SQL Server 2012 Virtual Labs

I enjoy learning by doing as opposed to a lecture based format so having access to a free lab environment via Microsoft Virtual Labs is too good to pass up. Combine this with SQL Server 2012 RTM and it’s the perfect time to learn about some of the new features it provides. There are quite a few labs available for multiple tools and technologies but here are the one’s concerning SQL Server 2012:

How to Build Your First Web App with SQL Server 2012 and ASP.Net [link]

After completing this lab, you will be better able to create your first web application using ASP.NET and SQL Server, design a class in C# that makes it easy to work with SQL Server data using a business object, bind data from SQL Server to ASP.NET web server controls using a business object, display images on web pages that are stored in SQL Server, build a SQL Server connection string and use it to connect to SQL Server using the ADO.NET SqlConnection class, and construct parameterized Transact-SQL statements in an application and execute them using the ADO.NET SqlCommand class.

Exploring Transact-SQL Improvements in SQL Server 2012 [link]

After completing this lab, you will be better able to create and use sequence objects, query rows through paged results, and raise and catch exceptions using Throw/Catch.

Exploring SQL Server 2012 Integration Services [link]

After completing this lab, you will be better able to introduce project connection managers, introduce parameters, create a SSIS Catalog, deploy an Integration Services project to the SSIS Catalog, execute packages
from the SSIS Catalog, script package execution commands, and monitoring the Integration Services environment and package executions.

Managing Rich Unstructured Data in SQL Server 2012 [link]

After completing this lab, you will be better able to create FileTables, create Fulltext Indexes with semantic extraction capabilities, retrieve information about document properties, and retrieve semantic information.