cannot be converted automatically. The information can be used for your to decide and to plan for migration. Visit SSMA team site for video demonstration of this feature.
Schema Converter: Automate conversion of schema objects (including programming code inside package, procedure, function) into equivalent SQL Server objects and T-SQL dialect. The tool provides ability to customize the conversion from hundreds of project setting options according to your specific business requirements. A report will be generated at the end of conversion for any object statement not supported for automated conversion. You can drill down to each of the migration issues and obtain side-by-side comparison between the original source code and the converted source code as well as make necessary modification directly from SSMA user interface. Visit SSMA team site for video demonstration of this feature.
Data Migrator: Migrate data from the source database to the SQL Server using the same conversion logic and type mapping specified in the project setting during schema conversion. Visit SSMA team site for video demonstration of this feature.
Migration Tester: Facilitate unit testing of converted program in SQL Server.

Simplify Migration to SQL Azure
Customers can simplify their move to the cloud with the SSMA. You can migrate from competitive database directly to SQL Azure. The tool reports possible migration issue to SQL Azure, convert schema, and migrate data to SQL Azure database. SSMA supports SQL Azure migration from Microsoft Access, MySQL, and Sybase.

Receive FREE technical support and migration resources.

Microsoft Customer Service and Support (CSS) provides free email technical support for SSMA. SSMA product web site and SSMA team blog site provides many resources to help customer to reduce cost and risk for database migration.

Download SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA) v.5.2
Launch the download of the SSMA for Oracle.
Launch the download of the SSMA for Sybase.
Launch the download of the SSMA for MySQL.

Viewing reports and scorecards on Apple iPad devices (SharePoint Server 2010)

N.Raja — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:24:15 GMT

With the recent Cumulative update for Sharepoint Server (CU 2011-12), Microsoft now enables organizations to view certain kinds of reports and scorecards on Apple iPad devices that use the iOS5 Safari browser. This article describes what business intelligence content users can view on iPad, how to configure reports and scorecards to be displayed correctly, and how to navigate business intelligence content on iPad.

In addition, iPad users must be able to connect to SharePoint Server, and iPad devices must be running the iOS 5 Safari browser.

Not all reports and scorecards will appear correctly on iPad devices. Limited testing was performed to support displaying dashboard content on iPad devices. However, SharePoint Server 2010 is not fully supported for viewing on Apple iPad devices.

Further detailed Information can be found here on the following:-

Kinds of reports and scorecards that can be viewed on Apple iPad
How to configure reports and scorecards to be displayed correctlyon iPad
How to view and navigate business intelligence content on iPad

Date Table for PowerPivot, without a valid table on the Source (On the Fly Generation)

N.Raja — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 03:43:00 GMT

Ever wondered on how to get a table with dates for various needs in PowerPivot where the source does not contain any such table?. Here is a short T-SQL Code to generate the Table with Dates. Since it's a standard T-SQL code, you should be able to modify the columns returned as you need them for your solution.

1) Open PwoerPivot, Choose to import data from SQL Server as a source and choose any Server and DB as a target (SQL Server to process the T-SQL statements).

2) In 'Table Import Wizard', choose 'Write a Query that will Specify the data to Import'

3) Copy the T-SQL Code mentioned below as a SQL Statement

declare @fromdate date, @todate date

set @fromdate = '01-Jan-1950'
set @ToDate = '31-Dec-2030'

;With DateSequence( [Date] ) as
(
                Select @fromdate as [Date]
                               union all
                Select dateadd(day, 1, [Date])
                               from DateSequence
                               where Date < @todate
)

select
                               YEAR([date]) as Year,
                               Month([date]) as Month,
                               DAY([DATE]) as Day,
                               [date] as Date,
                               CASE Month([date])
                                               WHEN 1 THEN 'Jan'
                                               WHEN 2 THEN 'Feb'
                                               WHEN 3 THEN 'Mar'
                                               WHEN 4 THEN 'Apr'
                                               WHEN 5 THEN 'May'
                                               WHEN 6 THEN 'Jun'
                                               WHEN 7 THEN 'Jul'
                                               WHEN 8 THEN 'Aug'
                                               WHEN 9 THEN 'Sep'
                                               WHEN 10 THEN 'Oct'
                                               WHEN 11 THEN 'Nov'
                                               WHEN 12 THEN 'Dec'
                               END as MonthShort,
          CASE Month([date])
                                               WHEN 1 THEN 'Q1'
                                               WHEN 2 THEN 'Q1'
                                               WHEN 3 THEN 'Q1'
                                               WHEN 4 THEN 'Q2'
                                               WHEN 5 THEN 'Q2'
                                               WHEN 6 THEN 'Q2'
                                               WHEN 7 THEN 'Q3'
                                               WHEN 8 THEN 'Q3'
                                               WHEN 9 THEN 'Q3'
                                               WHEN 10 THEN 'Q4'
                                               WHEN 11 THEN 'Q4'
                                               WHEN 12 THEN 'Q4'
                               END as Quarter,
                               DATENAME(MONTH,[Date]) as [MonthName],
                               DATEPART(DAYOFYEAR,[Date]) as DayInYear,
                               DATEPART( wk, [date]) as Weeknumber
from DateSequence order by [Date]
option (MaxRecursion 32767)

4) You are Done and your New Table called 'Date' should be one of the table in your PowerPivot to use as part of your solution as any other table from the source.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Additional columns as needed can be added to the T-SQL and it will be returned as additional columns in PowerPivot.

Appreciate if you could modify the code and post it back to this blog, along with the short description of the business scenario for the modification, for others to benefit from your hard work.

Learn SQL Server 2012 Development Now!

N.Raja — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 01:10:00 GMT

If you want to learn how to develop database and business intelligence solutions that fully exploit SQL Server 2012 improvements, this resource is for you! The SQL Server 2012 Developer Training Kit includes technical content like labs, demos and presentations that you can use to learn SQL Server 2012 or to deliver your own training event.

Installing training kit content is easy, just download the Web Installer Preview for the kit today from the following link:

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9785999

Simply launch the installer, choose the content you want and click download. Here's a list of the content that is currently available:

Demo: A First Look at SQL Server Developer Tools Codename "Juneau"
SSDT is a new Visual Studio based IDE for developing SQL Server and SQL Azure database solutions. SSDT includes modern new projects and designers that will dramatically improve developer productivity. It also supports powerful features like declarative model-driven development, platform targeting. Integration with the Data-tier Application Framework (DAC Fx) makes deploying, migrating and versioning your databases easier the ever.
Lab: Build Your First Web Application with SQL Server 2012 and ASP.NET
This lab is ideal for web developers who are new to SQL Server, and guides you through the basics of coding CRUD operations and image retrieval with ASP.NET. This lab is also great for SQL Server database professionals who want to learn the basics of web development.
Lab: Exploring Transact-SQL Improvements in SQL Server 2012
SQL Server 2012 offers several new Transact-SQL programmability improvements that will make developers lives much easier, including new support for results paging, sequence generators and better error handling. In this lab you will experiment with each of these improvements so you can use them in your own applications.
Lab: Managing Rich Unstructured Data in SQL Server 2012
SQL Server 2012 includes breakthrough innovations for developers building content management applications. This lab will guide you through the basics of using the new FileTable object to move content in and out of SQL Server using standard SMB techniques, and how to enable rich search capabilities on top of that content using full text indexing and semantic search.

New content will be published through the Web Installer Preview on a regular basis, so be sure to check back frequently for updates. Now let's get started building those new SQL Server 2012 database and business intelligence solutions!

Denali – Feature Update Event @ Adelaide - SA

N.Raja — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:26:00 GMT

The Next Major Release of SQL Server is Coming – Are You Ready?

SQL Server Codename "Denali" is the next major release of SQL Server following SQL 2008 R2. It is currently in pre-release (CTP 3) and the release date is expected to be announced soon. Denali is a cloud-ready information platform that will help organisations unlock breakthrough business insights and quickly build solutions to extend data across on-premise, private and public clouds backed by mission critical confidence. Some of the major enhancements to the SQL Server Data Platform include:

The 9s you need with "Always On" for advanced High Availability and Disaster Recovery Solutions;
Blazing Fast Query Performance with "Project Apollo";
Rapid Data Discovery by combining "Project Crescent" with Power Pivot;
Credible, Consistent Data via "BI Semantic Model (BISM)" and "Data Quality Services";
Write Applications Once to Run Anywhere with "Project Juneau".
A range of integrated Appliances for OLTP, Data Warehouse and Database Consolidation

Be one of the first people to see these latest enhancements first-hand. This session is for the IT Pro and TDM.

EVENT DETAILS

Date: Wednesday 26^th October 2011

Time: 8am for 8.30am start

Venue:

Microsoft Adelaide

Level 2 Westpac House

91 King William Street

Adelaide SA 5000

8.00am	Registration (Coffee and Light Breakfast)
8.30 – 10.00am	Gary Casham / N. Raja (Microsoft)
10.00 – 10.30am	Q and A

TO REGISTER, PLEASE EMAIL gary.casham@microsoft.com

You are welcome to forward this invitation to other relevant delegates within your organisation who would benefit from attending this event.

Connecting to SQL Server Analysis Services using a Different Domain Account that the user currently log on (SSAS on Different Domain and the user logon to another Domain)

N.Raja — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 02:49:00 GMT

If you have logged in to different domain (Domain XYZ) than the SSAS Server (Domain ABC) belong to (For Ex. SSAS server is member of Domain ABC and user normally log in to Domain XYZ, there is no trust exist between these domains) connecting to SSAS from the work station using various presentation tools (Ex. Excel, Power Pivot) is a big challenge. Here is a simple solution to overcome this issue.

Step:-1 – Install 'ShellRunAs' utility from Windows Sysinternals - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/cc300361

Step:-2 – Right Click on the Application (Excel in this scenario) and choose 'Runas different user(netonly)'

Step:-3 – Key in the User ID and password (Domain of the SSAS – ABC\administrator)

Your application will fireup along with a Command Prompt Windows (Which is normal and as documented at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/cc300361

Step:-4 – Proceed to connect to Analysis Services as normal (As If you are logged in to the Domain ABC from your workstation. Ex. IP Address of the SSAS Server is 10.168.50.45 and this particular server is member of Domain 'ABC')

And, that's it. Everything should work as normal. If you mix and match server connections from Domain ABC and XYZ, all should work without prompting for additional credentials and hassle.