Microsoft TechNet Ireland Blog : training

SQL Event in Cork on 4th June

endaf — Fri, 29 May 2009 17:32:00 GMT

Reporting Services 2008 Architecture and End User Reporting

Summary

The first part of this session is a detailed look at architectural changes to the Reporting Services 2008 product and how they might benefit your reports.

The second part of the session is a demo based walk through of the new Report Builder 2.0. Focusing on the flexibility of the Tablix Format and end user charting.

We will also be taking a sneak preview of some of the new map based reporting capabilities to be introduced in SQL 2008 R2 shortly.

Speaker: Bob Duffy

Bob Duffy is a 16 year veteran of database technologies having worked closely with many enterprise customers in Ireland and Europe around SQL Server, Business Intelligence and dot.net and chalked up over 250 successful projects. Bob is currently one of eighteen Microsoft Certified Database Architects Globally, is an active speaker for SQL Server and is on the working group for the new SQL 2008 “master” examination syllabus.

Date: 04 June 2009 19:00 - 21:00

Location: Imperial Hotel, South Mall, Cork

Register and learn more here

Tech Days: Galway March10, Cork March12 (7pm-9.30pm)

endaf — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 19:29:00 GMT

Tech Days, a joint effort between Microsoft and the IT Pro community, is bringing exceptional up-to-date technical content to Galway and Cork. Register and learn more about these evening events @ http://www.microsoft.com/ireland/technet/techdays.aspx

Galway will cover Windows 7 and Client Deployment Tools, a session for the 'accidental' (or involuntary) DBAs and a great Integrated BI Solutions session.

Cork will look at Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (Live Migration!) as well as excellent technical demos and best practice sharing on Unified Comms and SharePoint.

There is no cost for attending the event and what's more, the TechNet team have sweeeeet prizes for give-away on the evenings: an Xbox elite and two TechNet Plus Subscriptions in each city.

Enda

Microsoft Community Tech Days

ieitpro — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:47:00 GMT

The countdown is on for MS Community Tech Days!...only two weeks until Galway and Cork at the time of posting this (Galway 10th and Cork 12th March). Blindingly good technical content to be caught! Learn more and register @ http://www.microsoft.com/ireland/technet/techdays.aspx.

Tech Days are a collaborative effort between Microsoft and the IT Pro community to re-deliver the highlights of Tech Ed Conference to IT Pros across Ireland. Register now to avoid disappointment! The core content will focus on Infrastructure, BI and Unified Comms & Collaboration. Most of the sessions will be delivered by a combination of Microsoft and Community technical presenters and we promise they will involve as much time spent demoing the technology, as possible.

March will see the four-city tour stop for evening events in Galway and Cork, with full day events in Dublin and Belfast. Our special guest speaker in Galway, Dublin and Belfast is Rhonda Layfield, who was voted one of the best technical presenters @ Tech Ed Europe and North America. Don’t miss this amazing opportunity to get up-to speed on the latest Microsoft technology (technical level 300) at no cost! We hope to see you there. Learn more and register here.

We are also running ‘Microsoft @ Home’ sessions in Dublin and Belfast in March, the timing of which line up nicely with the Tech Days. These sessions will look at Home Networking, Windows 7, Securing your Home and Digital Photography. So if you’re someone who has even thought about, using your Xbox 360 as a media extender for example, then you’ll certainly like this session. Learn more and register here.

Enda

Subsidised Microsoft Technical Training – February/March 2009

ieitpro — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:32:00 GMT

Introduction to Installing and Managing Microsoft® Exchange Server 2007
16-18 February 09, Cork, PFH

At the end of this three-day course, students who are new to Microsoft Exchange Server will learn how to configure and manage a messaging environment in accordance with technical requirements. Students will learn how to install Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and manage routing, client access, and the backup and restore of databases. They will also learn how to manage addressing and recipient objects such as mailboxes, distribution groups, and contacts.

€600. Register Your Interest Here (registration will close 2 weeks in advance of the course date)

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Virtualization in Depth
18-19 February 09, Dublin, Global Knowledge

This deep hands-on course trains Microsoft partners to design, implement and consolidate their physical infrastructure into a flexible and dynamic Microsoft virtual datacenter, which consist Microsoft Windows 2008 Hyper-V and Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager vNext. This training course focuses on backup, recovery secure and monitoring of critical business applications inside the virtual machines. "In Depth" covers high availability, scripting and data protection of Microsoft virtual environment. At the end of the course the attendees will be able to successfully install and secure MS Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V and manage it with System Center Virtual Machine Manager vNext. With Microsoft System Center Operations Manager they will be able to monitor the Microsoft virtualization products. They will have the ability to setup System Center Data Protection Manager for backup and recovery and update the virtual machines and the hypervisor-based virtualization server.

€400. Register Your Interest Here (registration will close 2 weeks in advance of the course date)

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Applications
23-24 February 09, Dublin, New Horizons

This two-day course explores the Microsoft Dynamics CRM application from a user's perspective. Application functionality covered in the course includes: Sales Management; Marketing Automation; Service Management; Service Scheduling

€267. Register Your Interest Here (registration will close 2 weeks in advance of the course date)

Installing and Configuring the Windows Vista Operating System
23-24 February 09, Galway, New Horizons

This two-day instructor-led course provides students with the knowledge and skills to install and configure Windows Vista desktops. It will focus on four main areas: installing, securing, networking, and browsing. By the end of the course, the student will have installed and configured a Windows Vista desktop that is secure, on the network, and ready for browsing.

€183. Register Your Interest Here (registration will close 2 weeks in advance of the course date)

Managing and Maintaining Windows Server 2008 Servers
24-27 February 09, Belfast, New Horizons

This four-day instructor-led course provides students with the knowledge and skills to implement, monitor, and maintain Windows Server 2008 servers.

€533. Register Your Interest Here (registration will close 2 weeks in advance of the course date)

Customization and Configuration in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0
25-26 February 09, Dublin, New Horizons

This two-day instructor-led course provides students with the tools to configure and customize Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. Configuration topics include setting up business management functions such as: Business units; Users; Teams; Security privileges and roles; System Settings; Multilingual User Interface Language Packs; Currency Exchange Rates; Multiple Organizations

€267. Register Your Interest Here (registration will close 2 weeks in advance of the course date)

Implementing System Center Data Protection Manager 2007
2-5 March 09, Dublin, BT

This deep hands-on course trains Microsoft partners to design, implement and consolidate their physical infrastructure into a flexible and dynamic Microsoft virtual datacenter, which consist Microsoft Windows 2008 Hyper-V and Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager vNext. This training course focuses on backup, recovery secure and monitoring of critical business applications inside the virtual machines. "In Depth" covers high availability, scripting and data protection of Microsoft virtual environment. At the end of the course the attendees will be able to successfully install and secure MS Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V and manage it with System Center Virtual Machine Manager vNext. With Microsoft System Center Operations Manager they will be able to monitor the Microsoft virtualization products. They will have the ability to setup System Center Data Protection Manager for backup and recovery and update the virtual machines and the hypervisor-based virtualization server.

€599. Register Your Interest Here (registration will close 2 weeks in advance of the course date)

Advanced SharePoint 2007 Development
02-06 March 09, Cork, PFH

This five-day instructor-led course provides students with the knowledge and skills to become a top-notch SharePoint 2007 Developer. From AJAX to Event Handlers and Features, you will gain important insight into the internal workings of SharePoint 2007. This course is intended for experienced SharePoint developers and students and will guide them through the process of architecting and developing SharePoint applications and customizations.

€999. Register Your Interest Here (registration will close 2 weeks in advance of the course date)

Developing Web Applications Using Microsoft Visual Studio 2008
9-12 March 09. Dublin, New Horizons

This four-day instructor-led course will teach introductory-level Web developers the fundamentals of Web application development and best practices for Microsoft Web development technologies, including ASP.NET 3.5, ASP.NET AJAX Extensions, and Silverlight. This course focuses on using the Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 development environment and the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 to create a Web application that delivers dynamic content to a Web site.

€533. Register Your Interest Here (registration will close 2 weeks in advance of the course date)

Managing System Center Operations Manager 2007
10-13 March 09. Dublin, Global Knowledge

Elements of this syllabus are subject to change.
This three-day instructor-led course provides students with the knowledge and skills to managing a Systems Center Operations Manager 2007 management group. This course is intended to develop the necessary skills to install and manage Operations Manager 2007 management servers and supporting roles.

€400. Register Your Interest Here (registration will close 2 weeks in advance of the course date)

Managing and Maintaining Windows Server 2008 Servers
10-13 March 09, Cork, PFH

This four-day instructor-led course provides students with the knowledge and skills to implement, monitor, and maintain Windows Server 2008 servers.

€800. Register Your Interest Here (registration will close 2 weeks in advance of the course date)

Mark Russinovich Chat on Windows 7

ieitpro — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 08:38:00 GMT

With every new OS release comes some new features, changes to old features, fixes, kernel updates and more. While you might have read about some of these new features you probably have questions and now is your chance to find out more about Windows 7.

On Thursday, February 12th, Mark Russinovich will host a virtual roundtable for IT pros worldwide to discuss Windows 7 Beta. This is your chance to learn all about the new Windows 7 Beta and get answers to any deployment and management questions that you might have. As part of the “virtual” experience,you will be able to submit your questions about Windows 7 Beta to the panel live during the event—or submit questions in advance to vrtable@microsoft.com.

So save the date and join Mark on Thursday, February 12 at: https://ms.istreamplanet.com/springboard.

Virtualisation Unplugged - access to content

ieitpro — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:08:00 GMT

Thanks to those who made it to the 'Wellie' in Belfast yesterday and Douglas in Cork today for Virtualisation Unplugged.James and Dave really know Microsoft Virtualisation inside-out, so I'm glad you tested them with a few tough questions.

Even though James claims to be a bit of a sell-out, by buying into the whole blogging habit, his blog is still definitely worth keeping an eye on. It can be found @ http://blogs.technet.com/jamesone/. Also, his Virtualisation Unplugged slides can be found here.

Dave Northey's is back blogging these days, so you will see his Windows 7 deck here in the coming days.

Free Virtualisation Events in Dublin, Belfast and Cork!

ieitpro — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 11:07:00 GMT

Virtualisation is on practically every IT Pro's agenda these days. This is why there’s a wealth of Microsoft Virtualisation events training available over the coming months.

First up..Maxima Ireland, with support from Microsoft and Citrix, are hosting a Virtualisation seminar in Sandyford, Dublin on the 29^th of January. Email the event owner to register or for further information.

For more than 18 years, Microsoft and Citrix have offered customers solutions to deliver Windows-based applications using Citrix Presentation Server™ running on Terminal Services. Both companies are now co-marketing new client computing offerings with the next generation of Citrix Presentation Server and the Citrix XenDesktop™ products, both based on Windows Server 2008 and Windows Optimized Desktop solutions, and managed by Microsoft System Center. With these solutions, customers can build an array of flexible, low-cost and manageable client computing options for different types of enterprise users.

The agenda for the seminar is as follows:

Making the Business Case for Virtualisation
Citrix/Microsoft Dynamic Delivery Centre
Citrix/Microsoft Lifecycle Management

Outside of Dublin (Belfast and Cork)..Free TechNet Events: Virtualisation Unplugged

Who should attend: IT Managers, IT Professionals

Summary: Virtualisation Unplugged is a full day technical session with Microsoft experts to discover a complete set of virtualisation tools from desktop to datacentre that will improve business continuity and maximise ROI. The day will cover loads of technologies including Windows Server 2008, Hyper-V, System Centre Virtual Machine Manager, Terminal Services and Application Virtualisation.

James O'Neill, Virtualisation expert from the Microsoft UK, has had great success touring all over the UK delivering this seminar and we are delighted to bring him to Ireland to deliver two 'Virtualisation Unplugged' tour dates here. Date: 3rd February, 4th February
Location:
Belfast (3rd) - Register Here!
Cork, (4th) - Register Here!
Cost: Free Event

SQL for the Oracle DBA - great trainer over from the UK

ieitpro — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:58:00 GMT

This is great cross-training on SQL for Oracle DBAs! In fact, I think the content would be of use for all DBAs and the trainer is top class.

It is a half day of training taking place in Dublin the afternoon of January 22nd. See here for details and how to register.

The objective of this training is to give an experienced Oracle DBA a basis for understanding SQL Server and an understanding of the key differences between SQL Server and Oracle together with a basic knowledge of how to administer an installation of SQL Server.

Agenda

Why SQL Server and not Oracle
Structural Differences
Getting Started with SQL
Day to Day Tasks
Monitoring
Security

Advanced topics

High Availability
Migrations

Register now

Please Note: Event starts at 1.30pm, Lunch will be provided from 1pm

Speaker Bio

Kevin Ashby joined Microsoft EMEA in January 2005 as an Enterprise Technology Strategist in the CATM team focused on any database related issues.
He has been involved with database platforms for more than 20 years and has performing many roles including development, DBA, technical design and account management. In recent years Kevin has worked as a infrastructure and database architect designing numerous database infrastructure solutions for both high and low end systems. Many of the designs have been for 99.999% availably systems including designing for true fault tolerance and high performance
Kevin’s Oracle background starts with Oracle 5 as a developer, and he became a DBA in Oracle 6, designing infrastructures solutions with Oracle 8 which included 99.999% availability via operating system clusters and Oracle parallel server, running through to 9iRAC and 10g Grid for in house developed solutions and Oracle based commercial applications included Oracle Applications, Oracle Collaboration Suite, 9iAS, 10gAS. He has even talked at OracleWorld a number of times and has been involved with the Oracle community in the UK for many years.

Learning Snacks are full of goodness! (and easy to digest)

ieitpro — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:25:00 GMT

You may remember I posted Vista 'learning snacks' last month - well now they're available for Windows Server 2008 and Virtualisation too! They're actually really good! See here.

Learning Snacks are short, interactive presentations about popular topics created by Microsoft Learning experts. Each Snack is delivered by using innovative Microsoft Silverlight technology and includes various media, such as animations and recorded demos. At the end of each free presentation, you can view more Snacks, learn more about the topic, or visit a related Web site.

Interactive Vista deployment training

ieitpro — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 11:28:00 GMT

Check this out!!...really good training called Deployment Learning Snacks....its at least level 300 technically and gives demos of how to deploy Windows Vista using the deployment tools.

In this interactive session you will learn how you can quickly and easily deploy Windows Vista across a network by using the various deployment tools provided by Microsoft.

Topics covered include

Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK)
User State Migration Tool (USMT) and guidelines
and practical examples of how to create an installation image and answer file.

Click here

Tech Ed Rocks!

ieitpro — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:38:00 GMT

Now to Tech Ed...over 5,000 IT Professionals were at this annual conference, a small portion of whom were Irish! The keynote delivered by Brad Anderson, focused on the key to a 'Dynamic Enterprise in Changing Business Conditions' - this was ok...there were far more interesting and entertaining topics and speakers to follow during the week.

Lucky for you if you didn't attend the conference, you can actually catch the highlights on video @ http://www.microsoft.com/emea/teched2008/itpro/. Some of the conference topline announcements worth mentioning are:

. New Windows Server 2008 R2 features: Live Migration; Branch Cache; DirectAccess; and Remote Desktop Services (RDS) - the new name for Terminal Services.
. System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2 beta.
. Integrated Identity and Security Solutions - Identity Lifecycle Manager 2 RC and Intelligent Access Gateway SP2 (including virtualization appliance).
. "Dublin" - codename for a set of extensions to the Windows Server application server. "Dublin" will be delivered as a separate out-of-band release, downloadable for use by Windows Server customers; the first Customer Technology Preview (CTP) was delivered at last week's Microsoft Professional Developer's Conference in October 2008.

My personal highlights were any of the sessions delivered by Mark Minasi (mostly Vista sessions) or Mark Russinovich - watch out for the session entitled 'The Case of the Unexplained'. These guys were brilliant presenters and actually managed to entertain as well as teach! I also hear Steve Riley's sessions earlier in the week were amazing. Again, check out the video highlights @ http://www.microsoft.com/emea/teched2008/itpro/

For those of you particularly interested in Windows Server 2008, System Centre 2007 and Virtualisation – local Microsoft MVP Aidan Finn (System Center Configuration Manager 2007) did a stand-up job on blogging on the key infrastructure sessions during the week.

See http://joeelway.spaces.live.com/?_c11_BlogPart_BlogPart=blogview&_c=BlogPart&partqs=cat%3dTechEd%2bEMEA%2bIT%2bPro

Windows 7 and Azure Take Main Stage @ PDC

ieitpro — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:32:00 GMT

I was away all last week in Barcelona at my first Tech Ed, and although PDC slightly stole its thunder the previous week with some major headlines around Windows 7 and Windows Azure, I was still very impressed by the Tech Ed experience! Before I give you the run-down on what went on in Barcelona, I first want to do a quick recap on the unveiling of Windows Azure and showcasing of a Pre-Beta Release of windows 7.

1. Windows7 was announced as the formal name of the next Microsoft Client Operating System. See a blog post on why it's called Windows 7.
2. Azure Services Platform and Windows Azure, offering unprecedented power of choice and open connections for developers.

So what are the key things in the many announcements surrounding Windows 7 Client and Windows Server 2008 R2 that are interesting for IT pros? Here is a view on the top 5:

1. Introduction of DirectAccess, a capability that allows IT to manage and update internet-connected remote PCs, even when they are off the corporate network.
2. There is a new Powershell v2 and its graphical editor helps to automate repetitive tasks with minimal scripting expertise required.
3. You have probably heard about BitLocker, with Windows 7 there will be BitLocker to Go - allowing USBs to be protected.
4. Windows 7 will allow IT to control access by specific users to specific applications.
5. Even more tools to help make deployment easier in your organisations, such as Dynamic Driver provisioning, the Deployment Image Service and Management tool, Multicast Multiple Stream Transfer, and improvements to user state migration.

What about Windows Azure? It has arrived and you may have seen previous stories about codename 'Red dog' but its formal name was announced during last week's PDC.

Attending Tech Ed 2008

ieitpro — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:27:00 GMT

Hi,

I'm delighted to be over here in Barcelona at Tech Ed IT Professionals! What a line-up of speakers!...and all the hottest topics are included - from Virtualisation technical sessions to Windows 7 breakout sessions! Stay posted for updates on all Tech Ed (and PDC) announcements and links to some the latest technical content resources.

If you are an Irish delegate attending Tech Ed, feel free to ping me on endaf@microsoft.com if you want to meet up or need help with anything. In case you have not heard about the Ireland attendees drinks, see http://www.microsoft.com/emea/teched2008/itp/ireland.aspx for whaat's happening Wendenday evening.

IT Professional Training at reduced rates - places still available!

ieitpro — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:11:00 GMT

03/11/2008, Dublin (BT): Implementing and Maintaining Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services
3 days, €400. Register Your Interest Here

10/11/2008, Dublin (Global Knowledge ): Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Virtualization in Depth
3 days, €400. Register Your Interest Here

13/11/2008, Dublin (Global Knowledge ): Introduction to Installing and Managing Microsoft® Exchange Server 2007
2 days, €267. Register Your Interest Here

17/11/2008, Dublin (New Horizons): Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Applications
2 days, €267. Register Your Interest Here

17/11/2008, Cork (PFH): SQL Server 2008 Implementation and Maintenance
5 days, €1,000. Register Your Interest Here

19/11/2008, Belfast (New Horizons): Implementing and Administering Windows® Small Business Server 2008
3 days, €400. Register Your Interest Here

19/11/2008, Dublin (New Horizons): Customization and Configuration in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0
2 days, €267. Register Your Interest Here

21/11/2008, Dublin (New Horizons): Installation and Deployment in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0
1 day, €133. Register Your Interest Here

24/11/2008, Belfast (BT): Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Virtualization in Depth
3 days, €400. Register Your Interest Here

24/11/2008, Cork (PFH): Implementing and Administering Windows® Small Business Server 2008
3 days, €600. Register Your Interest Here

01/12/2008, Belfast (BT): Implementing and Maintaining Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services
3 days, €400. Register Your Interest Here

02/12/2008, Cork (PFH): Advanced SharePoint Development
4 days, €799. Register Your Interest Here

08/12/2008, Galway (New Horizons): Updating Your Skills from Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server or Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 to Microsoft Exchange Server 2007.
3 days, €400. Register Your Interest Here

08/12/2008, Dublin (New Horizons): Visual Studio 2008: Windows Presentation Foundation
3 days, €400. Register Your Interest Here

15/12/2008, Dublin (Global Knowledge): Managing System Center Operations Manager 2007
3 days, €400. Register Your Interest Here

15/12/2008 Dublin (New Horizons): Developing Web Applications Using Microsoft Visual Studio 2008
4 days, €533. Register Your Interest Here